Gas chiefs gets rewarded while households suffer
Posted on: September 9th, 2008 by Samantha Donovan
The pay package of Sam Laidlaw, the chief executive officer of Centrica, has been raised to £4.8 million while the company’s customers are suffering from hiked energy bills.
While the households are struggling with 35% hike in energy bills, the annual pay package of Mr Laidlaw will be increased by nearly £1.6 million. Apart from his salary of £915,000, he will be given a £1.8 million through company shares. He is also being given £366,000 as a lump sum amount in place of his pension payments. Other perks, worth £64,000 and includes a top-class company car with driver, life insurance cover and medical insurance. Overall, his annual pay package amounts to an increase of nearly £1 million.
Owner of British Gas, Centrica has made profits of £1 billion during the first half of the current year. The pay hike is not likely to go down well with the company’s consumers who are facing skyrocketing bills due to increased cost of heating their homes.
Other directors of British Gas as well as Centrica are also looking forward to a hike in their pay packages. M.D. of British Gas, Philip Bentley and its group finance director, Nick Luff may see their pay packages going up to £2.7 million. Mark Hanafin, who recently left Shell to join Centrica as its managing director, could earn as much as four million pounds this year.
A spokesman of Centrica has said that all pay packages are in line with what is being paid by other top companies.
Please visit www.centrica.co.uk and www.british-gas.co.uk for more
