THE chief executive officers of some of Britain's biggest businesses have received an 11 per cent pay rise in a year despite recent prominent criticism from the investor community and Government over excessive pay awards, writes Brian Donnelly.
Research from professional body the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and independent think-tank the High Pay Centre found that the 2017 FTSE 100 CEO median pay was £3.93 million, an increase on £3.53m in 2016.
The highest paid CEO in 2017 was Jeff Fairburn of Persimmon plc, above, who received £47.1m, 22 times his 2016 pay, which was largely due to a long-term incentive plan dating back to 2012.
READ MORE: Director highlights change in executive pay policy at Glasgow engineering giant
Simon Peckham of Melrose Industries plc received £42.8m, 43 times his 2016 pay, also connected to an incentive plan.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, said: "It’s disappointing to see that CEO pay has held up in the face of increasing pressure when average pay across the workforce which has barely shifted in recent years."
READ MORE: David Watt: Equal chances are the key to equal pay
Rachel Reeves, MP and chair of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said: "Excessive executive pay undermines public trust in business. When CEOs are happily banking ever larger bonuses while average worker pay is squeezed, then something is going very wrong.
"If businesses don't step up on executive pay, then Government will need to step in."
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