And it seems the courts are rather more sympathetic than Joe Public or Politicians. Bloomberg has highlighted a number of cases where bankers have taken their former employers to task and won. But it’s an expensive and time-consuming business getting there.

Bloomberg: With nearly 50,000 jobs lost in London’s financial services industry during the economic crisis, more than a hundred bankers have sued their former employers.
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Bringing a claim against a former employer can take between eight months and 15 months and cost from 80,000 pounds to 500,000 pounds, depending on how much is at stake and how the company defends itself

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Never mind what it does for your future career prospects.

Despite all the animosity, bonuses are really back in fashion, so not to worry. UK bonuses for 2010 amount to around 6.8 billion pounds, an increase from 6 billion pounds for 2009, according to the Centre for Economics & Business Research Ltd.