The pay gap between FTSE 100 bosses and their workers has widened to its highest level in eight years, with chief executives now earning 130 times the average full-time UK salary. Median remuneration for FTSE 100 CEOs rose to a record £5.06m in the last financial year, an 8.6% increase on the previous year, according to the High Pay Centre’s final report.
The think tank, which is closing after 15 years of campaigning for fairer pay, found that FTSE 100 companies spent £856.6m on executive pay, including £550m on chief executives. The median wage for a full-time UK worker stands at £39,000. Andrew Speke, interim director of the High Pay Centre, said the growing gap should be a “wake-up call” and called for reforms to tackle corporate excess.
AstraZeneca’s Pascal Soriot was the highest-paid boss for the third time in four years, earning £17.7m. He was followed by GSK’s Emma Walmsley, the only woman in the top ten, who received £15.6m after a near-50% pay rise in her final year. Barclays’ CS Venkatakrishnan was paid £15m, Shell’s Wael Sawan £13.7m and Standard Chartered’s Bill Winters £12.7m.
The High Pay Centre is urging the new prime minister, Andy Burnham, to introduce a “fat-cat tax”, appoint workers to boards and fully implement Labour’s employment rights bill. Burnham has previously called for a public debate on excessive pay and promised to ease cost-of-living pressures. The think tank argues that high executive pay comes at the expense of broader workforce pay rises.
