Diversity, equity & inclusion: Fair reward framework, collaboration led by Brunel

“First-of-its kind, asset-owner-led and free-to-access tool launched to provide comparable data on how top companies pay their leaders, alongside key metrics putting the proportionality of pay practices into context.”

The Fair Reward Framework (FRF), which was co-developed by a group of asset owners including Brunel, assesses the pay governance processes and reward outcomes at UK based companies, based on public information. This free to access dashboard is designed to provide valuable insights for investors and stakeholders on how companies are generating and distributing value relative to peers and historically. In its pilot year, 2024, the FRF focused assessments on the preceding two year of reporting by UK FTSE 100 companies. Assessments were based on research by the High Pay Centre acting as the FRF Secretariat and data partner Minerva Analytics and captured company feedback.

The research found that:
• 54% of FTSE 100 firms assessed by the FRF were accredited by the Living Wage Foundation as UK Living Wage employers.
• 18% of assessed companies exercised their right to adjust their executive pay award from the outcome that would have resulted from application of the pay policy.
• Seven assessed companies provided details of how they pro-actively sought the views of their workforce on top pay and executive remuneration.
• 35% of assessed companies chose to voluntarily disclose their mean ethnicity pay gap.