Pay: CEO's receive average annual salary in first three work days

The High Pay Centre (HPC) say that FTSE 100 CEOs’ earnings for 2025 have surpassed the median UK worker’s full time annual salary 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 are based on most recent available figures for CEOs and other top professions, plus Government data on UK workers’ pay.

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.

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%.

The HPC says that the "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," may address the link between declining union membership and the pay gap.