Discovery has announced an increase in its minimum annual salary to R200,000, effective October, as part of its commitment to fair compensation and addressing wage disparities. This update was shared in the company’s 2024 annual report, released on Wednesday.
The remuneration committee emphasized its focus on ensuring equitable pay while actively reviewing the differences between the highest and lowest earners within the organization. Group CEO Adrian Gore highlighted progress in enhancing diversity among senior management, with women and black individuals representing 45% and 39% of senior managers, respectively.
The new minimum salary applies to all Discovery employees, except for those on commission-based structures who meet or exceed the R200,000 target. Gore’s compensation rose to R31.6 million in the 2024 financial year, reflecting an increase from the previous year.
Among other top executives, Discovery Bank’s CEO Hylton Kallner earned R57.6 million, while the former CEO of Vitality Global received R22.5 million. The fledgling bank has shown promising growth, narrowing its losses significantly to R454 million from R767 million last year.
In the year ending June, Discovery reported a 17% increase in normalized profit from operations to R11.5 billion, driven by strong contributions from Discovery SA and Vitality Global. This move aligns Discovery with industry peers like Investec and Old Mutual, who have also increased their minimum pay to enhance workforce equity.