FTSE 100 CEO’s earnings for 2022 will surpass the median annual wage for a full-time worker in the UK by around 09:00am on Friday 7 January.
The calculations come from the High Pay Centre analysis of CEO pay disclosures in companies annual reports, combined with government statistics showing pay levels across the UK economy.
This is the first time since the High Pay Centre was founded in 2011 that CEOs have needed to work into a fourth day in order to make the same pay a full-time worker would make in a year.
The most recent figures on CEO pay showed a 17% fall to £2.7 million in 2020 from £3.25 million the previous year, in light of the temporary pay cuts and bonus cancellations many companies announced during the initial lockdowns following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Most FTSE 100 firms have not yet announced CEO pay for their financial year ending in 2021, but 57% of those that have recorded an increase on 2020 levels.
Responding to the research, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“The pandemic has shown us all who keeps the country going during a crisis. There are millions of hardworking people in Britain – from carers, to delivery drivers, to shop floor staff – who give more than they get back. But greedy executives are taking home millions while ordinary workers face yet another year of pay squeezes.
“As we emerge from the pandemic, we need to redesign the economy to make it fair. And that means big reforms to bring CEO pay back down to earth.
“Executive pay committees have to change. They should be required to include workforce representatives who can speak up for a fair balance of pay with ordinary workers. And incentive schemes for company directors should be replaced by profit share schemes that include the whole workforce. Too much wealth is being hoarded at the top.”
