Taken together, the current UK framework gives shareholders the information and the powers with which to hold companies to account on executive pay. Shareholders are increasingly demonstrating their readiness to voice their dissatisfaction over executive pay when it is poorly structured or not matched by performance. There was a sharp rise in shareholder objections to FTSE100 executive pay last year—18 of the FTSE100 attracting shareholder opposition of 20% or more, double the number of the previous year. The Government has stated that its immediate priority is to focus on the effective implementation and then assessment of the most recent reforms before considering significant further changes. However, the Government was clear in its response to the consultation on the Corporate Governance Reform Green Paper in 2017 that it would monitor the impact of the reforms and would consider further action at a future point unless there is clear evidence that companies are taking active and effective steps to respond to significant shareholder concerns about executive pay outcomes.
Recommendations in the report include:
• that the new regulator clarifies and strengthens its guidance on executive remuneration with a view to exerting significant downward pressure, avoiding unjustifiable payments and ensuring that, if they are made, they can be readily recovered. • that companies should be required to appoint at least one employee representative to the remuneration committee to ensure that there is full discussion of the link between executive pay and that of the workforce as a whole. • that pay ratio reporting requirements be expanded to include all employers with over 250 employees and that the lowest pay band be included alongside the quartile data required.
Pages 33 to 36 of the report ‘Executive rewards: paying for success’ details all the recommendations (of which there are several) made by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee and also the responses from government.
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ONS Figures show UK wage growth has slowed and unemployment has fallen 15 November 2019
Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that UK wage growth has slowed but unemployment has fallen
The figures have revealed that, whilst unemployment figures have decreased, so has the number of people in work. Unemployment figures were listed as 1.31 million, which is a decrease of 23,000, in the period from July – September. Conversely, 32.75 million people were classed as being in work for the same period, which is a fall of 58,000. The ONS explained that the decrease in the number of employed individuals could be attributed to the closure of large store chains in the retail sector, with several big names recently going into administration.
Average earnings have increased by 3.6% which is less than the 3.8% growth observed in the previous month, which indicates that wage growth in the UK has slowed slightly. Average gross weekly pay was £470.
An ONS spokesperson commented, “The employment rate is higher than a year ago, though broadly unchanged in recent months. Vacancies have seen their biggest annual fall since late 2009 but remain high by historical standards. The number of EU nationals in work was very little changed on the year, with almost all the growth in overseas workers coming from non-EU nationals."
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Gumtree Jobs research highlights 25% gender pay gap in hospitality sector for low-income jobs
The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals
Payroll: need to know
cipp.org.uk
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