Pay freeze for top bosses at Shell

Chief executive Peter Voser and finance head Simon Henry – who took on the roles last year – will not see their pay reviewed again until January 2011 under the reforms.

The group's third executive director, international exploration boss Malcolm Brinded, will also be impacted by the pay freeze, but he has already had his salary kept on hold since July 2008, according to Shell.

The move comes after Shell suffered a shareholder revolt last May, when 59.4 per cent of investors voted against its pay proposals at the group's annual general meeting.

It faced investor fury after making huge payouts as part of its long-term incentive plan, despite missing performance targets.

The group's last annual report revealed that former chief executive Jeroen van der Veer received a total package worth 8.2m in 2008 and was awarded 77,518 shares – worth around 1.3m.

Shell said in a letter to shareholders published on its website yesterday that it wanted to "demonstrate appropriate restraint in the current economic environment".

It stressed that, while Mr Voser and Mr Henry were given salary increases when they took on their roles last year, their salaries were around 20 per cent lower than those paid to previous bosses.