Footballers should top pay league, says poll

Britons think Premiership footballers should be paid more per year than the Prime Minister or FTSE 100 chief executives, a new poll suggested today.

The survey of 1,000 adults asked how much different professions should be paid annually, but respondents were not told the average salary for each profession.

If pay packets were adjusted according to the BBC Radio 4 poll's results, FTSE 100 chief executives would face a 94 per cent pay cut, Premiership footballers would lose 79 per cent of their salaries and the Prime Minister's pay would be cut by 16 per cent.

People who took part in the poll said they felt a Premiership player should earn £365,000, which compares to the current average salary of £1.7 million.

Respondents thought the Prime Minister's pay should be £119,000, instead of £142,500 and a chief executive of a FTSE 100 company should receive a salary of £118,000. The average pay of a FTSE 100 chief executive is £2.1 million.

Those quizzed thought the minimum wage should be almost doubled to £19,700 per year.- An adult worker on the current minimum wage of £5.80, working a 35-hour week earns about £10,500.

The poll was carried out by ComRes ahead of 'Pay and Tax: The Radio 4 Debate' to be aired tomorrow at 5pm.

Low earners would fare better if salaries reflected opinions given in the survey.

Respondents thought a retail cashier earning £13,000 should have a raise to £18,000, while a care assistant should be paid £24,000 instead of £16,000.

A hospital porter should earn £21,000 not £18,000 and a call centre worker should receive £19,000 not £17,000.

Nurses would see their pay rise by 13 per cent from an average of £29,000 to £33,000 according to the poll.

However, train drivers and secondary school head teachers would face pay cuts of 30 per cent and 41 per cent respectively.

A train driver should earn £28,000 a year instead of the current average £40,000 and secondary school head teachers should receive £43,000 instead of £73,000.