The average FTSE 100 chief executive officer (CEO) earnings will surpass the median full-time UK worker’s annual salary at midday on Tuesday 6 January, according to data by the High Pay Centre.
The centre’s calculations are based on its analysis of CEO pay disclosures published in annual reports this month, along with government statistics on UK economy pay levels. The calculations assume CEOs work 62.5 hours a week, based on previous studies, and excluding weekends and bank holidays, this equates to £1,353.23 per hour on the basis of an average £4.398 million salary.
The findings highlighted that this is the same amount of time FTSE 100 CEOs had to work to achieve this result in 2025.
Excluding pensions, median FTSE 100 CEO pay amounted to £4.4 million, 113 times the median full-time worker’s pay of £39,039 and a 4.2% increase from £4.22 million last year. The pay ratio of 113 is the same as 2025.
It would take two hours for Peter Dilnot, CEO of global aerospace business Melrose, to surpass the median UK worker salary, on 5 January, four days for partners at Magic Circle law firms to do so by 8 January, and 10 days for material risk takers at FTSE 100 banks, on 16 January.
Additionally, to surpass the median UK worker salary it would take 12 days for partners at the Big Four accountancy firms, on 20 January, and 54 days for those in the top 1% of UK incomes, on 19 March.
A High Pay Centre spokesperson said: “In December, the Employment Rights Act received Royal Assent. Given that decline in trade union membership is viewed as a pivotal factor in the rise of excessive CEO to worker pay gaps and broader societal inequality, it is promising to see it will grant trade unions reasonable access to workplaces to speak to workers and require employers to inform new employees of their right to join a union.
“However, what is also clear is the need for more direct regulation of the gaps in pay between bosses and their staff. The High Pay Centre is launching a petition calling for a Fat Cat Tax on employers that pay executives vastly more than their workers. Under this, firms would pay a corporation tax surcharge on their yearly profits if single-figure remuneration for an executive director exceeds a specified multiple of the median UK worker’s salary.”
