• 44% of executive directors have had a pay freeze in 2009 with a further 6% taking a pay cut
• Public sector MDs earning on average £110, 000
• Only 1% of small companies offer a final salary type pension scheme
• Up to half of directors are working in excess of 55 hours a week.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) annual Directors Rewards survey, carried out by Croner Reward, part of Wolters Kluwer UK, analysed 3,468 jobs from around 1,200 organisations.

The results published today are based on evidence drawn from all sectors and size of organisation.

Commenting on the survey findings, Miles Templeman, Director General of the IoD said:

"With half of directors taking a pay cut or a pay freeze this year, we can see that the recession is affecting people at all levels of seniority in the private sector. From the shop floor to the boardroom, no one is immune from the pain.

"In order to keep their businesses going, we're seeing directors putting in much longer hours. This reflects both the severity of the recession and the commitment of directors to get their businesses and employees through it.

"It's important that the public sector now follows the example set by the private sector and shares some of the pain. If we want the public finances to recover, public sector workers must accept the need for pay freezes."

Pay

44% of executive directors have had a pay freeze in 2009 with a further 6% taking a pay cut. This picture varies by size of company, in small companies, 50% had a pay freeze and 9% a pay cut. In medium sized companies, 42% had a pay freeze and 7% a pay cut. In companies with a turnover of £50M to £500M, 36% of executive directors had a pay freeze and 4% took a pay cut. Of those who took a pay cut this was typically 15% of salary.

The overall average pay rise for the 50% of directors who received one was 3.2%.

Basic pay for a managing director of a small company now stands at £70,000.

The survey found that a managing director in a financial services company earns an average salary of £120,000, compared with their counterpart in the voluntary sector on £75,235. Public sector MDs came in second place with an average salary of £110,000.

Hours of work

Working longer hours seems to have increased significantly this year for directors in medium-sized companies. Here, 46% of directors work over 55 hours (30% last year), of which 18% are working over 60 hours (7% last year).

40% of directors in small companies are working over 55 hours a week (up from 26% last year), of which 14% are working over 60 hours (11% last year).

In large companies, 50% of directors now work over 55 hours per week (32% last year) of which 25% work over 60 hours (10% last year).

The average director is working 40 hours in the office, 8 hours at home and 10 hours on business travel.

A full time UK employee works, on average, 37 hours per week.

Non Executive Directors

The average fee paid to a non-executive director in this survey is £15,000.

On average, 28% of non-executive directors work unpaid. Between 44% and 77% of non-executives had no pay increase last year and those who did receive a pay increase had an average of 3 to 3.75%.

Miles Templeman added:

"The role of the non-executive director is becoming increasingly challenging. Non-execs make a vital contribution to the culture of boardroom decision-making. However, in many cases, the financial rewards of such a role are modest. This reflects positively on the commitment and service orientation of non-executive directors."