UK bosses earn less than GPs
OWNERS of small to medium sized businesses in the UK earn less than GPs according to research released today.
The Institute of Directors (IoD) annual Directors Rewards survey found that the basic pay for a managing director in a small company is £65, 000 – a world away from the ‘fat cat’ label that is often levelled at Britain’s bosses.
The research, carried out by Croner Reward, part of Wolters Kluwer UK, analysed 3,636 jobs from around 1,200 organisations.
Managing directors and other executive directors in small companies received an average pay rise of 3.5% in 2008 and are forecasting 4.0% next year.
Basic pay for a managing director of a small company (up to £5m) is £65,000, and pay for other executive directors averages £59,885. In a large organisation with a turnover of between £50m and £500m, a managing director could expect to earn £150,000 and an executive director £92,000.
The survey found that directors in financial services are still the highest paid.
The survey shows that the pay gap between male and female directors is now 17%, down from 22% in last year’s survey.
The biggest gaps are in the private sector, with a 22% gap between male and female director pay in manufacturing and a 24% gap in the private service sector.
The public sector response this year shows pay for female directors slightly ahead of their male counterparts.
The survey also found that 31% of non-executive directors are working unpaid.
The average fee paid to a non-executive director in a medium-sized company is £18,500.
On average, 31% of non-executive directors work unpaid. Between 13% and 29% of non-executives had no pay increase last year and those who did receive a pay increase received an average of 3.5%.
Miles Templeman, director general of the IoD said: “It’s a measure of the drive and commitment of directors in this country that nearly a third of UK bosses work more than 55 hours a week. That means that many directors are doing 48% more work each week than the average full-time UK employee. As the downturn bites we can expect to see directors working even harder to keep their businesses afloat.”
