Executive pay in the FTSE 100: 2020 review
Our latest CEO pay report highlights the growing need for remuneration reform at the top

Our latest CEO pay report highlights the growing need for remuneration reform at the top
Our annual report with the High Pay Centre sheds light on CEO remuneration, and the impact COVID-19 and the economic crisis has so far had on CEO pay, between 2019 to 2020.
Our analysis shows that median CEO pay has declined marginally between 2018 and 2019, but the typical FTSE 100 CEO still gets £119 every time the average UK full-time worker earns £1 (compared to £123 in 2018). We also found no evidence that companies have begun to address the fundamental flaws in the executive pay-setting process.
36 firms have cut CEO pay due to the impact of COVID-19, but the most common action has been to cut executive directors’ salaries or non-executive directors’ fees by 20%. Considering that salaries typically make up just one fifth of total CEO earnings, these cuts seem relatively small.
This underscores the need for remuneration committees (RemCos) to rethink the way they set executive pay. Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the CIPD says: 'Now more than ever RemCos should be looking at wider workforce issues and organisational cultures to help them determine CEO pay, rather than just financial targets being met.'
While this research is based on the UK context, the broader implications should be of interest wherever you are based.
Download the full report
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