Average annual pay for workers at FTSE 100 companies ranges from pounds 8,480 to more than pounds 84,000, the Guardian’s annual survey reveals.
The lower reaches of the pay league are dominated by companies from just three industries – overseas mining, catering and retail, with Anglo-American, owner of the De Beers diamond mining operation, paying the lowest average wages.
However, workers at leisure and catering businesses Whitbread and Compass earned only marginally more. Whitbread, the owner of the David Lloyd health club chain and restaurants including Pizza Hut and Cafe Rouge, paid an average of just pounds 8,782 last year while contract caterer Compass was the third worst payer, with an average salary of pounds 9,272.
The sectors in which the two companies operate have far more than average numbers of part-time and short stay staff, but the Guardian survey reinforces the reputation of catering as a low wage business. The Hilton hotel group, the P&O Princess cruise line, now owned by Carnival, and Six Continents, now split into Intercontinental Hotels and M&B pubs, also appear in the lowest reaches of the rankings.
The other end of the pay scale is dominated by financial services and hi-tech businesses with hedge fund group Man paying out an average pounds 84,065 a year to its 2,347 employees. Fund manager Schroders occupies second place, paying an average pounds 83,150. Other top payers include venture capital group 3i (pounds 72,000), Reuters (pounds 64,365), ARM Holdings (pounds 50,377) and Shire Pharmaceuticals (pounds 49,727).
The biggest employer in the top pay league is BAE Systems – which pays an average pounds 41,043 to its 68,100 staff.
Last month chief executive of the Work Foundation Will Hutton told the trade and industry select committee investigating executive pay that in the late 1980s, the ratio of an average United States chief executive’s pay to that of a blue collar worker was 35:1; in Britain it was 25:1.
But by last year, he said, the American chief executive had widened that differential to 400-500:1 while his British counterpart could consider himself or herself badly off with a ratio of 50:1. Mr Hutton said there was a game of catch-up going on and an “entitlement culture” within Britain’s boardrooms, with executives now believing they are owed their large pay and perks.
Our survey shows the ratio of the chief executive’s salary to that of their workers ranging from 289:1 at Compass to just 52:1 at Man. At Cable & Wireless, it is a mere 10:1 and at ARM, the hi-tech company, it is 4:1 – almost worthy of Maoist China.
