Revealed: the £17,000 pay gap between Peterborough's top and bottom earners

Campaigners have called for a change of culture in the business world, after figures from the ONS revealed “vast economic divides” across the UK.

In Peterborough, the average weekly pay packet for the top 20% of earners among full-time workers in 2018 was two times higher than for the bottom 20%.

The top earners were paid an average £672 per week - the equivalent of £34,940 per year.

For lower earners, average pay was just £337 per week, or £17,520 per year.

Luke Hildyard, director of independent think tank the High Pay Centre, said: “The UK is one of the most unequal developed countries in the world with some of both the richest and poorest regions in Western Europe.

“Most people are deeply uncomfortable with such wide divisions and rightly believe that we should be doing better.

“Corporate governance reforms, stronger trade union representation in low-paid, precarious industries and a change in business culture would all go a long way to building a fairer economy.”

The average full-time employee in Peterborough works for 38.5 hours per week.

With a median salary of £23,702 per year, this means the average worker gets paid £11.84 per hour.

But the average hourly wage for the bottom 20% of workers is just £8.75, compared to £17.45 for those at the top end of the scale.

The figures refer to just basic pay, and do not include bonuses or overtime.

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, called for the minimum wage to be increased to £10 an hour “as soon as possible”.

She added that millions of people are stuck in low-paid jobs with little chance of progression, which is bad for both workers and national productivity.

“Many towns have been held back by lack of investment, leading to a shortage of solid jobs with good pay,” she said.

“They need a fair chance to rebuild their local economy with government support through a new National Investment Bank.”

The gap between the highest and lowest earners in Peterborough is smaller than the national average.

Across the UK, the average annual salary for the highest 20% of earners is 2.3 times higher than for lower earners.

Top earners were paid £43,129 in 2018, compared to £18,970 for lower-paid workers - a gap of £24,160.

The region with the greatest gap was London, where the highest paid earned £54,798 in 2018, almost £32,200 higher than the lowest earners.