Leading social scientists issue warning after call by business leaders and London Stock Exchange
Sun 24 Mar 2024 20.01 EDT
More than 20 leading social scientists have warned the UK’s biggest investment companies and pension funds that allowing US-style executive pay packages could “create a significant risk of higher inequality” and “much worse lower levels of happiness, health and wellbeing across society”.
The academics said they had decided to speak out as an increasing number of British business leaders and the London Stock Exchange have argued for much higher pay awards to improve the UK’s competitiveness.
This is despite the bosses of the 100 largest UK-listed companies collecting median average pay of £4.4m in 2022 (the latest year available). The figure represents a 16% increase on the previous year, and is 118-times the median UK worker, according to the High Pay Centre thinktank. AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, was the best-paid, collecting a £17m pay package last year.
The drug company, along with HSBC, LSEG – the…
