Bank of England bosses accept pay rise, despite telling others not to

Bank of England bosses have accepted thousands of pounds in pay rises, despite telling ordinary workers not to ask for more money.

openDemocracy can reveal every senior official at the bank – except for the governor, Andrew Bailey – has had their salary increased, averaging more than £4,300 each.

Bailey has repeatedly urged Brits not to ask for big pay rises during the cost of living crisis, claiming it could make inflation worse and destabilise the economy. Last month he said: “The UK cannot continue to have the current level of wage increases.”

The bank’s chief economist, Huw Pill, even said people “need to accept” they are poorer.

But new records show Bailey’s top team saw their own wages go up in the last financial year, with his deputies each now earning between £348,000 and £378,000.

Comparisons with the previous year cannot be made with every official, because some only joined the bank recently.

But accounts name Bailey as the only person who “declined to accept” the pay rise – although his total pay still stands at more than £498,000.

On top of this, the governor cashed in £99,000 in lieu of his pension, bringing his total remuneration to almost £598,000.

Records also reveal his salary is now eight times more than the average salary for staff at the Bank of England, which stands at ​​£62,189.

The comments from bosses at the bank telling ordinary workers not to request big pay rises has sparked anger among trade union leaders.

But its annual accounts, published yesterday, show 537 of its staff are now paid more than £100,000 – a 14% increase on the year before.

Earlier this year, Bailey called for “restraint” on wages, warning that big increases could “get out of control”.

He told the BBC: “We do need to see a moderation of wage rises… I don't want to in any sense sugar that, it is painful. But we need to see that in order to get through this problem more quickly.”

And last year he said: “I do think people, particularly people who are on higher earnings, should think and reflect on asking for high wage increases.”

In November, he told MPs he would not accept a pay rise because of the economic crisis. “It's not for me to decide, but if I was offered one I would not accept it,” he said. “I would politely decline as I have done before.”

The Bank of England has been approached for comment.