Company directors are still feeling the effects of the ongoing recession according to a new report into executive pay.
Commenting on a the results of the Institute of Directors (IoD) annual Directors Rewards survey, the Director General of the organisation, Miles Templeman, said 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, with half of directors taking a pay cut or a pay freeze this year.
He also said that, in order to keep their businesses going, directors were putting in much longer hours.
This reflected both the severity of the recession and the commitment of directors to get their businesses and employees through it.
The survey revealed 44% of executive directors have had a pay freeze in 2009 with a further 6% taking a pay cut. The picture varies depending on the size of the company with the directors of small firms most likely to take a cut (9%) and in companies with a turnover of more than £50 million just 4% saw a reduction in pay.
Templeman added that it was important that the public sector now follows the example set by the private sector and shares some of the pain and accept pay freezes.