Unions slam ‘shocking excess’ as fat cat pay soars by 11%
THE pay of company chief executives has soared by 11% in the past year, with median salaries of just under £4m, a new study reveals.
The rise compares to 2% for full-time workers and is despite criticism from investors over excessive payments.
Unions said the figures exposed the “shocking excess” in the UK’s boardrooms.
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and the High Pay Centre among the pay packages of chief executives in FTSE 100 firms showed median pay rose by 11% in the past year.
Under the ‘ mean’ measure, which is more affected by this year’s very large payouts to chief executives (CEO) at Persimmon and Melrose Industries, pay rose by 23% to £5.6m, said the report.
Women make up 7% of FTSE 100 chief executives but earn 3.5% of total pay, said the report.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, said: “Despite increased investor activism and the planned introduction of pay ratio reporting, the evidence suggests that very little is changing when it comes to top pay in the UK.
“It’s disappointing to see that CEO pay has held up in the face of increasing pressure when average pay across the workforce has barely shifted in recent years.
“Given the ongoing issues of trust in big businesses and a push for greater transparency, it really is time businesses and boards put greater scrutiny on high pay, and that they think much more objectively about what they are rewarding CEOs and how.”
Rachel Reeves, who chairs the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: “Excessive executive pay undermines public trust in business. When CEOs are happily banking ever larger bonuses while average worker pay is squeezed, then something is going very wrong.
“Recent revolts on pay awards show that shareholders are increasingly sharing this frustration at unjustifiable pay awards. Executive pay must match performance.”