By midday today (6 January), chief executives at the UK’s top 100 publicly listed companies will have earned more money than the median worker’s salary for the whole of 2025, according to analysis from the High Pay Centre.
However, this year, FTSE 100 bosses are having to work two hours more to overtake UK median worker than they did in 2024 because median earnings are rising faster.
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The High Pay Centre has estimated that FTSE 100 CEOs’ earnings for 2025 will surpass the median UK worker’s full-time annual salary at around 11:30am on Monday 6 January.
Median FTSE 100 CEO pay currently stands at £4.22 million (excluding pension), 113 times the median full-time worker’s pay of £37,430.
This represents a 2.5% increase on median CEO pay levels in the past year, while the median worker’s pay has increased by 7%.
The calculations are based on HPC analysis of the most recent CEO pay disclosures published in companies’ annual reports, and figures from the Office for National Statistics showing pay levels across the UK economy.
High Pay Centre director Luke Hildyard said: “A feeling that the economy works for the enrichment of a tiny elite at the expense of wider society is an underrated cause of populist anger and support for extremist politics. Policymakers who fail to address this inequality are storing up some big problems for the future.
“Reforms introduced by the new government enabling trade unions to reach more workers should help ordinary employees win a fairer share of income that is currently captured by super-rich executives and investors. Bolder measures like representation for elected worker directors on company boards and caps on executive pay would do more to ensure that the wealth generated by the UK economy is shared across the country in a way that’s sensible, sustainable and proportionate.”
The HPC calculations assume that CEOs work 62.5 hours a week, based on a study by Harvard Business School. This equates to 12.5 hours a day. Discounting weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales, this equates to hourly pay of £1,298 per hour.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Every working person plays a part in producing Britain’s wealth. But while millions of low-paid workers are still feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, people at the top are taking more than their fair share.
“The government’s Employment Rights Bill will help many workers by improving pay bargaining rights and job security. We also need reforms to rein in boardroom greed, including seats for workers on executive pay committees.”
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