Executive Briefing – Survey & Weekly Update

Our survey on the the impact of covid remains open until 15 April and we would be grateful to anyone who completes it so we may include the results in next week’s update.

This week has seen further guidance from investors and proxies calling for pay restraint, particularly where dividends have been deferred or cancelled.

Interestingly, a variant on salary waivers, particularly where affordability has not been a major constraint, has been the announcement that certain Board members are gifting a proportion of their salaries to covid related charities.  This started with BT and Sky but other companies such as Derwent and HSBC have followed suit this week.

Last week’s update referred to guidance for banks to withhold dividends which extended to insurers this week although such guidance has not been compelled and practice has been mixed.

In terms of more regular remuneration issues, the hot topics of pre-covid remain so. A number of companies which had initially proposed in their DRR not to align pensions have issued RNS’ confirming that they will now align.  The IA does not appear to have been consistent when issuing IVIS reports in what it regards as a credible plan to align by the end of 2022 and companies should ensure, if this is the case, that the commitment is clear.

We have updated our information on recent announcements of changes to pay in light of covid which include:

We wish all of our clients and other readers a very happy Easter.  Easter is, of course, about resurrection and renewal and we can only hope that this Easter brings a renewal in the Nation’s health. 

If you wish to discuss anything arising from this briefing, please ask your usual contact at FIT or call us on 020 7034 1111 or email us at Info@fit-rem.com.

This paper is intended to be a summary of key issues but is not comprehensive and does not constitute advice. No legal responsibility is accepted as a result of reliance on the contents of this paper.

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