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CABLE & Wireless chief executive Graham Wallace is being asked to waive part of the £1.5m pay-off due to him when he quits the troubled telecoms group.
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It has already been announced that Wallace, blamed for presiding over a catastrophic collapse in the share price, will leave the firm when a replacement is found. Under the terms of his two-year contract, he is entitled to twice his annual salary of £750,000 plus a payment into his pension fund.
C&W has refused to say whether Wallace is already working his notice. But Richard Lapthorne, the firm's new chairman, plans to interview Wallace soon over the terms of his departure and is hoping that moral arguments will persuade the chief executive to give up part of his cash entitlement.
The company admits in its annual accounts that Wallace's contract breaks corporate governance codes, but says 'it was not considered in the best interests of shareholders to alter the terms'.
The report adds that Wallace would be reminded of his duty to investors 'to mitigate loss'.
One City source said: 'C&W might decide to pay Wallace monthly rather than giving him a lump-sum, but that way he would still receive the full amount.'
The source continued: 'Lapthorne will ask him to hear the sound of leather on willow and tuck his bat under his arm. Though he is unlikely to head another major company, he would leave with some honour intact if he headed for the pavilion without waiting for the umpire's finger.'
The telecoms company, which is developing a new strategy, is poised to appoint a new chief executive from Europe and is desperate to avoid more damaging publicity, this time over 'rewards for failure'.
The source added: 'Hopefully, Wallace will have taken note of the reception John Mayo's pay-off from Marconi received.
'The question is how highly he values his honour.'
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