Pay at our University
05 Oct 2021
A message from Karen Heaton, Director of Human Resources
Today I am writing to you on pay, another of the subjects which form part of a ballot for industrial action by the University and College Union (UCU).
To propose industrial action after the serious disruption of the last 18 months for staff and students, when the NHS and many parts of the public sector are contending with pay freezes and cuts, is disappointing to say the least.
This note follows on from my update last week, outlining our position on national negotiations for the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and the reforms which will address the genuine problems it faces. Please do take the time to read and digest this note.
We will be writing to you again shortly about the other subjects highlighted in the ballot, which are casualisation, gender and equality pay gaps and workload.
Pay
Like the USS pension, our University can’t make decisions on pay on its own. Our pay increases are negotiated at a national level by the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA).
- The last pay increase was in August 2021: 1.5%-3.65% with the greatest increases for those who earn the least.
- Over half of our colleagues receive annual increments which amount to 1.5%-1.7% of their salary, in addition to the pay award.
We consistently spend well over half of our entire income on pay and pensions. This figure (57% of income in 2019/2020) has increased over recent years, while major income streams such as the undergraduate tuition fee and research income are flat or declining in real terms.
UCEA has published a series of helpful infographics which compare the pay increases over the last few years and shows how they have grown overall, and in comparison to other sectors.
Our benefits package
Our staff and students are at the heart of everything we do. As well as salaries, we make sure everyone has good levels of annual leave, access to learning and development and to wellbeing and support services, as part of a full benefits package.
We are proud to be a Living Wage Foundation accredited employer which sets a wage floor for our lower-paid manual staff. We have also been working hard to improve conditions of employment such as contracts, workload and our gender and ethnicity pay gaps, which we will discuss in more detail in my next message.
Opportunities to engage
Our University is working hard to deliver both the best benefits for our staff and also ensure our financial sustainability.
We are in regular contact with our campus trade unions and we continue to talk to them about the issues they have highlighted, and we have already taken action to address them. You can find minutes of many of our meetings with the trade unions on StaffNet, so you can be fully informed of what is happening.
Where issues occur we will tackle them collaboratively and we will be transparent about the actions that we take.
This transparency includes holding regular open meetings. If you are concerned about any of the issues raised by this ballot you can ask the Senior Leadership Team directly at open meetings later this month, where questions can be submitted in advance or during the event. Further information on these will be shared shortly.
We will also continue to provide other updates as they become available and will be writing to you again shortly about the other issues which UCU is balloting on.
In conclusion
Our belief is that to propose industrial action after the serious disruption of the last 18 months, just as we are getting to some form of ‘normal’ as the pandemic strictures are easing, is deeply regrettable. In the event of industrial action we will do everything to protect the student experience. Moreover, we believe that were a strike to occur it would be damaging to morale across the University but also would impact on wider reputation of the Higher Education sector when so many are continuing to make huge sacrifices.
Thank you for taking the time to read this message.
Karen