Fat cat rail bonuses to be curbed

FAT cat Network Rail bosses are to have their ‘mega-bonuses’ slashed – but will still be able to earn an extra 20pc of their salary as an incentive to improve.

The rail firm said the age of excessive pay hikes is over and ‘the ‘potential to earn large bonuses is no longer sustainable’. Unions gave a cautious welcome to ‘the sinner that repententh – even at the 11th hour’ and said the end of rail bosses ‘imitating the get rich quick mentality of bonus-driven wideboys in the City’ was long overdue.

The shake-up follows over more than a decade of controversial bonus payments, failings over levelcrossing safety, and a failure to hit key performance and punctuality targets.

Under the new regime proposed long-term bonuses are to be scrapped, and annual bonuses will be restricted to a maximum 20pc of salary.

This replaces the existing bonus scheme which saw top executives eligible for a performance-related annual bonus worth up to 60pc of salary but also a three-year rolling bonus worth up to 100pc of salary.

Salaries will not be increased to compensate for the reduced bonuses, the firm pledged.

Nevertheless, if the performance targets are met, chief executive Mark Carne, who earns £675,000 a year, could still earn an additional annual bonus of up to £135,000.