AstraZeneca PLC – Annual report – 31 December 2020
Industry: pharmaceuticals
Changes to Remuneration Policy and its implementation
The table below summarises the main proposed changes to the Directors’ Remuneration Policy (the Policy), the intended changes to implementation of the Policy in 2021 and the rationale for each change.
The full Policy that shareholders will be asked to approve is set out from page 157.
Remuneration Policy
This section sets out the Directors’ Remuneration Policy (the Policy) proposed for approval by shareholders at the Company’s AGM on 30 April 2021. Subject to shareholder approval, the Policy is intended to remain in effect for three years from the 2021 AGM. The previous page summarises how the Policy differs from the policy which was approved by shareholders at the 2020 AGM. Whilst the policy at the 2020 AGM received strong support from our shareholders, the Committee reviewed the policy in light of AstraZeneca’s continuous growth, the increase to both the CEO’s and CFO’s role scope following AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 response, as well as competitive pay levels in comparison to global and European pharmaceutical peers.
Setting the Policy
The Remuneration Committee (the Committee) is responsible for setting overall remuneration policy and makes decisions about specific remuneration arrangements in the broader context of employee remuneration throughout the Group. The Committee reviews Group remuneration data annually, including ratios of average employee pay to senior executive pay; bonus data; as well as gender and geographical data in relation to base pay and variable compensation. This includes a workforce remuneration review to understand the ways in which reward is differentiated by contribution across the population.
Remuneration for all roles within the organisation is benchmarked against that for comparable roles in similar organisations and in the employee’s local market. Executive Directors’ remuneration is benchmarked against global and European pharmaceutical peer groups and the FTSE 30. In reviewing the base pay of Executive Directors, the Committee considers the overall level of any base pay increases being awarded to employees in the Executive Director’s local market in the relevant year. In setting, reviewing and implementing the Policy, the Committee seeks independent advice and ensures that no Director makes decisions relating to their own remuneration. The Committee connects with the Audit Committee to ensure that the Group’s remuneration policies and practices achieve the right balance between appropriate incentives to reward good performance, management of risk, and the pursuit of the Company’s strategic objectives.
The Board as a whole takes responsibility for gathering the views of AstraZeneca’s workforce, and does so through multiple channels of engagement. While the Committee does not consult employees specifically when setting the Executive Directors’ remuneration policy, the Company engages with employees, either on a Group-wide basis or in the context of smaller focus groups, to solicit feedback generally on a wide range of matters, including pay. Many employees are also shareholders in the Company and therefore have the opportunity to vote on the Policy at the 2021 AGM.
In all aspects of its work, the Committee considers both the external environment in which the Company operates and the guidance issued by organisations representing institutional shareholders. It consults the Company’s major investors on general and specific remuneration matters and provides opportunities for representatives of those investors to meet the Chairman of the Committee and other Committee and Board members. It is the Company’s policy to seek input from major shareholders on an ad hoc basis when significant changes to remuneration arrangements are proposed. A thorough consultation process was undertaken as this Policy was developed, with investors’ feedback on the Committee’s proposals influencing the final Policy. The Company’s shareholders are encouraged to attend the AGM and any views expressed will be considered by Committee members.
Legacy arrangements
The Committee may approve remuneration payments and payments for loss of office on terms that differ to the terms in the Policy where the terms of the payment were agreed before the Policy came into effect or were agreed at a time when the relevant individual was not a Director of the Company (provided that, in the opinion of the Committee, the agreement was not entered into in consideration for the individual becoming a Director of the Company). This includes the exercise of any discretion available to the Committee in connection with such payments. For these purposes, payments include the Committee satisfying awards of variable remuneration, including share awards, in line with the terms agreed at the time the award was granted.
Minor amendments
The Committee may make minor amendments to the arrangements for Directors described in the Policy without shareholder approval for regulatory, exchange control, tax or administrative purposes or to take account of a change in legislation.
Remuneration Policy for Executive Directors
Historical LTI: AstraZeneca Investment Plan (AZIP)
The final grant under the AZIP took place in 2016. All extant AZIP awards have completed the relevant four year performance period and are now subject to a holding period before vesting. The AZIP holding period lasts for four years following the performance period, so that vesting takes place on the eighth anniversary of the start of the performance period. The holding period attached to the 2016 AZIP award will end on 1 January 2024. During the holding period, no further performance measures apply. Payout of an award is subject to continued employment as further described in the Treatment of LTI and Deferred Bonus Plan awards on cessation of employment section on page 165. The shares equivalent in value to the dividends that would have been paid on the vesting shares during the performance and holding periods will be awarded to the Director.
The Committee has discretion to reduce or cancel any portion of an unvested award in certain circumstances (malus), including (i) serious misconduct by the individual; (ii) material misstatement or restatement of the results of the Group; or (iii) significant reputational damage to the Group. The Committee has discretion to claw-back from individuals some or all of the award in certain circumstances, including (i) serious misconduct by the individual (for up to six years from the end of the performance period); (ii) material misstatement or restatement of the results of the Group (for up to two years from the end of the performance period); or (iii) significant reputational damage to the Group (for up to two years from the end of the performance period).
Differences in remuneration policy for other employees
The Company’s approach to determining and reviewing the base pay of the Executive Directors and the employee population as a whole is the same. On an annual basis the base pay for individual roles are reviewed in the context of the external market. AstraZeneca participates in annual global compensation surveys, which provide benchmarking data for all roles within the organisation, ensuring a robust base pay review process for all roles. Employee base pay is reviewed through our annual review process. The Company seeks to provide an appropriate range of competitive benefits, including healthcare and pension, to all employees (including Executive Directors) in the context of their local market.
Employees globally may be eligible for LTI awards in the form of the PSP and/or restricted stock units depending on their level and market. The occupants of senior roles in the Company are currently eligible for PSP awards – these are the leaders who have the ability to directly influence the execution of the Company’s strategic goals. A proportion of each Senior Executive Team (SET) member’s annual bonus is deferred into shares under the DBP. An LTI award may be used for the same purpose as described above on the recruitment of employees, or, for employees other than Directors, for retention.
Remuneration scenarios for Executive Directors
The charts below illustrate how much the current Executive Directors could receive under different performance scenarios in 2021. Dividend equivalents payable in respect of PSP awards are not included in the scenarios. To compile the charts, the following assumptions have been made:
Approach to recruitment remuneration for Executive Directors
On the recruitment of a new Executive Director, the Committee seeks to pay no more than is necessary to attract and retain the best candidate available, within the limits of our approved Remuneration Policy. The Committee will offer a remuneration package that it considers appropriate in the particular circumstances of the recruitment, giving due regard to the interests of the Company’s shareholders and taking into account factors such as typical market practice, existing arrangements for the other Executive Directors, internal relativities and market positioning.
The pharmaceutical industry is global, and future Executive Directors might be recruited from organisations with pay structures and practices that differ from AstraZeneca’s usual Remuneration Policy. The Committee believes that it is in the interests of shareholders for it to retain an element of flexibility in its approach to recruitment to enable it to attract the best candidates; however, this flexibility is limited.
The Committee may find it necessary to compensate a new recruit for forfeiture of entitlements as a consequence of the recruit leaving his or her previous employment to join AstraZeneca. There is no limit to the value of such buy-out award, however the Committee will rigorously consider the appropriate value so as not to pay more than the compensation being forfeited. The Committee will seek to offer a package weighted towards equity in the Company, and will usually seek to use the PSP as the primary vehicle for buy-out awards where possible; however, the precise nature of the compensation arrangement will depend on the type of entitlement being forfeited. The arrangement might therefore comprise a combination of cash, share awards granted under the PSP (subject to the Policy maximum), and other restricted shares. The Committee may introduce a one-off arrangement as permitted under Listing Rule 9.4.2 in order to deliver a restricted share award. Malus and claw-back provisions would normally apply to buy-out awards, for the same reasons as detailed under the DBP and PSP.
Restricted share awards will only be granted as part of recruitment arrangements to compensate for loss of remuneration opportunities suffered on leaving previous employment.
The Committee considers whether the lost incentives were subject to performance targets and their probability of vesting. The normal approach is to seek broadly to mirror the timing of vesting and application of performance targets of the compensation being forfeited. For example, a buy-out award may be granted without performance conditions where the foregone compensation was not subject to performance testing, however the Committee may apply appropriate performance measures if it considers it appropriate.
The Committee may allow a restricted share award to vest in tranches at different points. If no performance targets are attached to a compensatory award, it will vest in full if the individual remains in employment on the vesting date. On vesting, shares equivalent in value to the dividends that would have been paid during the vesting period will be awarded to the Director.
All other aspects of a new recruit’s compensation opportunity will be subject to the maxima stated in the Policy. In the case of Group employees who are promoted internally to the position of Executive Director, the Committee intends to honour all remuneration arrangements entered into before the promotion.
The Company may reimburse the costs of financial planning, legal and tax advice and reasonable costs incurred on recruitment, including relocation support.
Service contracts for Executive Directors
Save as noted below, it is not intended that service contracts for new Executive Directors will contain terms that are materially different from those summarised below or contained in the Policy as set out in this Remuneration Policy Report. The contractual obligations below are applicable to each of the current Executive Directors unless stated otherwise. Copies of the Executive Directors’ service contracts can be inspected at the Company’s Registered Office.
Principles of payment for loss of office for Executive Directors
The Company does not make additional payments for loss of office, other than, as appropriate, payments in lieu of notice as described above or payments in respect of damages if the Company terminates an Executive Director’s service contract in breach of contract (taking into account, as appropriate, the Director’s responsibility to mitigate any losses). The Committee has discretion to award payments in certain circumstances, as set out on the following page, depending on the nature of the termination and the Executive Director’s performance. The LTI plans are governed by plan rules, which define how individual awards under those plans should be treated upon termination of employment and corporate activity, including sale of a business outside the Group. The treatment of awards in these circumstances will be determined according to the rules and subject to Committee discretion. Aside from the reasons relating to corporate activity, generally, awards under LTI plans will only be allowed to vest for those Executive Directors who leave the Company in circumstances such as ill-health, injury, disability, redundancy or retirement, or any other reason the Committee considers appropriate, or where employment terminates by reason of the Executive Director’s death (see the table on page 165 for further information). Awards that are allowed to vest will typically be pro-rated for time, subject to the Committee’s discretion. In addition to any payment in lieu of notice, the individual components of remuneration and other payments which may be payable on loss of office are set out on the following pages, subject to the terms of any applicable bonus rules or share plan rules. No awards will vest where an individual has been dismissed for cause.
Annual bonus
At the discretion of the Committee, an Executive Director may receive a bonus for the performance year in which they leave the Company. Typically, this sum will reflect a bonus pro-rated for the part of the year in which they worked. This will depend on the circumstances, including an assessment of performance against the scorecard and the Executive Director’s performance in the relevant period and the circumstances of their departure, and may be in such proportion of cash and/or shares as the Committee will determine. The deferred share element of previous bonuses granted, and any deferred share element of the bonus awarded in respect of the departing year, may still vest for the benefit of the departing Executive Director at the end of the period of deferral. The Committee has the discretion to accelerate and/or retain the deferral period and allow shares to vest for the benefit of the Executive Director on their departure and/or in accordance with the vesting schedule as the case may be.
LTI plans
The LTI plan rules envisage circumstances under which some, all or none of the shares held under LTI plans will vest in connection with departure. The exact timing and number of shares vesting will depend on the circumstances, including the reason for leaving (as set out in the table on page 165) and may be subject to Committee discretion, depending on what it considers to be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.
Restricted share awards
The treatment on termination will depend upon the terms of the individual Executive Director’s awards on recruitment. The Committee has discretion to determine the treatment at the time of departure based on what it considers to be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.
Non-statutory redundancy payment
Executive Directors are not entitled to non-statutory redundancy payments.
Pension contributions and other benefits
Pension contributions and other benefits for Executive Directors will be payable up to the termination date or as part of a payment in lieu of notice as described on page 163.
Payments in relation to statutory rights
The amount considered reasonable to pay by the Committee in respect of statutory rights may be included in the overall termination payment.
Payments required by law
The Committee reserves the right to make any other payments in connection with an Executive Director’s cessation of office or employment where the payments are made in good faith in discharge of an existing legal obligation (or by way of damages for breach of such an obligation) or by way of settlement of any claim arising in connection with the cessation of an Executive Director’s office or employment.
Mitigation
The departing Executive Director will be required to mitigate their loss by using reasonable efforts to secure new employment.
Professional fees
The Company may pay an amount considered reasonable by the Committee in respect of fees for legal and tax advice, and outplacement support for the departing Executive Director.
Treatment of LTI and Deferred Bonus Plan awards on cessation of employment
Remuneration Policy for Non-Executive Directors
Non-Executive Directors, including the Chairman, receive annual Board fees. With the exception of the Chairman, Non-Executive Directors receive additional fees for membership and chairmanship of Board Committees and for holding the position of senior independent Non-Executive Director. Non-Executive Directors are not eligible for performance-related bonuses or to participate in any of the Company’s share-based incentive plans. No pension contributions are made on their behalf. The annual Board fees applicable to Non-Executive Directors are set out in the Annual Report on Remuneration. Changes to these fees in future years will be set out in the corresponding year’s Annual Report on Remuneration. The remuneration of Non-Executive Directors (excluding the Chairman) is determined by the Chairman and the Executive Directors. The remuneration of the Chairman is determined by the other members of the Committee and the senior independent Non-Executive Director.
Letters of appointment
None of the Non-Executive Directors has a service contract but each has a letter of appointment. The terms and conditions of appointment of Non-Executive Directors may be viewed on the Governance page of the AstraZeneca website, at http://www.astrazeneca.com. In accordance with the Company’s Articles, following their appointment, all Directors must retire at each AGM and may present themselves for re-election. The Company is mindful of the director independence provisions of the 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code and, in this regard, a Non-Executive Director’s overall tenure will not normally exceed nine years. The Chairman may terminate his appointment at any time, on three months’ notice. None of the other Non-Executive Directors has a notice period or any provision in their letter of appointment giving them a right to compensation upon early termination of appointment.
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