Bank of England staff have received a record £35million in bonuses, new figures reveal.
The salary top-ups were handed to nearly all employees at the central bank, with the bonus payments rising by more than a third in just three years.
Data obtained by a Freedom of Information Request highlights the largest bonus given to a member of staff was £23,600.
Meanwhile, there were 751 employees who were handed bonus pay cheques of more than £10,000.
The figures, first reported by The Telegraph, indicate in total 95 per cent of staff were given bonuses, which cost £34,961,999.
The bonus payments have sparked anger among some quarters of Britain after Bailey previously called for employers to show restraint when it comes to pay due to the risk of inflation.
He said in 2022 amid concerns over inflation: “We do need to see a moderation of wage rises.”
While the speed of price rises has decreased since the comments on pay rises were made, Bailey warned yesterday the Iran war risked a fresh spike in inflation impacting the economy in the coming months.
Bailey told a House of Commons committee the risk of inflation was “on the upside, really coming from energy prices”.
He added: “The conflict is still going on and it is also causing a high level of energy prices and quite a bit of volatility in energy prices.”
Criticising the Bank of England bonuses amid continued warnings about inflation, national secretary of the GMB trade union, Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, accused the Governor of “hypocrisy”.
She said: “Mr Bailey has sanctimoniously called for wages to be curbed in a bid to halt inflation, while all around him colleagues are trousering tens of millions of pounds in ‘performance awards’.
“It’s rank hypocrisy and will do nothing to improve the reputation of the banking sector.”
Bailey – who has a basic salary of £495,000 – and other top executives at the Bank of England are not eligible for the performance awards.
Defending the bonuses, a spokesman for the Bank of England said: “As part of our efforts to attract, retain and motivate a highly skilled workforce, the Bank awards discretionary, non-pensionable bonus payments that reflect individual staff performance over the year.”
