Previous HPC/@survation.bsky.social polling showed 72% of respondents believed pension funds should be required to understand members’ attitudes to ethical investment, and 66% stated they want their pension fund to reflect their ethical values and beliefs. highpaycentre.org/high-pay-cen...

The rise of left-economic populism on both sides of the Atlantic shows that discontent with this model of capitalism will only grow. Those who believe in capitalism should be the first to call out this excess and argue for a fairer model if they want the system to survive.

3. FRC guidance on workforce reporting:
Inconsistent and boilerplate workforce reporting limits comparability. The FRC should work with companies and investors to develop stronger guidance and improve workforce disclosures.

2. Minimum reporting standards:
Firms should consistently report on workforce composition, wellbeing, pay, voice & skills — with clear, comparable metrics linked to business outcomes. ISSB’s work could guide future standards.

And the report's main policy recommendations...

1. Annual report workforce section:
Only 53% of firms have a dedicated people section. A clear, standalone workforce section would give stakeholders better visibility and understanding of workforce data and strategy.

- Only 48% of companies detailed targets or information on progress towards these as part of their people KPIs.
- 27% of organisations provided information on the number of disciplinary, grievance or whistleblowing cases; just 10% provided information on the reasons.

- Just 11% of firms were self-critical of their own employment practices, raising concerns about the honesty of corporate reporting.
- Only 18% of all KPIs recorded were people-related, versus 51% relating to financial performance.

- Just 10% of firms disclosed information on total training costs, while 41% provided information on hours of training per employee.
- Just 18% of the sample disclosed the percentage of the workforce with union membership or covered by collective bargaining agreements.

Some key findings:

- Just 28% of firms reported a mechanism for workforce voice that could be considered genuinely meaningful, reinforcing previous HPC work outlining how firms typically favour more informal and often less robust mechanisms for workforce engagement.

If businesses can afford to pay their executives six-, seven-, or even eight-figure salaries, they should certainly be able to afford to pay graduate entrants a fair and competitive wage.
www.ft.com/content/b436...

It’s also a poor reading of the public mood, especially amid a cost of living crisis rooted in deep inequality across the UK — where a small number of people have continued to do very well while the vast majority have experienced nearly two decades of stagnating living standards.

The changes are likely to mostly benefit a very small number of high-earning bankers, while having little positive impact on the real economy. For a government that has criticised its predecessors for believing in trickle-down economics, this looks like more of the same.

While a number of those post-crash safeguards remain, it would be churlish to say this marks a full return to pre-2008 regulations — but there is certainly the potential for a slippery slope here, and we should ask who really benefits.