• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Pay gap between workers and executives is ‘shocking’, report finds

Ocado's chief executive was paid £58.7 million last year - 2,605 times the £22,500 paid to the average staff member.

Henry Goodwin by Henry Goodwin
December 16, 2020
in News

The pay gap between companies and their chief executives is “shocking”, unions have said, calling on ministers to end the “runaway train” of inequality in British firms.

A report by the High Pay Centre think-tank revealed that online supermarket Ocado had the biggest pay gulf between those at the top of the company and those on the shop floor.

The company’s chief executive, Tim Steiner, was paid £58.7 million last year – 2,605 times the £22,500 paid to the average staff member. Steiner was therefore paid as much as the average Ocado worker’s yearly salary for just one day of work.

JD Sports was in second place, with its chief executive Peter Cowgill paid £5.6 million – but staff an average of just £18,300. Tesco meanwhile paid its outgoing chief executive 305 times the median pay at the supermarket chain.

Laurence Turner, head of research and policy at the GMB union, said: “This shocking and important report provides a vivid snapshot of the staggering inequalities and exploitation in the world of work on the eve of the coronavirus outbreak.

“There is no business or moral justification for paying an executive an obscene ratio of more than 2,000 times the average worker.

“Action is needed, especially at a time when hundreds of thousands of jobs are under threat and households are struggling to make ends meet. Ministers, employers, and shareholders must all put an end to this runaway train.”

‘Improve fairness at work’

The report found that, across the UK’s 100 biggest stock market listed companies, chief executives earn 73 times the amount paid to workers on average.

RelatedPosts

‘Exasperating’ – Campaigners slam decision not to review lockdown killing of woman by husband

‘Not good enough’ – anger over decision not to prioritise teachers for vaccine

Millionaires send plea to governments asking them to ‘tax us’

All for just £1,750! Treated like ‘animals’ and ‘prisoners’ says quarantine hotel traveller

Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said the findings provided “valuable new insight into the corporate cultures and working practices of some of the UK’s biggest employers”.

“These findings show that quite low levels of pay are commonplace for large numbers of workers at many of our major companies,” he added. 

“Hopefully the disclosures can help investors, policymakers and of course the companies themselves think more deeply about how to improve fairness at work, and pay for low-paid workers in particular.”

An Ocado spokesperson said: “The pay ratio is particularly high for 2019 due to the inclusion of the growth incentive plan (GIP), which was a five-year award granted in 2014 and vested in 2019. 

“The level of the GIP payment recognises the extraordinary performance of Ocado during this period when the business grew from a circa £1.5bn business to the multibillion pound technology-led global business we are today.”

Related: UNICEF to help feed British kids for the first time in history

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Euro Millions results Friday 26th February 2021

thunder ball results

Thunder Ball Results, Friday 26th February 2021

Undated handout photo issued by Gwent Police of Ruth Williams, whose husband, Anthony, is accused of killing his wife of 44 years during the coronavirus lockdown. PA Photo. Issue date: Tuesday March 31, 2020.

‘Exasperating’ – Campaigners slam decision not to review lockdown killing of woman by husband

‘Not good enough’ – anger over decision not to prioritise teachers for vaccine

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.