Executives: There'll Always Be a Loser

Pity the British executive. He has had to keep his upper lip stiff against the problems of the pound, a prohibitive investment income tax, Common Market blackballs and Prime Minister Harold Wilson's accusation of "sheer damn laziness." Now comes a study showing that for all his pains, the British executive is paid at a level that is far and away the lowest in Europe.

Studying cash salaries and bonuses paid in Britain and five of the Common Market nations, the U.S. management-consultant firm of Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby found that, over the past eight years, British executives have slipped from fifth to last place in the pay scale. French and Italian executives now rank at the top, ahead of Germans (who were No. 1 in 1960), Belgians and the Dutch, who happily yielded the cellar to the British.

The differences are considerable. A vice-presidential-level production manager at a consumer-products company with annual sales of $20 million stands to earn from $17,000 to $25,000 a year in Italy, $15,000 to $25,000 in France, not to mention such perquisites as a company car. The Briton in the same job can expect to pull down only half as much. The Briton does get more perks, including an entertainment allowance, housing assistance, a car, sometimes even a company endowment to help foot public-school bills.

The way things are going, the British executive is likely to fall farther behind. It has been calculated that he must double his pay every eight years just to keep up with inflation.