Chief executives of the largest companies listed in the UK will take about three days to earn the salary of an ordinary worker this year, according to a new study reports Bloomberg.
The typical FTSE 100 boss would need to work until shortly before 5pm on January 6 - a few hours longer than a year ago - to reach the average full-time wage of just over £29,000.
This is according to figures from the UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the High Pay Centre published today.
The estimate is based on the average boss earning £3.46m in 2018, the most recent available data, meaning it would take them 33 working hours to reach that year's average UK salary.
Bloomberg said the research comes as large firms listed in the UK prepare for rules forcing greater transparency on what they pay their workers.
Starting this year, companies with more than 250 staff will be required to report the gap in earnings between their chief executive and the typical employee.
The UK government cited CIPD figures showing that the average pay for top CEOs has fallen by almost a quarter since 2012.
"The situation is still concerning, especially in those cases where executives have been rewarded despite failing their employees and customers," said UK Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom.
Recent research from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions showed that it would take 212 years for an ordinary worker to earn what the the CEO of CRH, Albert Manifold, took home last year.
However, it noted that is down from 230 years 12 months ago.
The ICTU said it would take 50 years for an average worker to collect what half the bosses at top firms earn a year, the research shows.
Overall, 22 of the 26 firms' bosses earned close to or above €1m, with the highest securing pay and related perks worth €8.2m, the study found.
It also revealed that CEO pay increased in 11 companies in 2018, ranging from 9% in Permanent TSB to a 99% increase in Smurfit Kappa. The average full-time worker's wage was up just 2.6% on 2017.
