Average pay for senior staff at budget-busting scheme increased 15% in 2018

The amount spent on the salaries of the directors running the budget-busting Crossrail scheme grew in the past year, its latest accounts have revealed.

In its for the year ending 31 March 2018, Crossrail Ltd said it had spent 拢1.83m on the pay packets of nine directors. It also handed out a further 拢56,500 under long term incentive schemes.

In its previous set of results, Crossrail paid 拢1.76m to 10 directors, meaning the average director salary grew by 15% or more than 拢27,000 in the 12 months to last March.

shutterstock_783180358

Source: Martin Hoscik/shutterstock.com

Last August Crossrail confirmed the line would not be ready to open in December. Three months later it announced it would cost up to another 拢2bn to complete.

And the figures show the average salary for staff at the business 鈥 excluding the wages of directors 鈥 went up 11% to almost 拢68,000 a year. The number of staff during the period fell from 596 to 499.

Among those to leave was former chief executive Andrew Wolstenholme who went at the end of March last year to take up a post at defence contractor BAE Systems.

Wolstenholme, who led the project for seven years, was handed a near 拢98,000 pay out for compensation for loss of office, the accounts said.

A Crossrail spokesperson told 好色先生TV the payment was made because 鈥渉is role [was] coming to an end鈥 with Wolstenholme鈥檚 successor, Simon Wright, combining the chief executive post with his then existing role of programme director.

Wolstenholme was the highest paid director over the period, earning 拢736,157, including the pay out.

Wright left the business last November and has been replaced by Mark Wild amid a wider rejig of the senior team, which saw chairman Sir Terry Morgan leave the same month. Wild has since brought in Peter Henderson to take on the programme director role.

A spokesperson for Crossrail said: 鈥淎ny bonus payments made to the Crossrail Limited senior leadership team in previous financial years was because performance criteria and project milestones had been met and delivered in those years.鈥

Crossrail employees with an annual base salary of more than 拢150,000 in 2017/18

NamePosition held in 2017/18 TfL Annual ReportSalary (including fees and allowances) 2017/18

Andrew Wolstenholme

Former chief executive

拢476,772

Simon Wright

Programme director

拢328,873

Valerie Todd

Talent and resources director

拢258,277

Sir Terry Morgan7

Chairman

拢250,000

Matthew Duncan

Finance director

拢247,016

Paul Grammer

Commercial director

拢238,147

Chris Sexton

Technical director

拢230,707

Ian Lindsay

Former land & property director

拢214,773

Mark Fell

Legal services director & company secretary

拢199,573

Leon Daniels1

Former managing director surface transport

拢195,353

Howard Smith

Director of operations

拢183,075

Chris Binns

Chief engineer

拢170,980

Jeremy Bates

Head of infrastructure

拢163,488

Richard Palczynski

Programme controls director

拢161,635

Matthew White

Surface director

拢156,943

Will Parkes5

Former external affairs director

拢113,560

Ian Nunn2

Former chief financial officer

拢105,136

Duncan Pickard6

Former stations delivery director

拢87,656

Derek Baille3

Former project manager property development

拢27,318

Garrett Emmerson4

Chief operating officer

拢15,711

Source: 

Notes: 

1. Left service 20 December 2017

2. Passed away 25 July 2017. Salary sacrificed for pension of 拢2,427 (2016/17 拢7,504)

3. Left service 30 June 2017. Paid for providing services 1.5 days per week

4. Left service 30 April 2017. Salary sacrificed for pension of 拢631 (2016/17 拢7,504)

5. Left service 31 December 2017

6. Left service 29 September 2017

7. Paid for providing services three days per week