According to research from the High Pay Center, FTSE 100 bosses in the UK earn the average annual salary of a typical full-time worker in just three days. The report found that by 1 pm on Thursday, FTSE 100 CEOs would have earned more than the median £34,963 annual wage for full-time workers. The center said the annual salary for top executives, including pensions, came to an average of £3.81m ($5m).

This equates to £1,170 per hour, 109 times the wage of the average full-time worker. The study is based on salaries published in the annual reports of firms. Based on a US Harvard Business School study, the calculations assumed CEOs worked 62.5 hours weekly, equating to a nine-to-five day over five days plus a half day’s work on Saturdays.

Executives at companies listed on the FTSE 350 have a median pay of £1.32m, meaning they must work until 10 January to earn what the typical UK worker earns in a year. According to the report, leading bankers pass the same threshold on 17 January. Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said the figures showed that top earners in Britain were “paid generously” and he questioned claims that these individuals were not paid enough. However, Professor Len Shackleton from the Institute of Economic Affairs argued that excessive CEO pay was essential for British competitiveness and warned against raising taxes on top earners, who currently contribute almost 30% of income tax.

In 2023, businesses and finance experts in the UK called for an increase in CEO pay to match that in other jurisdictions. Last month, Legal and General Investment Management updated its guidelines to let the companies it invests in offer more generous incentive payments to executives. In addition, David Schwimmer, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, argued that low CEO pay levels posed a risk to the UK economy. The Confederation of British Industry, representing some of the UK’s listed companies, defended high pay as “only acceptable when matched by exceptional performance.”