Success for the campaign to increase directors’ pay looks to set to ripple into 2025, with more companies than last year seeking to change their executive remuneration policies, according to new research.

A survey by Deloitte finds that, out of the 55 companies to so far publish annual reports for their 2024 financial year, 24 are seeking shareholder support for new pay policies. This compares with only 16 at the same point last year, already considered a moment in which attitudes to pay changed.

Of the 24, Deloitte also notes, 13 will introduce significantly higher pay or innovative pay structures that include US-style hybrid long-term incentive proposals, which mix performance and restricted share awards.

Mitul Shah, a partner in Deloitte’s executive remuneration and reward practice, says boards appear to be “continuing to do what they feel is in the best interests of their company”, with many meeting with investors to explain their decision-making.

“This year, a significant number of large global FTSE 100 companies are putting a new remuneration policy to the vote,” Shah says.

“A number of these companies are proposing substantial changes to pay amounts and/or compensation structures, highlighting the need to attract top talent in a competitive global market and address pay compression challenges.”

Pinch and a punch

Executive pay became controversial during the 2021 cost-of-living crisis, when investor expectations were that executives would share the pain of their staff.

However, City figures, led by London Stock Exchange chief executive Julia Hoggett, began a campaign in May 2023 to talk up pay levels. Hoggett kicked off the campaign with a blog on the LSE’s website, in which she talked up the need for higher pay levels. She wrote that the country was at a “pivotal point” and that the UK should be “encouraging and supporting UK companies to compete for talent on a global basis”.

Last year saw a significant shift, with a number of companies, including the LSE Group, raising pay levels for their chief executives.

There was also support from the Investment Association (IA), a professional body for investment managers, which rewrote its executive pay guidelines. Many saw this as creating “great flexibility” for higher salaries.

In January, the High Pay Centre, a think tank, calculated that the median FTSE 100 CEO income stood at £4.22m, 113 times the median full-time worker’s annual pay of £37,430.

In February, a report on investor attitudes around the world found that executive pay remained the top issue for 83% of fund managers.

The report, compiled by investor consultancy Georgeson, said fund managers would highlight the importance of “aligning” pay with long-term performance “especially in an economic environment shaped by some uncertainty”.

Deloitte says 70% of salary increases for 2025 are projected to be on or below the average workforce increase of 3%. Sixteen companies are aiming for “significant” one-off salary boosts—5% or more—for CEOs.