In its annual report, investment bank Goldman Sachs revealed that it paid its bankers an average of $373,265 (approximately £245,500) in 2014.

Debbie Lovewell, deputy editor, Employee Benefits

In total, the bank set aside $12.69 billion (around £8.35 billion) to pay 34,000 employees’ compensation and benefits packages, which include salaries, discretionary compensation, equity awards and benefits.

Statistics from the Office for National Statistics, meanwhile, showed that both total pay (including bonuses) and regular pay (excluding bonuses) increased year on year, above the rate of price inflation.

However, its report also showed that the average regular pay for UK employees stood at £455 per week between September and November 2014, while total pay averaged £483 per week – both of which are a huge gulf away from the type of salaries enjoyed by Goldman Sachs’ banking employees.

I appreciate that is an extreme example, with the investment bank paying the type of salaries for some staff which are not seen to the same extent in other sectors, but it does serve to highlight the pay gap that exists in the UK.

Is it time for employers to do more to review their remuneration packages to bring about a more even distribution of income?

Debbie Lovewell-Tuck
Editor
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Debbie Lovewell-Tuck is a business journalist with 20 years’ experience specialising in pay, reward and HR. She joined Employee Benefits as a reporter in 2003, before becoming editor in 2015. Debbie is also responsible for editorial content across Employee’ Benefits events, including Employee Benefits Live and the Employee Benefits Awards, as well as hosting Employee Benefits’ webinars.View full profile

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