The average FTSE 100 CEO earned nearly £5m last year, 183 times the average earnings of a full-time UK worker and a slight increase on the previous year, according to annual analysis by the High Pay Centre
The gap between those at the top of the company and the average full-time UK worker has increased, as CEOs were paid 182 times average worker earnings in 2013 and 160 times in 2010.
The data is based on remuneration disclosures in annual reports, which are now mandatory as a result of the 2013 Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act requirements.
FTSE 100 CEO pay has increased from £4.923m in 2013 and a £4.129m average in 2010. The top 10 highest-paid CEOs were earned a combined £156m.
‘Pay packages of this size go far beyond what is sensible or necessary to reward and inspire top executives,’ said Deborah Hargreaves, High Pay Centre director. ‘It’s more likely that corporate governance structures in the UK are riddled with glaring weaknesses and conflicts of interest.
‘The coalition government introduced some welcome reforms in 2013 that have at least enabled us to get a better understanding of the executive pay racket.
‘However, it’s clear that these reforms didn’t do nearly enough to start building a pay culture where everybody is rewarded fairly and proportionally for the work that they do.’
The findings indicate that only a quarter of FTSE 100 companies are living wage accredited. The High Pay Centre says that although shareholders now have the power to voice their opposition to executive pay policy at company AGMs, the average vote against pay awards across the FTSE 100 was just 6.4%.
The calculations compare the ‘single figure’ and historic comparisons on CEO pay from FTSE 100 annual reports with pay rates for the average full-time UK worker, based on figures in the annual survey of hours and earnings published by the Office for National Statistics.
The High Pay Centre supports calls for the UK to adopt a similar ruling to that set out by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this month, whereby companies have to publish the pay ratio between their CEO and median employee.
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