THE average pay of a chief executive in leading companies is almost £5 million - 183 times that of workers, a new study has revealed.
The top 10 highest-paid chief executives (CEOs) were paid over £156 million between them in 2014, prompting fresh calls for action to curb executive pay.
Research among FTSE 100 companies by the High Pay Centre think tank found that average pay jumped to £4.964 million in 2014, compared with £4.129 million in 2010.
The figure was 183 times the earnings of average full-time workers, up from 160 times in 2010.
High Pay Centre director Deborah Hargreaves said: "Pay packages of this size go far beyond what is sensible or necessary to reward and inspire top executives.
"It's more likely that corporate governance structures in the UK are riddled with glaring weaknesses and conflicts of interest
"The coalition Government introduced some welcome reforms in 2013 that have at least enabled us to get a better understanding of the executive pay racket.
"However it's clear that these reforms didn't do nearly enough to start building a pay culture where everybody is rewarded fairly and proportionally for the work that they do."
The average pay ratio between FTSE 100 chief executives and the average wage of their employees was 148 last year, up from 146 in 2013.
Only a quarter of the FTSE 100 firms are accredited to the Living Wage Foundation for paying the living wage, the report added.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "Inequality is reaching stratospheric levels.
"Ordinary employees need to be included in workplace pay committees to add some common sense and reality to boardroom pay decisions."
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