What is wrong with the UK economy

THE heads of Britain’s largest companies earned 131 times as much as their average employee last year, according to a study exposing the growing pay gap between bosses and workers.

The wage divide has more than doubled since 1998, when the average chief executive of firms in the FTSE 100 earnt 47 times as much as staff, the report, which was published on Monday, said.

The British government has brought in laws to curb executive pay and bonuses since the financial crisis, but a severe squeeze on wage growth has fuelled public anger about highly-paid senior executives.

“When bosses make hundreds of times as much money as the rest of the workforce, it creates a deep sense of unfairness,” said Deborah Hargreaves, director of the High Pay Centre think-tank, which wrote the report.

Martin Sorrell, who heads up marketing giant WPP, took home a pay package nearly 800 times bigger than his employees of 29.8 million pounds ($54.39 million), the study found.

At retailer Next, boss Simon Wolfson earned almost 460 times as much as his average worker in 2013 — but then chose to distribute his bonus to staff.

The chief of mining group Randgold Resources, Mark Bristow, was paid 4.4 million pounds last year — 231 as much as his average employee.

The study comes after the Bank of England last week halved its pay growth forecast for this year to below the rate of inflation at 1.25 per cent.

Ben_Reilly wrote:I interviewed the CEO of a large American corporation once, I asked him what a CEO actually did all day. He told me that he was in meetings from the time he got to work to the time he got home. Which means, he signs off on other people's ideas that they actually researched and put time into.

A big part of why the world is so messed up is that we keep rewarding these lizard-brain people ...

veya_victaous wrote:http://www.news.com.au/finance/work/uk-bosses-are-earning-131-times-more-than-staff/story-e6frfm9r-1227030046266

THE heads of Britain’s largest companies earned 131 times as much as their average employee last year, according to a study exposing the growing pay gap between bosses and workers.

The wage divide has more than doubled since 1998, when the average chief executive of firms in the FTSE 100 earnt 47 times as much as staff, the report, which was published on Monday, said.

The British government has brought in laws to curb executive pay and bonuses since the financial crisis, but a severe squeeze on wage growth has fuelled public anger about highly-paid senior executives.

“When bosses make hundreds of times as much money as the rest of the workforce, it creates a deep sense of unfairness,” said Deborah Hargreaves, director of the High Pay Centre think-tank, which wrote the report.

Martin Sorrell, who heads up marketing giant WPP, took home a pay package nearly 800 times bigger than his employees of 29.8 million pounds ($54.39 million), the study found.

At retailer Next, boss Simon Wolfson earned almost 460 times as much as his average worker in 2013 — but then chose to distribute his bonus to staff.

The chief of mining group Randgold Resources, Mark Bristow, was paid 4.4 million pounds last year — 231 as much as his average employee.

The study comes after the Bank of England last week halved its pay growth forecast for this year to below the rate of inflation at 1.25 per cent.

well from 47 times the average wage to 131 times the average wage is 84 average wages you have to slash. No wonder UK economy is so bad, 1 CEO (arguably the members of society with the least REAL output) are being paid more than 100 real workers.

Fuzzy Zack wrote:So how many times the average wage of an employee should a CEO be paid then?

Keep in mind it's the average pay.

veya_victaous wrote:

Fuzzy Zack wrote:
So how many times the average wage of an employee should a CEO be paid then?

Keep in mind it's the average pay.

Personally I would push to limit to 20 times but would be willing to accept up to 50 times
anything more than that and I think it is time for VIVA LA REVOLUTION
 

Lone Wolf wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:

Fuzzy Zack wrote:
So how many times the average wage of an employee should a CEO be paid then?

Keep in mind it's the average pay.

Personally I would push to limit to 20 times but would be willing to accept up to 50 times
anything more than that and I think it is time for VIVA LA REVOLUTION
 

  

NO CEO's are even worthy of salaries 20x the national average family income, let alone 50 times   !!!

I would limit the CEO's basic salary-package to only 6 times the average worker's basic income for that particular corporation  ~  AND THEN pay his bonuses only in the way of reasonable share issues and discounts..

THIS way the CEO's are paid purely on performance (inc. social and environmental costs in a suitably expanded "performance criteria" agreement..), and not based on some corporate chum/'old boys pissing in each other's pockets..' backroom deals.