Fuller's explains £50,000 bonus move

London brewer Fuller's has defended its decision to pay all its executive directors a one-off £50,000 bonus following changes made to their service contracts. The company said the payments had been made following a decision to reduce the length of directors' contracts from two years to one and compress other benefits. Fuller's said the payments were not part of directors' salaries and were recommended by non-executive directors sitting on the company's renumeration committee following a report from independent consultants. The brewer and pub operator stressed that details had been openly revealed in the company's annual report and reflected "best practice change in the light of current corporate governance requirements". A spokeswoman stressed that the payments were not part of directors' salaries and would never be given again. "These payments are paid only once and guarantee lower pay-outs to directors should their contracts ever be terminated. "This is all about ensuring that Fuller's is operating in an ethical, forward-thinking manner," she added. The company said the only substantial increase in the basic salary of a director was for former managing director, Michael Turner, whose £27,000 increase up to £185,000 per annum reflected his promotion to the role of chief executive. But the bonus payments are understood to have caused resentment among some Fuller's employees, most of whom have received pay increases of between 2% and 3% this year. One staff member and "de-motivated shareholder," who wished to remain anonymous, said he felt the payments could not be justified when dividends had not increased dramatically and trading conditions in the industry were still difficult.