Director Bonuses Continue to Grow at Largest UK Firms

The UK’s largest firms paid directors bigger bonuses in 2015 than the previous year, despite a fall in the number of shareholders backing their remuneration plans, according to analysis by Deloitte. The City firm, which advises many top companies on how to pay executives, said new regulations that increased disclosure and brought in binding votes on board pay had to some extent put the brakes on executive payouts amongst FTSE 100 firms. The median salary increased by 2% in 2015, in line with the previous three years, and the median amount that could be earned as a bonus remained at 150% of salary, where it has been since 2007. But its analysis of the UK’s largest companies found that bonus payments in respect of performance increased last year, with the median payout rising to 77% of the maximum possible, from 73% in 2014. Only four companies paid no bonus to executive directors, it said, while seven companies paid the maximum amount possible.