The report also revealed progress in the representation of women on Europe's boards, but shows the gender pay gap identified in last year's report has widened further year-on-year.
The report found pay practices differ for non-executive directors across the continent - particularly with respect to the difference in pay between chair and non-chair roles. According to the report, NED fees typically remained frozen year-on-year in most countries.
The report Non-executive directors in Europe, is based on analysis of the latest annual reports from 390 companies on the major indices of 12 European countries.
One factor the report found, which varies significantly across Europe, according to the study, is the differential between director pay and the pay of the chair of the board.
Chairs of Italian companies are the most highly paid compared to other board directors, earning over five times the amount. Chairs of companies based in the Netherlands, by contrast, earn approximately 1.3 times as much as other board directors.
The report also showed the representation of female directors on boards across Europe has improved slightly year-on-year, but that the significant gender pay gap identified in last year's report remains.
It found although 83% of European directors are male, the report demonstrates a noticeable increase in female representation on boards. Yet despite these improvements the study revealed women are still not being appointed to the top-paying, strategically important committee roles.
Carl Sjostrom, regional director, reward services Europe at Hay Group, said: "The public, shareholder and regulatory pressures dampening executive pay inflation in Europe are clearly also influencing remuneration practices for non-executive directors on the continent's boards.
"Scandinavia leads the way in board gender diversity. This is perhaps unsurprising in Norway, where quotas introduced in 2003 have boosted female representation on its boards to 38%, but in Sweden and Finland, where no such quotas exist, the proportion of female directors has increased over recent years to 28%, in both cases purely as a result of public pressure and changes in attitudes.
"Quotas may not be the answer to raising boardroom diversity. However, what's certain is that companies across Europe must accelerate their efforts to develop strong leaders from a range of backgrounds, in order to fill non-executive positions with the very best talent."
