The boss of supermarket chain J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) saw his pay almost triple last year, as Britain’s households struggle with rising food and petrol prices and soaring energy costs.
Sainsbury’s revealed in its annual report that Simon Roberts, who took over as chief executive in June 2020, received £3.8mln in pay and bonuses in the year to March 2022, up from £1.3mln the previous year, when he waived his bonus because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Roberts’ pay packet was 183 times larger than that of the median worker at the UK’s second-biggest supermarket chain, the Guardian reported.
It said staff directly employed in Sainbury’s stores have received a 5.3% pay increase, well below the UK's 9% inflation rate.
The grocer pays ‘the living wage’ to its direct employees, but has declined to do so for its contractors, which provide services such as cleaning and security.
The company is facing a vote at its AGM on 7 July brought by shareholders who want it to set pay in line with levels set by the charity The Living Wage Foundation.