The golden handshake: A case of so long and thanks for all the dosh
On each year's list of top-earning executives there are those who have resigned or had their contracts terminated and have been paid enormous severance packages - seemingly unrelated to company performance.
The golden handshake is a common bugbear for shareholders. It is offered in the midst of corporate disgrace and often in multiples of the executive's regular salary - and can shave millions from a company's bottom line.
When BHP Billiton CEO Marius Kloppers left the mining group in October 2013, he technically received no severance pay. After pulling down nearly R90-million in 2011 and R26-million in 2012, Kloppers was paid R56-million for 2013.
Kloppers's total figure included a performance bonus of just over R14-million - in a year in which the company's headline earings per share dipped by a third.
BHP Billiton also said goodbye to Marcus Randolph, who, after resigning in September last year, was paid R23.2-million for the year - including a performance bonus of R8.3-million. The company's Graham Kerr opted to take on the leadership of the mining company's new, demerged entity, NewCo.
Receiving a performance bonus of R8.7-million and resigning in October 2013, Kerr saw his salary rise 80% over the previous year, to R21-million.
The mining sector witnessed several high-profile resignations, including that of this year's top-placed salary earner, Mark Cutifani, who resigned from AngloGold Ashanti in March last year to head up Anglo American.
It was a bad year for AngloGold Ashanti, which saw its headline earnings drop 93%.
Still, overall Cutifani took home R106.8-million last year, made up of R25-million from AngloGold Ashanti and the other R81.1-million from Anglo American. This included an R18.6-million performance bonus from Anglo American.
Cutifani's exit was followed by Tony O'Neill joining Anglo American from AngloGold Ashanti as a nonexecutive director in October 2013. O'Neill earned R34-million from AngloGold Ashanti in 2013, after resigning in July - a 100% increase over his 2012 pay.
Cutifani replaced Cynthia Carroll, who left with a salary of R6.2-million and a bonus of R7.2-million, contributing to a total of R15.7-million in 2013. This was half of what Carroll, who resigned in April last year, was paid in 2012.
Depending on when companies close their financial years, resignations handed in during 2012 - such as that of Philip Crous from Assore - register on the 2013 earnings list. Crous, who resigned in August 2012, enjoyed a 112% increase in his salary in 2013, being paid R41-million.
In the public sector, Eskom CEO Brian Dames resigned at the end of 2013 but stepped down in March this year, receiving R8.5-million for 2013.
It has since emerged that Dames's total pay, including back-dated pay increases, accumulated leave, long-term incentives and normal pay, amounted to R15.4-million.