Companies should disclose pay ratios, say UKSIF

In response to the Government’s narrative reporting consultation paper, a leading body has come out and said that companies should be revealing their pay rates. Alex Blackburne has the details.

An investor trade body, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF), has called for annual disclosure of corporate pay ratios.

UKSIF was responding to The future of narrative reporting – a Government consultation paper “seeking views on issues relating to corporate narrative reporting” that ends today.

UKSIF chief executive, Penny Shepherd MBE, explained the reasons behind their demand for release of accurate figures.

“The pay multiplier for senior executives compared with the average employee can affect productivity as well as reputation”, she said.

“This can therefore be a valuable metric for investors assessing company performance within industry sectors”.

Shepherd added, “More generally, we hope that this consultation will lead to greater focus on business strategies and key metrics within company reporting and reduce the use of boilerplate text [recycled text from other sources].”

UKSIF’s response comes after a report by Incomes Data Services (IDS) emphasised the increasing pay-packet of FTSE 100 directors.

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