Top bosses earn average Bedford worker's annual pay in less than three days​​​​​​​

An analysis of the earnings of CEOs of the UK's FTSE 100 companies by the High Pay Centre shows on average they earn £4.2 million a year, 113 times the national median full time worker’s pay of £37,430.

The think tank said policymakers who fail to address this inequality are "storing up some big problems for the future".

A study by the Harvard Business School suggests CEOs work an average of 12.5 hours a day.

Discounting weekends and bank holidays in England and Wales, this equates to hourly pay of £1,298.

Meanwhile, separate figures from the Office for National Statistics show the median full-time wage for a worker in Bedford in the 2023-24 tax year was £38,924.

Assuming they start work at 8am, it means a FTSE 100 CEO earned the average yearly Bedford wage by 1pm on Monday January 6.

Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said: "A feeling that the economy works for the enrichment of a tiny elite at the expense of wider society is an underrated cause of populist anger and support for extremist politics. Policymakers who fail to address this inequality are storing up some big problems for the future.

"Reforms introduced by the new Government enabling trade unions to reach more workers should help ordinary employees win a fairer share of income that is currently captured by super-rich executives and investors.

"Bolder measures like representation for elected worker directors on company boards and caps on executive pay would do more to ensure that the wealth generated by the UK economy is shared across the country in a way that's sensible, sustainable and proportionate."

The annual wage in Bedford rose by 11.5% last year, more than the equivalent increase of 2.5% for the average FTSE 100 CEO over the same period.

Paul Novak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said: "Every working person plays a part in producing Britain’s wealth.

"But while millions of low-paid workers are still feeling the effects of the cost-of-living crisis, people at the top are taking more than their fair share.

"We need reforms to rein in boardroom greed, including seats for workers on executive pay committees."