Company fat cats lap up the cream


Unions slammed “fat cat” greed after it was revealed that median pay for chief executive officers (CEOs) in FTSE 100 companies has hit £3.93 million a year.


The annual assessment of CEO pay, carried out by the independent High Pay Centre and the CIPD body for HR professionals, also found that median pay of CEOs in top companies leapt by 11% between 2016 and 2017. The figure compares with a 2% rise in median workers’ pay over the same period.


The highest paid CEO was Jeff Fairburn of housebuilder Persimmon, who received £47.1 million, 22 times his 2016 pay. Simon Peckham, CEO of company turnaround group Melrose Industries, who received £42.8 million, 43 times his 2016 pay.


The research also showed that the average pay ratio between the CEOs and their employees is now 145:1, compared with 128:1 in 2016.


The GMB general union calculated that the average CEO salary was equivalent to the pay of 409 care workers, 286 refuse collectors, or 165 paramedics.


General secretary Tim Roache said: “These figures expose shocking excess in UK company boardrooms.…Working people create the wealth of this country – but they are the ones who suffer falling living standards while fat cats lap up the cream.”

http://highpaycentre.org/pubs/high-pay-centre-cipd-executive-pay-survey-2018