The chief executives of the UK’s 100 biggest companies pocketed a pay increase of 39% last year and earned 109 times more than the median full-time worker, new research revealed.
Median FTSE 100 CEO pay increased to £3.41mln in 2021 from £2.46mln in 2020, according to a report by the High Pay Centre think tank and the Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The highest paid CEO was Sebastien De Montessus of mining company Endeavour, who earned £16.85mln in 2021, followed by AstraZeneca boss Pascal Soriot, who was paid £13.86mln.
The annual bonuses of FTSE 100 CEOs increased to £1.4mln last year from £828,000 the year before and £1.1mln in pre-Covid 2019 - with 90% of CEOs receiving a bonus.
The High Pay Centre said its research raises questions around inequality, pay and responsible business practice in the UK.
“Very high executive pay is a big part of the cost of living problem. If large employers are paying millions more to already very wealthy executives, that makes it harder to fund pay increases for low and middle income workers,” said Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre.
“If incomes in the UK were shared more evenly, that would significantly raise the living standards of the people hit hardest by the current economic crisis, while those at the top probably wouldn’t notice much difference to their lifestyles.”
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Workers deserve a fair share of the wealth they create. But right now, CEO pay is soaring while working people experience the biggest real wage falls in 20 years.
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“These unbalanced pay policies have seen the gap widen between workers and bosses this year, adding to the cost of living crisis," she said.
The TUC and the High Pay Centre called for reforms to the corporate pay-setting processes, such as employee representation on remuneration committees; trade union access to workplaces to tell workers about the benefits of union membership; and requirements for companies to disclose more details of pay for both top and low earners.