Half a million pound pay rise given to FTSE 100 CEOs, research shows

29 Aug 2023

Research carried out by the High Pay Centre has revealed that median FTSE 100 CEO pay rose from £3.38 million in 2021 to £3.91 million in 2022.

The High Pay Centre stated that median CEO pay is now 118 times that of the average UK full-time worker. The latest figure represents the highest level of median pay since 2017, and is a 16% increase on the median FTSE 100 CEO pay recorded in 2021.

The data also showed that FTSE 350 firms spent more than one billion on executive pay, with 570 executives taking home pay totalling £1.33 billion. The High Pay Centre said that 'it is not desirable or sensible for companies... to prioritise a half a million pound pay rise for executives who are already multi-millionaires' at a time when many UK households are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

Commenting on the research, Paul Nowak, General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), said: 'While millions of families have seen their budgets shredded by the cost-of-living crisis, City directors have enjoyed bumper pay rises.

'This is why workers must be given seats on company boards to inject some much-needed common sense and restraint.

'We need an economy that delivers better living standards for all - not just those at the top.'