The chief executive was paid 431 times the average wage of a Tesco worker, which stands at £23,010
Tesco’s chief, Ken Murphy, has seen his pay packet more than double to nearly £10m in the past year.
This means that the chief executive’s earned 431 times the average wage of a Tesco worker, which stands at £23,010. The supermarket giant’s annual report revealed that Mr Murphy received a pay package worth £9.93 million for the year ending in February, a significant increase from the previous financial year’s total pay deal of £4.44million.
The latest deal was boosted by £4.91million from his performance share plan (PSP) after leading the company to higher profits despite challenging inflation conditions. This PSP payment will be paid out in Tesco shares and is based on the company’s performance since 2021.
In addition to this, he received an annual salary of £1.64 million and an annual bonus of £3.38million. Meanwhile, the group’s chief financial officer, Imran Nawaz, also saw his annual pay package more than double, receiving a total pay deal of £4.95million for the year, up from £2.27 million in the previous financial year.
This comes after Tesco posted an adjusted operating profit of £2.83billion for the year to February, up almost 13% on the previous year. However, the retailer came under criticism at the time for revealing the bumper profits when many customers had been impacted by rampant food and drink inflation, which soared in the face of supply chain disruption and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Alison Platt, chair of Tesco’s remuneration committee, has highlighted the company’s performance and commitment to fair pay, stating: “This pay award reflects the fact Tesco has delivered for all of its stakeholders over the last year from its most competitive-ever customer offer, to its record investment in colleague pay.”
She further noted the balance of managing such a vast business: “It also recognises the strong performance of the business while at the same time reflecting the complexities of managing a business of the size and scale of Tesco. A large proportion of the total package has been achieved because the business met stretching targets in a highly competitive sector and worked to create value for customers, colleagues, suppliers, communities and shareholders.”
“Tesco remains committed to a competitive and fair reward package for all colleagues and over the last two years we have invested more than £800million in colleague pay, as well as significantly enhancing the range of wellbeing benefits we offer.”
