FTSE 100 bosses' pay 'overtakes average UK salary in less than three days'

FTSE 100 chief executives will need to work fewer than three days in 2026 to earn more than the typical annual salary of a full-time British worker, new analysis has revealed. The High Pay Centre predicts that the earnings of FTSE 100 bosses will exceed the average pay of UK workers just before midday on Tuesday.

It estimates that the average annual salary for chief executives of Britain's blue-chip companies stands at £4.4million, equating to an hourly rate of £1,353.23 and 113 times higher than the £39,039 typical salary of a full-time British worker. The High Pay Centre, a think tank campaigning for fair pay, worked out these figures using salary information from companies' annual reports and official Government data. Andrew Speke, interim director of the High Pay Centre, said the statistics "once again emphasise the huge gulf in how the work of most people is valued compared to a small number of feted executives".

He added: "The idea that executives, as a class, are individually contributing over 100 times more in value than the workers they rely on is simply not credible."

The High Pay Centre and several trade unions have expressed hopes that the Employment Rights Act, which received Royal Assent in December, might help narrow the growing divide between executive pay and worker salaries.

Andy Prendergast, the national secretary of the GMB union, said workers are only just beginning to see their wages increase again after struggling through the cost-of-living crisis. "But fat cats are still creaming it in. That's why the Employment Rights Act is so crucial: to give workers a level playing field to get the pay they deserve," he said.

This follows comments made by Dame Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, in November, stating that UK companies were becoming more "forceful" in offering higher pay packages to attract top talent.

According to a recent report by the High Pay Centre, FTSE 100 chief executive pay increased by 6.8% for the 2024-25 financial year, reaching a record £4.58 million from £4.29 million the previous year.

Among the highest earners were Simon Peckham and Peter Dilnot, the former and current heads of aerospace manufacturing company Melrose Industries, who received a combined salary of £58.9 million in 2024-25.

In December, non-listed betting company Bet365 faced criticism when it was revealed that chief executive Denise Coates received a pay package of at least £280 million in 2025.

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), stated that while the Employment Rights Act will help improve the working rights of millions, further reforms are needed to address pay inequalities.

"The Government must act to rein in boardroom greed - including by guaranteeing workers a seat on executive pay committees", Mr Nowak said.

The High Pay Centre has revealed that partners at the so-called Magic Circle law firms are projected to exceed the average UK worker's salary by 8 January, while material risk takers at FTSE 100 banks will do so by 16 January.

Partners at the Big Four accountancy firms will surpass average worker earnings by 20 January, with those in the top 1% of UK earners exceeding the figure by 19 March.