Executives’ pay slashed for fourth year in a row
Chief executives of Britain’s leading companies had their pay slashed for the fourth straight year, according to new figures.
The median pay of chief executives of firms included in the blue chip FTSE 100 fell to £2.85m in 2020, down from £3.3m in the previous year, show figures published by Deloitte.
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Chief executives responded to the pandemic’s impact to their revenues by taking pay reductions, driving median pay on the index down.
Almost a third of bosses received no bonus in 2020, rising 6 per cent from 2019.
55 per cent of bosses could have to accept pay freezes in 2021, according to Deloitte.
Stephen Cahill, Vice Chairman of Deloitte, says: “Shareholders were clear at the outset of the pandemic that decisions on executive pay should reflect the wider workforce, investor and societal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Deloitte Vice Chair Stephen Cahill.
“While the vast majority have shown restraint, investors remain focussed on pay fairness and will vote against remuneration reports where executives are seen to be insulated from the wider stakeholder impact.”
Firms faced strong investor pressure over generous benefits for c-suite staff, with more than 95 per cent of firms agreeing to cut existing executives’ pensions.
Read more: Executive pay gap: Men get paid 23 per cent more than women at director level