The Telegraph: Unilever cannot hire top talent in America because of Britain’s “onerous” red tape around how much executives are paid, the company has said.

The Marmite and mayonnaise maker said that the UK’s strict “governance and pay environment” meant it was unable to hire the most talented people for executive roles in the US.

Susan Kilsby, the chairman of Unilever’s remuneration committee, said in its latest annual report: “Given that the governance and pay environment is considerably more restrictive in the UK than elsewhere, our current remuneration structure does not allow us to compete effectively for the best talent globally.”

The company said it had “been in the market over the past year and have seen live examples of US candidates whose current pay packages are unaffordable without creating significant relativity or pay compression issues”.

This is because hiring some of those top US executives would require them to be paid significantly more than their UK counterparts.

Unilever is pushing to convince shareholders that it needs to increase pay for its executives – including for Fernando Fernandez, its chief executive, who took the helm from Hein Schumacher last year.

Mr Fernandez’s final pay package for 2025 was around €5.6m (£4.8m), which included a €1.75m annual bonus.

If he meets his targets in 2026 under the proposed new pay package, Mr Fernandez is on track to take home €10m at the end of the year.

However, he could take home significantly more if he surpasses his targets and Unilever’s share price rises by 50pc. Mr Fernandez has the potential to earn as much as €23.8m.

In its annual report, released this week, Unilever said it will review its remuneration policy a year earlier than the usual three-year time frame.

“We have consulted extensively with our largest shareholders, key institutional investors and proxy advisers to understand their views on our remuneration structures and challenges, as well as the wider market context. We received support for our proposals from the majority of those consulted,” the report stated.

There has been pushback previously from shareholders over executive pay as the consumer goods giant seeks to move on from its social purpose mission, which was pursued under its former chief executive.

Before 2023, the company had attempted to promote environmentalism and equality by giving every brand a social purpose: a move mocked by investors, who claimed it had “clearly lost the plot”.

Mr Schumacher subsequently announced a major overhaul called the growth action plan, under which its efforts to transform the world were more tightly focused.

When he was unable to reinvigorate the company’s share price, which had been largely stagnant since 2017, Mr Schumacher was replaced by Mr Fernandez.

A spokesman for Unilever said: “Our new remuneration policy will strengthen the link between pay and performance, helping us to attract and retain top talent in an intensively competitive global market.

“It places greater weight on variable and long‑term incentives, creating a simpler and more transparent structure aligned with our peers and reflecting the scale and complexity of our business.”