Good workplace with great colleagues - Software Developer JBA Risk Management Employee Review

It's the people at JBA Risk Management that make it a good place to work. The hybrid working arrangements and flexible hours offer a good work-life balance, and the company organises plenty of social events throughout the year. There's also a generous training budget, though there are some constraints, such as only a select few being able to attend the same conference. Additionally, there's the opportunity to progress your career reasonably quickly at JBA and in a direction that you choose.

By far the biggest disadvantage at JBA is the salary, which is generally terrible. Despite the website's claim of offering competitive salaries, they are typically on the low end of competitive or not competitive at all. Even if hired at a competitive rate, this doesn't remain so as your career progresses. This is due to JBA's grade-based approach to setting salaries, with rough salary bands for each grade. While JBA claims this system ensures fairness, it disadvantages those taking on more responsibility or rising stars from graduate/junior levels, as pay is strictly tied to one's grade. The salary bands do not match the market rates for similar roles and responsibilities in the wider industry. For instance, moving from a mid-level developer to a leadership/manager role doesn't result in a pay increase unless accompanied by a promotion to a higher grade, which can take several years. Many instead opt to leave the company. Additionally, being promoted does not necessarily mean you immediately jump to the salary band of the next grade above. Instead, staff are awarded an additional percentage (determined by the leadership) on top of their annual salary reviews. This can often mean someone being promoted does not actually have their salary increased to the expected level. In essence, JBA lacks consistency between having a banded salary model and a model based on job roles and market rates. This results in salaries being below a competitive rate, a high staff turnover, and a loss of expertise, as we often hire new graduates instead of bringing in experienced professionals at the same level. Moreover, salary increases in 2023 were below the inflation rate, meaning staff are actually worse off this year for working at JBA.

Great learning and career transformation, especially for career starters.

Terrible pay, they say they are agile but in reality they aren’t, the office is very hard to reach if you don’t drive, the pay progression is very slow.