It is estimated that the heads of Britain’s top companies have already made more money than the average worker in West Northamptonshire gets all year round.
The High Pay Center said some of the worst paying jobs in the country were key ones during the Covid-19 pandemic and that income inequality may now be harder to justify.
The think tank estimates the average annual salary of FTSE 100 CEOs in 2020 at £ 2.7 million (roughly £ 827.69 per hour of their 12.5 hour days) – the latest data available.
Register to our daily newsletter
The i-newsletter cut through the noise
It would take the average West Northamptonshire employee 88 years to earn the annual salary of a top CEO.
Assuming you start your work at 8:30 a.m., you already had on Thursday the 6th.
That means it would take the average West Northamptonshire employee 88 years to earn the annual salary of a top CEO.
The median is used to prevent the numbers from being skewed by particularly small or large wages, and CEOs are believed to work 62.5 hours per week.
Luke Hildyard, Director of the High Pay Center, said, “Covid-19 has shown how much we all depend on one another. Some of the worst paying jobs have played the most important role in keeping society functioning during the pandemic.
“As the value of the UK economy falls, so does the pressure to distribute what we have more evenly.
“In this context, large wage gaps between CEOs and employees can be more difficult to justify.”
The average salary in West Northamptonshire rose from £ 30,299 in 2020.
Meanwhile, the High Pay Center said CEO salaries fell 17 percent from £ 3.3 million in 2019 for full-time employees in the UK.
Danny Magill, Senior Research Officer at Equality Trust, said, “In a year this country faced unprecedented economic challenges, the salary packages of most CEOs have barely changed, demonstrating how far high-earning CEOs are from reality of ordinary workers have detached.
“While the taxpayer supported large corporations, it was essential workers who kept the economy alive during the pandemic, often for low wages, no sick pay, and great personal risk.”
Since women in West Northamptonshire earn less than men on average when they work full-time (£ 27,753 versus £ 33,091), FTSE 100 bosses will top their annual wages in just 34 hours.
The Adam Smith Institute said the shrinking gap between top and median wages was due to “public relations concerns,” difficult economic circumstances during the pandemic, and pressure on companies to get vacation benefits.
Daniel Pryor, research director for the neoliberal think tank, said, “For large companies, a wide range of economic research shows that small differences in top talent have an overwhelming impact on results.
“It is hardly surprising that they are willing to offer high salaries in order to attract the best in a time of global competition.”