What’s the price of a life? Just £33,628 to the average FTSE CEO

Research shows top bosses lose only a fraction of their pay when employees die on the job. James Moore explains why the implications show this is more than just a grim fact

Cranes in the City: construction companies are well represented in the list of those that have suffered fatalities over the last four years (Getty Images)

What’s the price of a life? 

The remuneration committees of some of Britain’s biggest companies have come up with a number. It’s £33,628. So, yes, their thinking on this issue is about as attractive as a hail storm in the middle of an August bank holiday. 

That awful figure represents the average loss of earnings suffered by the highest-paid director at a basket of FTSE 350 companies considered by Pirc, an adviser which helps investors with their AGM voting decisions.