FTSE 100 directors have seen their total earnings increase by an average of 49% in the last financial year, and are now averaging £2,697,664 per year, according to research by Incomes Data Services (IDS).
The IDS Directors’ pay report found the average rise for:
- Chief executive officers (CEOs): 43.5%
The total earnings include fixed pay, salary and benefits, the value of bonuses earned during the year, both cash and deferred, plus the monetary value of an long-term incentive plan awards and the gains made through any share options cashed in during the year.
FTSE 100 directors saw their average bonus payments increase by 23%, from £737,624 in 2010 to £906,044 in 2011.
Steve Tatton, editor of the IDS report, said: “Britain’s economy may be struggling to return to pre-recession levels of output, but the same cannot be said of FTSE 100 directors’ remuneration.
“With closer scrutiny of boardroom pay expected in the future, remuneration committees will have to make sure that they are able to provide full and thorough justifications for the bonuses awarded.
“This means that they will have to be much more transparent about how total benefits packages are structured and how performance is measured.”
Len McCluskey, general secretary at union Unite, said: “This is an astonishing display of boardroom greed. It is exactly why people have been occupying St Paul’s Cathedral to protest against the behaviour of the City elite and a government which is turning a blind eye to these abuses.
“Directors of top companies should not be getting these outrageous packages, especially those heading up companies that are failing to perform. It is obscene and shows that the City has learnt nothing during the financial troubles of the last four years.”
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