Britain would give investors in UK-listed companies binding annual votes on executive pay and exit payments under proposed new laws designed to strengthen the link between wages and performance, the government said on Wednesday. Seeking to ease public anger over big rewards for corporate leaders at a time of squeezed finances for most households, Business Secretary Vince Cable said he wanted "to prevent rewards for mediocrity or failure".
British executives' pay shot up by nearly 50 percent last year, despite sluggish economic growth and only moderate expansion by leading companies, surveys showed. In line with other countries, Britain's government has faced pressure to take action over high pay, particularly in the banking sector, which has benefited from huge injections of public money during the financial crisis.