Excessive pay and rewards for failure

IPPR in partnership with the High Pay Commission organised a debate at the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) on excessive executive pay. On the panel was shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, Labour peer Lord Myners and Deborah Hargreaves, chair of the High Pay Commission. 

Umunna made a speech discussing how Labour will address excessive pay and rewards for failure. Umunna explained that the failure matters 'from the point of view of our businesses, those who own them and society at large'. The discussion around excessive pay 'should start by asking what we pay people for? We pay people to do a job and, where they do so successfully, people do not object to them enjoying the fruits of their success', where as a bonus is surely 'something special ... something that you give for that little bit extra, not a matter of routine and entitlement.'

Further discussion centred around the role of shareholders in reining in top pay.

New analysis shows that FTSE 100 executive pay is outstripping company performance

New analysis of FTSE 100 companies has shown that executive pay is outstripping company performance. The analysis suggests that executive pay increases are not justified by the performance of their companies. On average, total CEO remuneration increased by 49 per cent, while the average increase in company value was 24 per cent.