Swiss fair pay proposal : Mon Nov 18, 2013 5:18 pm  

Could this work here? http://www.thejournal.ie/switzerland-vo ... 4-Nov2013/

Could this work here? http://www.thejournal.ie/switzerland-vo ... 4-Nov2013/

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Mon Nov 18, 2013 5:26 pm  

Bloody commie Swiss ... To coin a cliché: compare and contrast.

Bloody commie Swiss ... To coin a cliché: compare and contrast.

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Mon Nov 18, 2013 5:36 pm  

it seems a good idea, but there'll be loopholes straight away, would it count if a company decided to sack its lowest paid staff then rehire their roles through an agency/contractor/whatever for the same pay but they could simply say the person doesn't actually work for them?

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Mon Nov 18, 2013 6:30 pm  

the cal train wrote:

it seems a good idea, but there'll be loopholes straight away, would it count if a company decided to sack its lowest paid staff then rehire their roles through an agency/contractor/whatever for the same pay but they could simply say the person doesn't actually work for them?

Not if you included ALL contracted staff in the proposal

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Mon Nov 18, 2013 10:21 pm  

One thing for sure is that our system of pay for FTSE 100 listed company directors is broken. I think the average director (not CEO / Chairman) remuneration is now c. £3.5 million. For sure:

- that is not buying "world class" talent;
- it is reducing shareholder value; and
- those same people could be employed for less that £500,000 a piece if there was a concerted will by shareholders to reduce pay.

[DaveO]

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Tue Nov 19, 2013 1:23 am  

Dally wrote:

One thing for sure is that our system of pay for FTSE 100 listed company directors is broken. I think the average director (not CEO / Chairman) remuneration is now c. £3.5 million. For sure:

- that is not buying "world class" talent;

But that is the very argument that is used to justify paying multi-million pound salaries.

Companies just have to pay it. They don't really want to, you know. The remuneration committees, often made up of similar people who have to be paid similar salaries themselves are only reacting to the market.

The fact they set the market is rather conveniently forgotten!

The living wage in London where all these CEO's tend to congregate is £8.55 per hour. For a 40 hour week that gives an annual salary of £17784. So the Swiss proposal would limit the top salary to £213,408. That would put you in the top 0.5% of earners in this country who draw a salary and are subject to PAYE. And that is what these top 1% or top 0.5% stats are based on. Salaries liable for PAYE. The really wealthy such as footballers, entertainers and even top company CEO's are often contracted to their employers in some way and don't figure in these statistics.

If the top earners really do command mega-salaries, pay them but put the lowest paid employee on 1/12 of the highest. CEO on £3m a year? Receptionist gets £250K. It sounds daft but its a better way of putting the high CEO salaries into perspective. If they really are worth £3m a year then their company should be earning billions. Enough to pay the lowest paid employee £250K. If they can't afford that then the CEO isn't worth £3m either.

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Tue Nov 19, 2013 5:55 am  

Wildmoose wrote: Could this work here? http://www.thejournal.ie/switzerland-vo ... 4-Nov2013/ We don't need any of that Swiss rubbish over here In Blighty. We have a much more honest, fairer system. It's called 'were all in it together'. We've even managed to get those with the least managing to help out the hard pressed, those with the most. No, we don't need any of them daft Swiss ideas over here.

Wildmoose wrote: Could this work here? http://www.thejournal.ie/switzerland-vo ... 4-Nov2013/ We don't need any of that Swiss rubbish over here In Blighty. We have a much more honest, fairer system. It's called 'were all in it together'. We've even managed to get those with the least managing to help out the hard pressed, those with the most. No, we don't need any of them daft Swiss ideas over here.

Re: Swiss fair pay proposal : Tue Nov 19, 2013 7:08 am  

DaveO wrote:

But that is the very argument that is used to justify paying multi-million pound salaries.

Companies just have to pay it. They don't really want to, you know. The remuneration committees, often made up of similar people who have to be paid similar salaries themselves are only reacting to the market.

The fact they set the market is rather conveniently forgotten!

The living wage in London where all these CEO's tend to congregate is £8.55 per hour. For a 40 hour week that gives an annual salary of £17784. So the Swiss proposal would limit the top salary to £213,408. That would put you in the top 0.5% of earners in this country who draw a salary and are subject to PAYE. And that is what these top 1% or top 0.5% stats are based on. Salaries liable for PAYE. The really wealthy such as footballers, entertainers and even top company CEO's are often contracted to their employers in some way and don't figure in these statistics.

If the top earners really do command mega-salaries, pay them but put the lowest paid employee on 1/12 of the highest. CEO on £3m a year? Receptionist gets £250K. It sounds daft but its a better way of putting the high CEO salaries into perspective. If they really are worth £3m a year then their company should be earning billions. Enough to pay the lowest paid employee £250K. If they can't afford that then the CEO isn't worth £3m either.

Similarly with "bonuses".

If a CEO takes a bonus based on a percentage of his salary then every employee should receive the same percentage bonus