The bosses of the most valuable UK-listed companies will have to work less than three days of 2026 to earn more than a typical worker does in a year, new research shows.
The earnings of FTSE 100 chief executives will surpass the average salary of British workers just before midday on Tuesday, according to analysis from thinktank the High Pay Centre.
Average pay (excluding pension contributions) for heads of UK blue chip companies stands at £4.40m, equivalent to an hourly rate of £1,353.23 and 113 times the average full-time worker’s pay of £39,039.
The analysis is based on company pay disclosures and government statistics.
Money blog: Three major pension reforms happening in 2026
The CEOs are not the only business leaders being well paid. Partners at so-called Magic Circle law firms will earn the average UK full-time salary on 8 January, while partners at the Big Four accounting firms will do so on 20 January.
Those in the top 1% of incomes will reach the point on 19 March.
Bank of America boss Brian Moynihan warns countries to ‘be careful’ when raising tax
First Lady Mayor of London in more than 800 years celebrated in procession
Medieval church tower suspended 45ft above ground in ‘never seen before’ feat
It comes after the chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, Dame Julia Hoggett, said in November that UK companies were being more “forceful” in rewarding top executives with higher pay packages to attract the best talent.
For the 2024-25 financial year, FTSE 100 chief executive pay grew by 6.8% to a record £4.58m from £4.29m the previous year, according to an earlier report by the High Pay Centre.
Among the highest paid were Simon Peckham and Peter Dilnot, the former and current bosses of aerospace manufacturing company Melrose Industries, who received a combined salary of £58.9m in 2024-25.
In December, Bet365, a non-listed betting company, was criticised after it was revealed chief executive Denise Coates received a pay package of at least £280m in 2025.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
‘Huge gulf in how most people’s work is valued’
Behind the gap between CEO and typical worker pay is the fall in trade union membership, the High Pay Centre said.
“The figures out today once again emphasise the huge gulf in how the work of most people is valued compared to a small number of feted executives,” said the thinktank’s interim director, Andrew Speke.
“The idea that executives, as a class, are individually contributing over 100 times more in value than the workers they rely on is simply not credible.”
“Bolder” reform beyond the government’s recently passed Employment Rights Act is needed, Mr Speke said, calling for governance reform including democratic worker representation on all major company boards.
“We are also calling for companies that pay excessive sums to their highest earners to be taxed more, with the proceeds invested in education, helping to tackle deep-rooted inequalities and improve social mobility,” he added.
