Pay increases for directors and senior executives is now below the cost of living, a new survey has revealed.

The survey, from Incomes Data Services (IDS), reveals that the average pay increase for board members and senior management was 3.9%, compared with 4.7% in the same period the previous year. The average midpoint salary for board members is now £177,862 and £96,496 for senior managers.

Steve Tatton, editor of the IDS Executive Compensation Review, said: “As the current economic uncertainty hits businesses’ bottom lines, they are being forced to put the brakes on directors’ and senior executives’ pay increases.”