May urged to put workers on company boards over 'stratospheric' directors' pay

Theresa May has been urged to put employees on company boards as a new study reveals directors' pay has reached "stratospheric" levels.

The average boss of a FTSE 100 company is paid 123 times the average full-time salary across the economy, according to the TUC,

Research showed that the median pay package, excluding pensions, for directors of top companies increased by 47 per cent between 2010 and 2015, compared with a rise of just seven per cent for average wages.

It takes Britain's highest paid CEO, Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, less than 45 minutes to earn what an average worker earns in a year, the TUC said.

The report, published ahead of the TUC Congress in Brighton, said the gap between bosses and average workers is "stark".

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "While millions of UK families have seen their living standards squeezed, directors' pay has reached stratospheric levels.

"These shocking new figures show why (Prime Minister) Theresa May must deliver on her promise to put workers on company boards.

"This would inject a much-needed dose of reality into boardrooms and help put the brakes on the multi-million pay packages that have damaged the reputation of corporate Britain.

"Other European countries already require workers on boards, so UK firms have nothing to fear. It improves performance and contributes to companies' long-term success."