05/04/2002

Prudential pay increase comes in for criticism

UK insurer Prudential has come under attack after it emerged that its board awarded itself a 44 per cent pay rise in 2001, while most of the company's staff got less than four per cent.

According to the company's annual report, published on Thursday April 4, the decision was taken despite the Prudential sliding £455m into the red last year, as well as shedding staff and selling off businesses to reshape itself.

As a result the chief executive of Prudential could earn up to £18m over the next three years under the firm's pay plan.

Attacking the Prudential board's pay rise, chief of the Institute of Directors, George Cox, told Radio 4's Today programme: "You can't be giving directors very high increases when you're expecting everyone else to share the pain of being held back."

The Prudential has announced plans to axe 2,100 jobs by the end of 2003 as part of a company-wide restructuring.

The Institute of Directors' survey of pay rises in UK boardrooms last year found bosses got an average increase of four per cent. (MB)

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