According the High Pay Centre, a thinktank that campaigns for fairer pay, the average pay of FTSE 100 chief executives is 103 times the £33,000 average salary for full-time UK workers.
This means that by lunchtime on the third working day of 2024, a FTSE 100 company boss will have been paid more than a UK worker’s full annual salary.
So, this means that it takes approximately just three working days for a CEO to earn the FULL years pay of an average worker in the UK.
The study also shows that the pay gap between bosses and workers has increased since 2020, as executive pay has risen by 9.5% while worker pay has risen by only 6%.
Shocking inequality
This is a disturbing example of inequality in the UK workplace, which has been exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis and the strike action by many low-paid workers.
Some economists have called for UK government to intervene and reduce the unfair pay gap, such as putting workers on company boards, taxing wealth more fairly, and working with employers and unions to create better living standards.
Wealth creators
There is a place for wealth creators but not for greedy wealth takers. We need businesses to be successful to maintain good levels of employment. But unnecessary wealth greed has no place in our modern society.