18 August 2015

The typical worker is being paid 183 times less than the average chief executive officer (CEO) at a FTSE 100 company, according to a think-tank's new research.

And that, says the High Pay Centre, means the pay gulf between ordinary full-time workers and leading CEOs has widened by almost 15% over the last five years.

According to the study, the average FTSE 100 CEO was paid £4.96 million in 2014, up from nearly £4.13 million in 2010.

A typical CEO's earnings, the think-tank says, were 160 times higher than the pay received by the typical full-time worker five years ago.

The research also shows that between them, the 10 highest earning CEOs were paid more than £156 million last year.

Deborah Hargreaves, director of the High Pay Centre, claims such pay packages go beyond what is necessary in order to inspire and reward those who are leading the country's top companies.

This article was written by the Press Association, for Legal & General. Please note the views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of Legal & General and its group of companies.

Copyright Press Association 2015

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