A shocking revelation has emerged regarding the new owners of City & Guilds, a renowned vocational training body. In the midst of a £22 million cost-cutting drive and a significant reduction in their UK workforce, the top brass at City & Guilds has seen their pay packets triple! But here's where it gets controversial...
The scandal began with the sale of City & Guilds' qualification awards business to PeopleCert, an international certification company. Last week, the chief executive and finance director of City & Guilds were placed on leave as PeopleCert launched an investigation into the acquisition. The Guardian's previous revelations about million-pound bonuses awarded to these executives after privatization triggered a statutory inquiry by the Charity Commission.
Since becoming a private business, the cumulative pay of City & Guilds' top six executives has skyrocketed to a staggering £6.2 million in the current financial year, a whopping 240% increase from the previous year's £1.8 million. This jump includes one-off bonuses of over £4 million for these six executives, with the CEO and finance director receiving £1.7 million and £1.2 million respectively.
The total one-off bonuses paid to C&G executives at the newly privatized company amount to approximately £4.5 million. When asked about this sharp increase, a PeopleCert spokesperson declined to comment further.
However, the Guardian's report highlights that City & Guilds has been on a £22 million cost-cutting mission since its sale last October, with plans to reduce its UK workforce by hundreds of roles. In a presentation by PeopleCert, the company revealed that £13 million of these savings would come from personnel cost synergies, primarily by not replacing departing staff with UK hires.
The presentation, which has since been removed from the PeopleCert website, indicated that City & Guilds, with its 1,600+ staff and 1,800 associates on short-term contracts, has an annual churn rate of about 300 people. PeopleCert plans to relocate a third of these jobs to Greece, where costs are up to 50% lower.
This revelation of lavish pay awards coinciding with an extensive cost-cutting program has caused embarrassment for the privatized company and its former charity owner. City & Guilds has stated that trustees were not involved in remuneration discussions for CGL executives post-sale, leaving it as a matter for the new owners.
However, the Guardian understands that discussions among the charity's trustees took place in 2024, and they voted on bonuses in May 2025, considering bonuses of four times salary. While trustees later voted against paying bonuses related to the sale, the figures discussed appear similar to those eventually awarded by the private company.
PeopleCert has not provided an explanation for this apparent coincidence. CGLI, the former charity owner, is cooperating with the Charity Commission inquiry and maintains that all trustee actions were proper, transparent, and aligned with its charitable purpose.
This story raises important questions about the ethics of executive pay and the responsibilities of organizations towards their staff and stakeholders. What are your thoughts on this matter? Do you think the trustees should have had more oversight over executive remuneration, especially given the significant cost-cutting measures being implemented? We'd love to hear your opinions in the comments below!
