THE gap between company executives’ pay and the wages of ordinary workers will widen again this year after narrowing during the pandemic, new research has suggested.

The High Pay Centre said that cuts to executive pay during the coronavirus crisis had led to a fall in the median pay gap between executives of FTSE 350 firms and employees.

But early examinations of recent data indicate that earnings disparities will widen again in 2022, the think tank warned.

The analysis found that pay ratios were widest in the retail sector and lowest in the media and financial services.

High Pay Centre director Luke Hildyard said: “With the dire outlook for the UK economy, how we share existing resources will become increasingly important.

“Major employers have a key role to play balancing their pay awards so that high, middle and low earners are all paid fairly and proportionately.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Pay inequality has gone much too far.

“Even for the best-performing executives, pay can be out of all proportion compared to hard-working staff on the front line.

Ms O’Grady called for the introduction of maximum pay ratios to “bring some fairness back” and for an emergency budget to help struggling families.

The research comes after a report by the Resolution Foundation revealed that the cost-of-living gap between the richest and poorest households is now at its widest since records began in 2006.

Analysis by the foundation showed that headline inflation for the poorest 10 per cent of households has now hit 10.2 per cent, compared with the 8.7 per cent rate experienced by the richest 10 per cent.

The think tank called on Chancellor Rishi Sunak to prioritise significant targeted support for low-and-middle-income households.