British corporate chiefs reached record-breaking pay levels last year, with average FTSE 100 CEO compensation soaring 15.4 per cent to £5.91 million. Median CEO pay also grew by 6.8 per cent, according to the High Pay Centre's annual executive pay report.
The figures reveal a stark inequality gap, with top bosses now earning 122 times the median UK full-time worker salary of £37,430. The number of FTSE 100 companies willing to pay their CEOs £10 million or more annually rose from 10 to 13.
Peter Dilnott of Melrose Industries topped the pay charts, earning £45.5 million in total compensation. BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn received over £11 million, with the company riding high on arms sales to Israel and Keir Starmer's "war economy". According to the Independent, Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca earned £14.7 million.
Growing inequality concerns
Luke Hildyard from the High Pay Centre said: "The contrast between the multimillion-pound pay awards for the CEOs of Britain's biggest corporations and the wider economic uncertainty and social division across the country is really stark."
He warned these figures would fuel "a growing sense that low and middle earners don't get a fair share of the wealth that their work helps to create, while those at the top take much more than they merit or need."
The think tank highlighted evidence that higher trade union membership reduces pay gaps between executives and workers. Hildyard praised proposals in the Employment Rights Bill that could expand access to trade union representation.
Calls for radical reform
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: "Workers deserve more than scraps from the table whilst FTSE 100 CEOs get the prime cuts; we need a radical redistribution of wealth that uplifts pay, terms and conditions across the board."
She called for Labour ministers to target the top one per cent through a wealth tax, warning that without action "this rampant inequality will continue to grow." Foyer emphasised that upcoming Budget decisions represent a crucial opportunity for change.
The High Pay Centre advocates for reforms to corporate pay-setting rules to address what it describes as excessive spending on top earners while workers face ongoing economic pressures.
Sources used: "Morning Star", "Independent" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
