"FTSE 100 bosses make more money in less than three days than the average worker does in a year"

The High Pay Centre estimates that FTSE 100 CEOs’ earnings for 2025 will surpass the median UK worker’s full time annual salary today, just before midday on Monday 6 January

FTSE 100 bosses’ will have to work two hours more to overtake UK median worker than they did in 2024

Calculations based on most recent available figures for CEOs and other top professions, plus Government data on UK workers’ pay.

The median FTSE 100 CEO’s earnings for 2025 will surpass the median annual salary for a full-time worker in the UK by around midday on Monday 6 January, according to HPC calculations.

The calculations are based on HPC’s  analysis of the most recent CEO pay disclosures published in companies’ annual reports, combined with government statistics showing pay levels across the UK economy.

As with last year, the executive pay data suggests that CEOs will have to work less than three days of 2025 to surpass the annual pay of the median worker.

Median FTSE 100 CEO pay (excluding pension) currently stands at £4.22 million, 113 times the median full time worker’s pay of £37,430. This represents a 2.5% increase on median CEO pay levels in the past year, while the median worker’s pay has increased by 7%.

In October, the new Government introduced an Employment Rights Bill, including measures promising to give trade unions reasonable access to workplaces to speak to workers and requiring employers to inform new employees of their right to join a union. The decline in trade union membership is widely recognised to have been a key factor in rising CEO to worker pay gaps and widening inequality that has occurred in the UK and across other Western countries since the 1980s.

HPC’s Charter for Fair Pay, published last Autumn called for effective implementation of the Employment Rights Bill as well as further measures giving workers more of a voice in the running of companies.

FTSE 100 bosses make more money in less than three days than the average worker does in a year • High Pay Centre

FTSE 100 chief executives 'earn average salary within 3 days'

 

By 5.30pm today (Wednesday 6 January) the average FTSE 100 Chief Executive would have already earned more this year than the average annual salary of UK workers. They only had to work 34 hours to earn £31, 461 which is the average medium wage for full time workers. 

Median FTSE 100 chief executive pay was £3.61m in 2019.

This is 120 times more than average. .

While many would accept that Chief Executives of large successful companies should get decent pay why has this ratio from average to top earner increased from estimated 50 times in 2000 and 20 times in the 1980s? 

A rather strange justification from the Adam Smith Institute for such a massive growth in pay for Chief Executives. Claiming that studies show the negative impact of deaths of CEOs on company share prices? A Vicky Pollard justification for such silliness. Of course a company share price would tend to be negatively impacted if its CEO dies suddenly. 

The Adam Smith Institute ought to remember what their names sake wrote in 1776 about shareholders being ripped off by agents (modern day chief executives) 

All these pay deals for chief executives are voted upon at annual general meetings. ESG advisor PIRC reminds pension trustees such as myself that "There's a pretty easy test for trustees here - check your asset managers' voting records. If they are voting for most executive remuneration policies they are helping to create this outcome. If you don't like what you see, don't let them vote your shares".

I shall look forward to my next trustee meeting

Hat tip BBC, High Pay and TUC. 

Stop a £43m fat cat pay deal - Tell your pension fund to say NO to Martin Sorrell rip off at WPP

"Dear John, the FTSE fat cats are at it again. Advertising and marketing company WPP wants to pay its boss, Sir Martin Sorrell, £43m this year. That’s 2378 times what you'd earn on the London Living Wage.

Last November, you emailed your pension fund about a high pay deal at BG Group - and it worked. [2] The company received a barrage of opposition from shareholders, including pension funds, and the pay deal was cut. Your voice had a real impact. It's time to do it again.

Take two minutes to make sure your pension fund votes NO to £43m a year at WPP on Tuesday.

At WPP's annual general meeting on Tuesday, shareholders including our pension funds will be asked to vote to approve the pay deal. As savers, we have an opportunity to make sure shareholders vote no to this excessive pay package.

This deal is seen as very high even within the industry. One group, Glass Lewis, has recommended that shareholders vote against the "wholly excessive" pay deal. However another group, ISS, has said shareholders should vote in favour despite labelling the pay deal "exceptionally high." [1]

Tell your pension fund to vote NO using this quick and easy tool.

With the industry divided, it's more important than ever that pension funds hear from their customers on this issue. Let's make sure WPP knows that it can't get away with spending shareholders' money on such excessive high pay.

Thank you,

Colette, Matt, Grace and the rest of the team at ShareAction.

[1] The Guardian: Sir Martin Sorrell's pay package labelled 'excessive' by investor advisory group
[2]: The Guardian: BG Group cuts Helge Lund's 'golden hello' after shareholder pressure"

Bosses keep paying themselves far more than their companies earn

This is what happens when there are no employee representatives on company pay committees which decide what executives are paid.

If Labour win they will ensure that worker representatives are elected to every large company pay committee.

This should help keep greedy snouts out of the trough.

"Briefing 57: Top pay increases are way out of proportion to company performance

 

Britain's top executives are supposed to be paid according to how their companies perform - but pay in recent years has increased far more quickly than performance.

 

Check out data at Inequality Briefing"

"Fat Cat Wednesday"

Did you realise that yesterday was "Fat Cat Wednesday"? "Top executives will have earned more money by mid-morning today than the average worker does in a year, making it "fat cat Wednesday", a new report says.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/01/07/workers-pay_n_4555778.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

The High Pay Centre think tank said chief executives in the FTSE 100 were paid an average of almost £4.3 million in 2012, equivalent to an hourly wage of well over £1,000, compared with the country's average annual wage of £26,000.

Executive pay has increased by 74% over the past decade, while wages for ordinary workers have remained "flat", the study found. Company bosses who returned to work on Monday after the festive break will have made more money in 2014 by mid-morning today than the annual salary of average workers, said the report.

UNISON Comment: Our pension funds should be voting NO to these outrageous pay deals at the company AGMs!"

Hat tip UNISON Capital Steward website

AMNT Open meeting 26 September 2013

Photo college is from the recent open meeting of the Association of Member Nominated Trustees.

The first agenda item was a presentation on "DB Schemes: Solvent Employer, wind-up or buyout" with AMNT Executive member Robin Bell and Louise Inward from our hosts at the Pension Insurance Corporation. Which used the Pension Regulator "On line" trustee toolkit to work out the problems and pitfalls facing a DB scheme in trouble.

Next was Joint Chair, Janice Turner who briefed everyone about current AMNT activities. Our membership has continued to grow. We have made significant contributions to government and regulatory policy on pensions and trusteeship. We have held successful and well attended open meetings and make our presence known by speaking in conferences and writing articles for the pension press.

We have been successful in our fund raising and have now employed an administrator, Kate Bendy, on a part time basis to support the AMNT objectives and our volunteer executive committee.

Pension Minister Steve Webb MP, was our keynote speaker and took part in a Q&A at our Summer Conference. Ewan McGaughey, a researcher from the London School of Economics, at the summer conference described the AMNT as “unique” and “the most important development in Pension Governance in 50 years”

We launched our AMNT DC and Auto-enrolment video kindly developed with Barings Asset Manager.

The picture of our other Vice Chair of the AMNT, “Red” Barry Parr, was on the front cover of July 2013 “Pensions Insight” magazine. Janice also mentioned my award as “Most influential Trustee” at the Mallowstreet Awards September 2013.

Next I spoke to the meeting about the latest updated edition of our hard hitting AMNT "Defend DB schemes" guide which all trustees whose sponsor wants to close their schemes either to new members or future accrual should consider. We also offer our members individual advice and support if they are going thorough this process. Modern defined benefit pension schemes are as affordable and sustainable as they have ever been. This guide is for members only.

Afterwards Catherine Howarth from ShareAction and Luke Hildyard from the High Pay Centre (see main picture) spoke about "Responsible investing: what corporate factors influence investment returns? Is high executive pay an issue for trustees?" Many asset owners believe they are being ripped by their senior executives. Catherine argues that Pension funds should publish their fund managers voting decisions so that they can be held to account. They should also develop their own voting policy on Executive pay and make sure that fund managers follow it.

Luke beleives that high pay ratios demoralise employee base, they create more conflict, more costs, less productivity. Massive pay attracts the wrong people, it creates false sense of invincibility and
lavish pay policies lead to poor performance, poor decisions and poor value for shareholders.

After lunch we had AMNT member Martin Taylor (bottom right) and a call to action on "What's to be done about fees and charges?". Martin would like trustees to work collaboratively together to drive down fees and charges.

David Barker from the Mercer DC and Saving team who argued that while there was still some awful bad value DC pensions schemes in the UK that the industry had improved dramatically in recent years. He also pointed out the the big Australian DC schemes treated non active members badly and that the big Dutch pension schemes that everyone raved about were currently in the process of reducing pensions of those currently retired. Which could not happen in the UK.

I then had to leave before the end of the day but I understand that the presentation by Terri-Ann Humphreys from the Pension Management Institute (PMI) went really well. The PMI set exams and standards for much of the pension world and it is everyone's benefit that the AMNT and the PMI work closely together.I also missed "Ensuring good governance of DC schemes (and DB too!)" and "How do you keep control of outsourced services" by Jamie Dobbin from PIC.

Our next AMNT open meeting will be at the House of Commons with Shadow Minister of Pensions Gregg McClymont MP on Wednesday 27 November 2013. Details to follow.

WPP: Have your say on High Pay

(better late than never) "Dear John,

You might not have heard of WPP but you’ll have seen what they do. They are the world’s largest advertising group, producing adverts for companies like Nike, Heineken and Coca Cola.

On Wednesday, at its annual meeting of shareholders, WPP will put its CEO’s pay package to the vote. That pay package gives WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell:

• Total pay of £29 million
• A 60% pay rise
• An increase in his potential bonus from 300% to 500% of his salary

http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/highpay/wpp

In 48 hours FairPensions will be at WPP's meeting in Dublin*. It’s time to tell overpaying companies, starting with WPP, that enough is enough. We're asking supporters to add their names to a petition that we're going to present to the WPP board.

Sign the petition and we'll take your voice with us to the meeting in demanding WPP change their pay practices. 

http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/highpay/wpp

We want to send a clear message to WPP and other excessively paid FTSE 100 CEOs telling them that the days of spiralling executive pay are over. We've only got 48 hours until the WPP AGM so please do share this action with friends and colleagues.

Thanks for your support

Matthew, FairPensions

*WPP moved to Dublin in 2008 to take advantage of lower corporation tax rates than in the UK. For more information on WPP and why we're targeting them click here: http://www.fairpensions.org.uk/highpay/wpp/info "

Tired of Banker’s Bonuses? It’s about time we all Have Our Say on High Pay!

"Over the past decade, while executive pay has grown by over 323%, the average UK earnings have grown by a mere 54%. Across the nation, ordinary workers have felt outraged by the continuing gap between the lowest and the highest paid earners but felt powerless to do anything. This growing inequality is particularly distasteful considering the current economic situation, with high unemployment and pension cuts creating hardship for many.

But how can we tackle this culture of excess? Vince Cable thinks that it is up to the shareholders of companies to hold the boardroom to account. However, despite the vast increases in bonuses and single performance incentives, not to mention “Golden Hellos” (a hefty sum paid to attract talent to the company), average levels of shareholder dissent have been stuck at around 9%, with outright defeat for these pay packages at annual general meetings remaining a rare spectacle.

We all have the power to influence these shareholders, who are mainly compromised of institutional investors. These anonymous ‘institutions’ are, among others, the pension funds and insurance companies who look after our retirement savings. In other words, the owners of corporate Britain are no longer a few rich individuals: they include anyone with pension savings, or around 11 million of us. This is our money!

The responsible investment charity FairPensions has launched ‘Your Say on HighPay’ at www.fairpensions.org.uk/highpay This online action tool will email your pension fund or ISA provider telling them you want them to vote against excessive pay – and asking them to let you know about it. 

Whether the ‘Shareholder Spring’ proves to be a one-season wonder or something more permanent may yet be up to us". (Great guest post by MM).