The head honchos of top FTSE 100 companies have already banked more money by noon today than an average worker would earn in a full year, a study by the High Pay Centre reveals. These chief executives took home an average of £4.4 million in salary and benefits last year, up from £4.22 million in 2024.

Once again, it appears that CEOs only need a few days of work to surpass the annual income of an average UK worker. The typical FTSE 100 bigwig earns 113 times more than a full-time worker, whose pay averages £39,039.

This analysis, released annually, follows the recent passing of the Employment Rights Act, which grants trade unions greater access to workplaces and mandates employers to inform new hires of their union rights. The High Pay Centre attributes the widening pay gap between executives and workers to the decline in union membership since the 1980s, calling for fairer pay practices and increased worker representation in corporate decision-making.

Andrew Speke, interim director of the High Pay Centre, highlights the stark disparity in how executives and workers are valued, emphasizing the need for corporate governance reforms and higher taxes on excessive executive pay to address deep-rooted inequalities and enhance social mobility.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak applauds the Employment Rights Act as a step toward improving working conditions for millions, but stresses the importance of curbing executive greed by ensuring worker representation in pay committees. Similarly, the GMB union underscores the necessity of the Workers’ Rights Act to empower workers in negotiating fair wages amidst the ongoing cost of living crisis.