‘Shocking excess’ in UK boardrooms as CEO pay soars

The rise compares to 2 per cent for full-time UK workers and leading Unions to says the figures exposed the “shocking excess” in Britain’s boardrooms.

FTSE 100 CEO median pay now stands at £3.93 million per year, an increase on £3.53 million in 2016.

The analysis is affected by two very large payouts for the CEOs at Persimmon and Melrose Industries (£47.1 million and £42.8 million respectively).

As a result of this, this year’s CIPD/High Pay Centre report leads with the median, rather than the mean figure.

Using the median measure of CEO remuneration reduces the impact of these two outliers, but it still shows an increase in earnings of 11 per cent, compared to the 2 per cent rise in median pay enjoyed by full-time workers over this period.

However, if the mean measure is used, then it shows that CEO mean pay across all FTSE 100 companies has increased by 23 per cent over the same period, from £4.58 million in 2016 to £5.66 million in 2017.

Excluding Persimmon and Melrose Industries from the analysis would see the 2017 mean CEO single figure fall from £5.66 million to £4.85 million. However, this is still higher than last year’s overall mean figure of £4.58 million by 6 per cent, showing this continued underlying trend of rising executive pay.

Further highlights from this year’s CIPD and High Pay Centre analysis include:

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: “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. If boards and remuneration committee chairs are so out of touch they are prepared to waive through off-thescale reward packages, then shareholders must strike back and hold them to account. If businesses don’t step up on executive pay, then government will need to step in.”

Tim Roache, GMB general secretary, said: “These figures expose shocking excess in UK company boardrooms.

“We live in a country where company fat cats get paid 400 times more than the dedicated, hardworking carers who look after our nearest and dearest.”

“Evidence suggests very little is changing when it comes to top pay in the UK”