How Much Do UK Non-Executive Directors (NEDS) Get Paid? (2026 Guide)

The evidence for pursuing a board appointment is compelling. People who hold board appointments are less likely to be unemployed, build stronger professional networks, demonstrate strategic leadership at the highest level, and transition more successfully into new executive roles and consultancy careers. According to research cited by Harvard Business Review, those who hold a board appointment alongside an executive role earn 13% more and are 44% more likely to be promoted than their peers who don’t.

Beyond career advantage, board appointments can provide meaningful supplementary — or even portfolio — income. It’s why so many aspiring non-executive directors ask the same question: how much do UK non-executive directors (NEDs) actually get paid?

The honest answer is: it depends enormously on the type of organisation, its size, and the nature of your role. Here is a comprehensive breakdown.

How is Non-Executive Director (NED) Pay Structured?

Before diving into figures, it’s worth understanding how non-executive director pay works. NED fees are typically paid as a retainer — a fixed annual fee in exchange for a defined time commitment, often around 15–25 days per year for a standard NED role. To remain independent, when it comes to NEDs, their roles are unique because they are not employees of the organisation. However, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) considers most UK-based NEDs to be Office Holders and classifies them as employees. The organisation should withhold income tax (PAYE) and National Insurance Contributions (NIC).

Additional fees are often paid on top of the base retainer for:

• • Serving as Senior Independent Director (SID)
  • Chairing or sitting on board committees (audit, remuneration, nomination, ESG)
  • Chairing the full board (Chair roles carry a significantly higher fee structure)

 

Equity-based compensation remains uncommon in the UK market, though it is a growing trend: the 2025 UK Spencer Stuart Board Index notes that five FTSE 150 companies now include shares as a component of NED fees, up from very few in prior years.

FTSE 150: Non-Executive Director Base Fees

According to the 2025 UK Spencer Stuart Board Index — now in its 30th edition, covering the top 150 FTSE companies — the average base fee for a non-executive director is £80,888, representing a 3% increase over 2024.

However, context matters. Research published by Board Agenda in December 2025 found that FTSE 100 NED fees have lagged CPI inflation by 11.8% over the past decade, representing a real-terms pay cut at a time when time commitments, regulatory complexity, and accountability have all significantly increased.

Most companies (around 95%) pay additional fees for committee roles:

• • Audit Committee Chair: average fee approximately £10,000–£11,500
  • Remuneration Committee Chair: broadly comparable
  • ESG/Sustainability Committee Chair: an increasingly common additional payment as boards formalise their ESG governance structures

Committee Chair fees remain uncommon in the SmallCap market, and where offered, are typically around £5,000.

FTSE 150: Senior Independent Director (SID) Remuneration

The Senior Independent Director acts as a sounding board for the Chair and serves as an intermediary for other directors — a role that has grown in importance amid increasing board accountability. The 2025 Spencer Stuart data shows SID fees increased by 5% in 2025, outpacing NED base fee growth.

Additional fees for SIDs vary widely. At the lower end, LondonMetric Property and Games Workshop pay around £5,000 in additional SID fees. At the upper end, HSBC pays up to £200,000 — reflecting the scale, complexity, and regulatory intensity of major financial institutions.

FTSE 150: Chair Remuneration

Chair fees increased by 2.5% in 2025, according to Spencer Stuart. The average total remuneration for a Chair is:

• • 5.6 times that of a non-executive director
  • 3.3 times that of a Senior Independent Director

 

Chair roles represent a significant step up in responsibility, time commitment, and accountability — the fee differential reflects this. Chairs are typically expected to commit 30–50+ days per year, lead board effectiveness reviews, manage succession for the CEO and the executive team, and act as the primary interface between the board and the executive team.

For specific Chair and SID fee figures across individual FTSE 150 companies, the full Spencer Stuart 2025 report is available to download.

FTSE SmallCap: Chair & NED Remuneration

According to Alvarez & Marsal’s Non-Executive Director Fees in the FTSE All-Share — December 2025:

Role	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	YoY Increase
SmallCap Chair	£153,000	£180,000	£210,500	+2.0%
SmallCap NED	£51,500	£55,000	£61,500	+2.0%

Additional fees are paid to committee chairs, typically around £10,000 for Audit and Remuneration Committee chairs. ESG committee chair fees are now paid by 31% of SmallCap companies, up from 27% the prior year, reflecting the continued rollout of formal ESG governance structures across smaller listed companies.

The full Alvarez & Marsal December 2025 report provides a complete breakdown across FTSE 100, FTSE 250, and SmallCap segments, including Financial Services sector data.

Private Company: NED & Board Adviser Remuneration

Private company NED pay is harder to benchmark — information is rarely disclosed publicly — but based on my experience at Board Appointments:

• • Average NED annual fee: approximately £15,000, with a range extending up to £90,000
  • Average Chair fee: approximately £28,000, with a range up to £170,000

Private companies often appoint Board Advisers rather than formal legal directors. The distinction matters: Board Advisers have fewer legal duties and liabilities, making the role more accessible. Fees typically start at £2,000 annually and vary considerably by time commitment and the company’s stage and scale.

Pay in private companies is primarily driven by the business’s turnover, sector, and whether it has external investment (PE, VC, family office) — institutional investors often introduce more structured fee frameworks.

Start-Ups & Early Stage: Equity + Fees

Early-stage businesses — particularly those with angel or seed-stage venture investment — frequently offer a combination of a modest director fee and equity (shares or options) rather than a purely cash-based retainer. The equity upside can, in theory, dwarf the annual fee if the business scales.

Pre-revenue or early-stage businesses often seek Board Advisers rather than formal NEDs, particularly before they have external shareholders requiring formal governance structures.

Charities & Not-for-Profit: Trustee Remuneration

Trustee roles in charities are typically unpaid — around only one in ten pay anything meaningful. Most charities do cover reasonable out-of-pocket expenses. Payment of trustees requires specific legal justification and must be explicitly permitted by the charity’s governing document.

There are structured exceptions within the broader not-for-profit sector:

Housing Associations

Housing Association board remuneration is primarily correlated to the size of the organisation. Pay broadly falls within a range comparable to that of NHS Trust NEDs, and the National Housing Federation provides guidance to member organisations on fee benchmarking.

Pension Trusts

According to PwC’s 2024 Trustee Pay Survey — based on the 9th biennial survey of UK pension scheme trustee boards:

• • Chair of a Trustee board: average £54,000 per year
  • Non-chair Trustee (with sub-committee responsibilities): average £30,000 per year

 

Earlier Mallowstreet data showed wider ranges (chair average £80,693; trustee £32,485), reflecting the significant variation by scheme size, complexity, and the presence or absence of a professional trustee. There is no single standard figure — remuneration is set by the scheme’s rulebook and the sponsoring employer’s circumstances.

Investment Trusts

According to Trust Associates’ NED Fee Survey 2025 — an annual survey of fees paid to chairs, audit chairs, and directors of London-listed investment companies:

• • Average NED fee: £37,817 (median £33,747, range: £11,250–£112,500)
  • Average Chair fee: £58,752 (median £49,000, range: £25,000–£170,000)

Fees rose 4.4% in the year to 31 March 2025, above the CPI rate of 2.6% over the same period. The wide ranges reflect the significant size differences between the smallest and largest investment trusts.

NHS Trusts & Foundation Trusts

All NHS Trusts and Foundation Trusts have boards of non-executive directors. Currently, non-executive directors receive a fixed annual fee of £13,000, set by the Secretary of State for Health. This has remained unchanged for a number of years.

Chair remuneration follows a banded structure based on the trust’s designation (Groups 1–5, determined by annual turnover and organisational complexity), with variation between the lower and upper quartiles reflecting the chair’s skills, experience, and the role’s relative complexity.

See NHS England’s current terms and conditions for Trust Chairs and NEDs for the full framework.

NED Pay at a Glance as of June 2026: A Quick Reference Summary

Sector	NED Average Fee	Chair Average Fee
FTSE 150 (listed)	£80,888	~5.6x NED
FTSE SmallCap (listed)	£55,000 (median)	£180,000 (median)
Private company	~£15,000	~£28,000
Investment trust	£37,817	£37,817
Pension trust	£30,000	£54,000
NHS Trust	£13,000	Banded by size
Housing association	Variable	Variable
Charity / NFP	Typically unpaid	Typically unpaid

Figures as at 2025. Sources: Spencer Stuart (2025), Alvarez & Marsal (December 2025), Trust Associates (2025), PwC (2024), NHS England.

What NEDs Are Actually Paid For: Accountability, Risk & Time

For some, these figures seem generous for part-time roles. But it’s important to understand what NED remuneration compensates for — and what it doesn’t.

UK non-executive directors carry real legal and personal risk. As a director, you are personally liable under the Companies Act 2006 regardless of whether you are executive or non-executive. The key risks include:

• • Legal liability: Directors can be held personally liable for company failings, regulatory breaches, or actions taken in breach of their duties.
  • Reputational risk: Board membership associates your professional reputation with the organisation’s decisions and outcomes.
  • Time commitment: Most FTSE NED roles require 15–25 days per year minimum; committee chair roles or chairs require substantially more.
  • Limited control: NEDs cannot direct management on a day-to-day basis, yet carry accountability for outcomes.

 

The real-terms erosion of FTSE NED fees over the past decade — down 11.8% against CPI — is a genuine governance concern. The complexity and time demands of the role have risen substantially, yet pay has not kept pace.

Should You Pursue a Board Appointment for the Money?

The figures above make clear that NED remuneration varies enormously. For some, a board appointment won’t deliver the financial reward they imagined. For others — particularly those who build a portfolio of well-chosen FTSE and private company roles — it can represent a genuinely meaningful income stream.

But in our experience, most people don’t pursue a board appointment primarily for the money. They recognise the career benefits, want to contribute at the strategic level, or understand that operating at board level is where they can have the greatest impact.

Despite the genuine risks and, outside listed companies, often modest financial returns, board appointments remain highly competitive. For every person who declines a board role, there are many more who would take it.

If you’re serious about securing a board appointment, you need more than ambition — you need a strategy. Board Appointments can help. A great starting point is to attend one of my Virtual Board Search Events, where you’ll learn exactly what boards are looking for and how to position yourself as a credible candidate.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many days per year does a NED role typically require? Standard NED roles on listed company boards typically require 15–25 days per year, including board meetings, committee meetings, preparation time, and site visits. Chair roles, committee chairs, and SID roles require more.

Are NED fees subject to tax? Yes, as mentioned above, most NED fees are subject to PAYE tax, which the organisation withholds. There may be exceptions to this rule, for example:

• If the particular NED role is not created by a constitutional document, and will not be filled by successive holders
• If the NED is not a UK citizen
• If the role is purely a consulting role to the board.
  
  

If a NED’s fee is an exception, or they receive a consulting fee in addition to their NED fee, it is generally treated as self-employment income, meaning they are responsible for paying income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Can I hold multiple NED roles? Yes — many NEDs build a portfolio of roles across different organisations. This is both permitted and common, though some company articles of association or employment contracts restrict concurrent board positions.

Do NEDs receive employee benefits and protections? Whilst most paid NEDs are considered employees for tax purposes, they are not considered employees under employment law. They are therefore not entitled to annual leave or redundancy pay, or protected from unfair dismissal or notice periods. They are, however, covered for anti-discrimination and whistleblower protection.

What is the difference between a NED and a Board Adviser? A Non-Executive Director is a formally appointed legal director of the company with duties under the Companies Act 2006. A Board Adviser has no legal directorship status and therefore fewer legal duties and liabilities — a distinction that matters particularly at early-stage and private companies.

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