CEOs of the U.K.'s most valuable firms earn 117 times more than the average British worker — meaning they would have already earned a typical worker's annual salary by the end of Monday, according to new research.
In a report published Monday, Britain's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and thinktank the High Pay Centre analyzed public data to compare the salaries of FTSE 100 CEOs to those of average U.K. workers.
London's FTSE 100 index is comprised of the U.K.'s 100 most valuable public companies.
The CIPD found that in just three working days, chief executives of the country's top firms would take home the U.K.'s median salary of £29,559 ($38,640).
According to the report, the average FTSE 100 CEO earned £3.46 million in 2018, equivalent to £901.30 an hour. In comparison, the median hourly pay of full-time workers was £14.37.
Companies in the U.K. are under increasing pressure to provide transparency and explanation around executive pay.
From this year, publicly-listed firms with more than 250 employees will be required to disclose the ratio between the pay of their CEOs and their average workers.
Those companies will also be legally required to justify top bosses' pay, reporting to the British government on an annual basis.
Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD, said in a press release Monday that businesses needed to "step up and justify very high levels of pay for top executives."
"Greater fairness and openness in pay is essential in building trust, amongst employees as well as external stakeholders and investors," he said. "Expectations on businesses behaving and acting responsibly are rising, and greater transparency around how they are treating and managing all their people is a vital part of building long-term sustainability."