Magazine |
Liberal Democrats call for tougher pay disclosures

Vince Cable, the new Business Secretary in the Con-Lib Dem coalition government, has called for tougher pay disclosures for employees who earn over £200,000.

His plans would see anyone taking home over the £200,000 threshold and who worked at a publicly listed company have their names published on a database.

The government admitted that the idea would cause some discomfort but should not be seen as ‘threatening’. Speaking just before the election he said there was nothing wrong with insisting that high remuneration packages should be transparent and fully and openly declared.

However industry leaders have questioned exactly what this proposal would achieve. Angela Knight, chief executive of the British Bankers Association criticised the plans for being more about ‘personal witch hunts than about transparency…people within the industry are feeling pilloried and demonised.’

• The new chancellor, George Osborne, has announced an emergency budget for 22 June.

18/05/2010