Why making the CEO uncomfortable can be good for HR

Of late, there has been more notable brouhaha over what-is-perceived-to-be-excessive CEO pay. The proof is in the headlines. BT’s shareholder backlash over the pay packet of its CEO topped financial news sections - but no longer is it story that stands out.

Shell, Lloyds, AstraZeneca, William and BP are other big-name firms that have experienced backlash against Executive pay – all attracting beady-eyed reporting on the disconnect between what CEOs thought they were worth and what shareholders and pressure groups disagreed with.

It’s hardly surprising. Consider that the UK is home to half of Europe’s best-paid CEOs, something with HR Grapevine’s sister news outlet, Executive Grapevine, reported on earlier this week, and that they’re now taking home, on average, just over £5million a year - figures that seem to be getting farther away from what the average worker earns.

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The differential is indeed huge. FTSE 100 CEO is paid 160 times more than the average full-time UK worker. A figure which has rocketed from around 60 times more in the 1990s.