Prime Highlights:
- FTSE 100 CEOs earn more in just three working days than the average UK worker will earn all year, highlighting the income gap.
- Experts say reforms and better corporate governance could help make pay fairer and give workers a stronger voice.
Key Facts:
- The median annual pay for FTSE 100 chief executives is £4.4 million, 113 times higher than the £39,039 earned by the median full-time worker.
- CEO pay averages £1,353 per hour, meaning bosses surpass a typical worker’s annual salary in less than 29 hours.
Background:
Chief executives of the UK’s largest listed companies will earn more than the average full-time worker’s entire annual salary before lunchtime on 6 January, highlighting the stark and widening gap between boardroom pay and employee earnings.
Analysis by the High Pay Centre shows that the median FTSE 100 chief executive receives £4.4 million a year, around 113 times more than the median full-time UK worker, who earns £39,039 annually. Based on these figures, top executives surpass a typical worker’s yearly income in less than 29 hours of work, reaching the milestone at approximately 11.30am on the third working day of 2026.
The thinktank estimates that FTSE 100 bosses earn an average of £1,353 per hour, or nearly £23 per minute, assuming a working week of about 62.5 hours. This year’s calculations underline how rapidly executive pay accumulates compared with wages across the wider workforce.
In 2025, the highest earners among FTSE 100 leaders were Melrose Industries executives Peter Dilnot and Simon Peckham, who collectively received close to £59 million, largely driven by long-term incentive schemes. AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot, previously the highest-paid FTSE 100 boss, ranked third after earning £14.7 million.
Trade union leaders have criticised the scale of the disparity. Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said many workers remain under pressure from rising living costs while those at the top continue to secure outsized rewards. He called on the government to curb “boardroom excess” by allowing worker representation on executive pay committees.
The High Pay Centre linked the growing pay divide to declining union membership and weaker worker influence. Its interim director, Andrew Speke, questioned the assumption that executives generate vastly more value than their employees, arguing that such pay multiples are difficult to justify.
The figures come weeks after the Labour government passed the Employment Rights Act, legislation designed to strengthen union access to workplaces and ensure new employees are informed of their right to join a union. Campaigners say the reforms could give workers more power, but bigger changes are still needed.
