Non-executive chairmen of top companies received average pay rises of 6% last year, taking their earnings to almost £400,000, a new study has revealed.

Pay analysts Incomes Data Services (IDS) said its research among FTSE firms showed average fees ranged from £270,000 in technology businesses to over half a million pounds in oil and gas companies.


Fewer firms increased non-executive directors' pay in 2012 than in the previous year.

Average fees for non-executive directors (NEDs) increased by 4% last year to £64,000 - double the amount of 12 years ago.

Nasreen Rahman, assistant editor at IDS, said: "Executive pay at FTSE 100 businesses is coming under increased scrutiny. That is especially the case in financial services, where the connection between risk and reward is attracting attention not only from shareholders but also from regulators.

"Remuneration committee chairmen have a crucial role to play in improving corporate governance in the wake of the credit crunch. Aligning the interests of the chief executive and shareholders is a particular challenge."

Fees for the chairmen of company remuneration committees increased by 14% last year, said the report.

TUC general secretary, Frances O'Grady, said: "These figures highlight once again why we need urgent reform of boardroom pay. Top directors are showing little restraint while millions of workers are suffering real-term losses to their incomes and are really feeling the squeeze on their living standards.

"FTSE 100 directors' pay rose over seven times faster than average wages in some cases last year, with rises well above inflation.

"These bumper settlements bear little relation to performance. Allowing workers a seat on remuneration committees would help inject a much-needed dose of reality into pay-setting."

10 things we hate about our banks

  • 1. PPI
    <p> More than 46,000 of 106,000 the complaints received by the FOS in the second half of last year related to payment protection insurance (PPI). And the organisation is expecting to receive a record 165,000 PPI complaints in 2012/2013.</p> <p> The huge numbers are due to the PPI mis-selling scandal that should now be a thing of the past, but there is no doubt that the insurance, which can add thousands to the cost of a loan, is highly unpopular!</p> <div> </div> <div> (Pictured: Martin Lewis after the PPI payout ruling)</div>
    1. PPI
  • 2. Mortgages
    <p> Complaints about mortgages jumped by 38% in the last six months of last year, the FOS figures show, compared to an increase of just 5% in investment-related complaints.</p> <p> Common gripes about mortgages include the exit penalties imposed should you want to sell up or change you mortgage before a fixed or discounted deal comes to an end, and the high arrangement fees charged by many lenders.</p> <div> </div>
    2. Mortgages
  • 3. Savings rates
    <p> While there is nothing in the data released by the FOS about the number of complaints relating to savings accounts, hard-pressed savers have been struggling with low interest rates for several years now.</p> <p> You can get up to 3.10% with Santander's easy-access eSaver account, but many older accounts are paying 1.00% or less and even this market-leading offer includes a 12-month bonus of 2.60% - meaning that the rate will plummet to just 0.50% after the first year.</p>
    3. Savings rates
  • 4. Borrowing rates
    <p> Banks are imposing the highest authorised overdraft interest rates since records began, with today's borrowers paying an average of 19.47%, according to the Bank of England.</p> <p> A typical Briton with an overdraft of &pound;1,000 is therefore forking out around &pound;200 in interest charges alone. Coupled with meagre returns on savings, it's enough to make your blood boil!</p>
    4. Borrowing rates
  • 5. Penalty charges
    <p style="text-align: left;"> While authorised overdrafts may seem expensive, going into the red without permission will cost you even more due to huge penalty fees.</p> <p style="text-align: left;"> Barclays, for example, charges &pound;8 (up to a maximum of &pound;40 a day) each time that there is not enough money in your account to cover a payment.</p>
    5. Penalty charges
  • 6. International transfer charges
    <p> If you need to send money abroad, the likelihood is that your bank will impose transfer charges - and offer you a poor rate of exchange. Someone transferring a five-figure sum could easily lose out by &pound;500 or more as a result.</p> <p> The good news, however, is that you can often get a better deal by using a currency specialist such as Moneycorp.</p>
    6. International transfer charges
  • 7. Waiting on the phone
    <p> <span style="text-align: left; ">Automated telephone banking systems, not to mention call centres in far-flung parts of the world, are one of our top gripes - especially as we often encounter them when we are already calling to report a problem.</span></p> <p> In the words of one disgruntled customer: &quot;What is it about telephone banking that turns me into Victor Meldrew? Well, maybe it's the fourteen security questions, maybe it's the range of products that they try to push or maybe it's because I'm forced to listen to jazz funk at full volume while my phone bill soars.</p> <div> </div> <div> &quot;Actually though, I think it's because the people I eventually speak to rarely seem able to solve the issue I'm calling about.&quot;</div>
    7. Waiting on the phone
  • 8. Being treated like a number
    <p> The days of a personal relationship with your bank manager are long gone - for the huge majority of us at least.</p> <p> When ethical Triodos Bank investigated recently why around 9 million Britons would not recommend their banks to a friend or relative, it found that almost a third felt they were not treated as individuals. Another 40%, meanwhile, were simply disappointed with the customer service they received.</p> <div> </div>
    8. Being treated like a number
  • 9. Long queues in branches
    <p> <span style="text-align: left; ">When you're in a rush, the last thing you want to do is wait in a long queue at your local branch.</span></p> <p> Researchers at consumer champion Which? recently found that most people get seen within 12 minutes, but you could have a much longer wait if you go in at a busy time. Frustrating stuff!</p> <div> </div>
    9. Long queues in branches
  • 10. Bankers' bonuses
    <p> The Triodos Bank research also indicated that the bonus culture that ensured the bank's high-flying employees received large salaries, even when it was making a loss at the taxpayer's expense, was hugely unpopular with consumers.</p> <p> About a quarter of those who would not recommend their current banks said this was the main reason why. And with RBS executives sharing a &pound;785 million bonus pool despite the bank, which is 82% publicly owned, making a loss of &pound;2 billion last year, it's not hard to see why.</p>
    10. Bankers' bonuses