Will Hutton's idea for a pay cap is not just a challenge to the highly paid. Everyone must help the less well off

Will Hutton's high-pay commission has recommended that no senior person in an organisation should receive a salary more than 20 times what the lowest-paid employee in that workplace receives. This suggestion seems to me a reasonable measure for executives in both the public and private sectors.

But if bonuses, pension contributions and other benefits are not taken into account, there will be a big loophole available for lawyers and accountants to fill—and they will take advantage. It will make nonsense of exploring and addressing the issues of equity in our society. And on that subject, wouldn't it be nice if Hutton's idea applied to Premier League football players as well?

At a time when there is enormous economic hardship felt by many in low-paid jobs—vulnerable public sector workers, the unemployed and struggling low-income families to name the hardest-hit—looking at equity issues in society is more appropriate now than ever before, and a crucial step forward for a civilised society such as Britain.

Such a discussion shouldn't be in the form of a statutory requirement, but a guideline or benchmark of reasonable behaviour and practice. Senior people, whether in the private or public sector, have a social responsibility as well as a duty to the bottom line. Corporate social responsibility is not just about sustainable business practices, the environment and engaging with the local community, but also about individual responsibility and behaviour that promotes fairness and equity for all within an organisation.

At the same time that Hutton's report was highlighted in the media, we had the heartwarming story of Toby Ord, the Oxford University researcher who is giving away a large slice of his monthly salary to charity. Ord earns just over £25,000 a year and donates everything he earns above £18,000 to charity. He claims that his salary puts him in the top 10 per cent of salaries in the world, and that £18,000 is enough for him to live on. Ord is not only selfless but he also believes passionately that unless people put their proverbial "hand in their own pockets" to help others in a world less affluent than the West then poverty and the enormous divide between rich and poor will continue for decades.

Ord has done his own personal calculations about what he can live on reasonably well, and feels that the balance of his salary should be used to assist others less fortunate.

In the UK, there are chief executives, directors and many in the financial services sector who earn salaries far in excess of what they need or are equitable to what others in their business earn, or the added value they contribute to the services and products of organisations.

In business, it is important to reward success and not simply status, and it is crucial that we make sure that salaries are fair for all. We must all make an effort to contribute to those less well off than us, whether in our own workplaces, the local community or the under-developed world.
Ord has struck the first chord in this symphony, which should make us all reflect on what is fair, just and right. As Abraham Lincoln once wrote about life and our responsibilities: "It is not the years in your life which are important, but the life in your years."