The great recession and austerity have been very good to the chief executives of Britain's biggest companies: according to the High Pay Center, the average compensation for FTSE 100 CEOs rose 10% in 2015, to £5.5m — meanwhile, UK workers' wages have stagnated year on year, averaging £28,200.
At a salary of £1,009/hour, the bosses of corporate Britain make the average worker's annual wage every two and a half days.
Campaigners at the Equality Trust highlighted the gulf between UK executives and key workers. Using High Pay Centre figures for 2015, it found average annual pay for a FTSE 100 boss was £5.48m, or 401 times that of a minimum wage worker. It was also 172 times more than a nurse's pay and 145 times more than a teacher's.The trust's executive director, Wanda Wyporska, said: "Bosses continue to rake in millions even when they fail, but those who care for us, protect us and teach our children are left struggling to get by. It's clear our priorities are all wrong."
The Fat Cat Wednesday calculation assumes bosses started back at work after Christmas on 2 January and is based on median FTSE 100 chief executive pay of £3.97m in 2015 – up from £3.87m in 2014.
UK bosses make more in two and a half days than workers earn all year
[Katie Allen/The Guardian]
10% pay rise? That'll do nicely
[High Pay Center]
(via Reddit)
(Image: Big Fat Cat, Tripp, CC-BY)
