Another bumper year for the big earners in the boardroom.

While most people struggle with the cost of living it has been another bumper year for the beancounters in the boardroom.

The bosses of the UK’s biggest companies saw their pay jump 16% in 2022, according to annual research by the High Pay Centre.

Boss salaries jump to 116 times that of the average worker

This sends the average earnings of a boardroom boss to 118 times that of the median salary of a full-time UK worker. Most workers are struggling with soaring inflation and rising living costs.

These are the salaries of managers, who may suffer stress and sleepless nights, but do not risk their own capital. People who can walk away with a pay off, if it all goes wrong. 

£3.91 million-a-year

The average wage of a CEO of the FTSE 100 company last year hit £3.91 million, the highest level since 2017 and 500,000 pounds up in 2021.

The research was carried out by the High Pay Centre. It is a think tank that campaigns for fairer pay and greater voice for workers on company boards.  

British bosses pay far less than the US

“At a time when so many households are struggling with living costs, an economic model that prioritises a half a million-pound pay rise for executives who are already multi-millionaires is surely going wrong somewhere,” said High Pay Centre Director Luke Hildyard.

British CEO pay remains far lower than in the United States. 

High executive pay has been contentious

A new study this month showed that S&P 500 chief executives made $16.7 million on average in 2022, 272 times the pay of their median workers, although that marked a decline on both measures over the prior year as CEO compensation fell with poor stock returns.

High executive pay in Britain has long been contentious, particularly with pay for ordinary workers rising far more slowly and barely budging in real terms over the past decade.