1.85 times UK median wage (1.6 times the median for my age bracket). About the same as a train driver [0] [1]
If you look at households with two adults and two children, this kicks in just below the median [2]
The upshot is that I do £1k overtime, which costs my employer £1138, and I keep £400
My collegue who earns 50% as much as me keeps £600
My contractor collegue who is paid twice as much gets paid that £1138 and he keeps £682
My part time collegue who does 5 days a fortnight and gets paid more per day than I do keeps £670 (as does her husband who does the same shift pattern - so they have the same pre-tax household income but far more post-tax)
BTW the median household income in the uk was £27,300 compared to a lot of people in the media/add industries in London you would have to get to director level to earn 60k+
I few years ago I was the lead technical resource for an in house consultancy at RELEX and solved major problems for house hold names and I got paid < 1/2 what a train driver does for a 4 day week.
You both need to realize you are lucky and also learn some maths you colleague who earn 50% less than you is not coming out ahead.
Household of £27k? That's Post Tax, and includes retirees, small householeds, and isn't adjusted for cost of living. 2 years ago household disposable income was £29,200 [0]. GDHI per head in 2015 was £19,106 each, or for a 2 adult family £38,212. And that of course is before you factor in housing costs.
A household with one earner on £50k has a post-tax income of £37k, 26% above average as a household, and lightly under average for the size of household.
My collegue who earns 50% less for 50% of the work does come out ahead. My household works 40 hours a week and gets £50k, her household works 40 hours a week and gets £50k. Our marginal tax rate is over 60%, theirs is 33%.
I few years ago I was the lead technical resource for an in house consultancy at RELEX and solved major problems for house hold names and I got paid < 1/2 what a train driver does for a 4 day week.
You both need to realize you are lucky and also learn some maths you colleague who earn 50% less than you is not coming out ahead.