The high profile divorce award of £24.3 million to Heather Mills for her four-year marriage to Sir Paul McCartney has highlighted the issue over low pay.

According to experts, it would take an average McDonald’s worker 1771 years to earn that amount.

Recruitment outfit Adecco compared the monthly earnings of Heather Mills, based on the length of her marriage to the Beatles star, to a number of jobs, and found that Mills would earn £159,687.50 a month.

A mechanic would take over seven years to earn as much as Mills did in the same time, whilst a teacher would take almost five and a half years and a secretary over 10.5 years.

Despite this, Adecco has found that money isn’t everything, as highlighted in its survey of over 1,000 UK employees from FTSE and non FTSE companies.

In the survey, 27% of senior managers that had considered leaving work had actively registered with a recruitment consultant, despite the fact that 60% of the same group said they were satisfied, or very satisfied, with current pay levels.

This compares to 6% of non-management (unskilled) workers who registered with a recruiter over the past 12 months of whom only 33% said they were satisfied, or very satisfied, with pay.

Louise Oliver, Adecco’s head of communications, said: “Although most people will never match Heather Mills’ bank balance, it is heartening to remember that when it comes to work the old adage is true; money doesn’t buy happiness.”