Pay ratios between UK CEOs and their employees have been broadly the same over the last five years and since publication of the data was made mandatory.

The figures have been revealed in new research by the High Pay Centre and have prompted the think tank to call for a “maximum wage” ceiling expressed as a pay ratio.

Research by the High Pay Centre shows that, except during the pandemic, pay ratios have been broadly unchanged, though the last year of data shows a slight dip.

For the FTSE 350, the CEO to median UK employee ratio fell slightly in 2023-2024 to 52:1, against 54:1 in the previous year.

When CEO pay is compared with that of the 25th quartile of their employees, the ratio has moved from 75:1 to 71:1 over the same period.

The pay ratio for FTSE 100 CEOs has also moved. The CEO ratio with the median UK employee has gone from 80:1 to 78:1, while the 25th quartile employee ratio fell from from 119:1 to 106:1.

Expand disclosure?

As a result of the research, the High Pay Centre makes a series of recommendations, including a maximum wage and publication of more detail on the pay of top earners. It also suggests mandatory pay ratio publication should be expanded beyond the core group of listed companies.

The report says: “The level of income inequality and concentration of income at the top of the distribution are high in the UK by international and historical standards, suggesting there is considerable potential to raise incomes for the majority by rebalancing distribution.

“A maximum ratio, which could achieve this pre-taxation, may prove more appealing, empowering and politically durable than sole reliance on taxes and transfer to redress inequalities.”

The High Pay Centre’s call comes in a year when shareholder votes against remuneration reports are increasing.

Research from shareholder advisers Georgeson shows that halfway through the 2025 AGM season, the proportion of FTSE 350 companies suffering shareholder revolts on pay has rise to 9% from 2.6% last year.

Georgeson notes that many companies are proposing bigger pay rises for executives this year.

Daniel Veazey, Georgeson’s corporate governance manager, says: “Last year, FTSE 350 companies were more conservative in recommending higher levels of pay, which led to high shareholder support and low levels of opposition.

“This year, UK companies seem to be challenging the status quo a little more and we are seeing proposals with larger remuneration packages.”

Waging a campaign

The pay changes come at the end of a period in which City figures have argued for higher rates of pay so that UK companies can compete internationally for leadership talent.

The argument has been made most forcefully by Julia Hoggett, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange and chair of campaign group the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT).

The argument was launched in 2023 with a blog on the LSE’s website, in which Hoggett said: “we should be encouraging and supporting UK companies to compete for talent on a global basis, so we remain attractive for companies to base themselves, stay and grow.

“The alternative is we continue standing idly by as our biggest exports become skills, talent, tax revenue and the companies that generate it.”