University heads pocket 5% pay rise but drive down staff pay

23 January 2014

University vice-chancellors enjoyed an average pay rise of 5.1% last year, but are now refusing to offer staff more than 1%.

As staff prepare to walk out of universities today between 11am and 1pm in a row over pay, some vice-chancellors are even threatening to dock a full day's pay from staff who take part in the two-hour stoppage.

The analysis, published by UCU, also highlights that all but five of the university leaders where figures were available earned more than the Prime Minister's salary of £142,500 in 2013.

The analysis, collated from the latest university statements, also showed that over a quarter of university leaders (40 out of 142) enjoyed a rise greater than 10%. Two-thirds of university leaders had a pay rise greater than the 1% that university staff were told was at the limits of affordability, leading to accusations of hypocrisy from the union.

University staff's refusal to accept a 1% pay offer has prompted the current pay dispute with UK universities. A 1% pay rise would leave staff with a real-terms 13% pay cut since 2009. Union members took two days of strike action last year and will embark on the first of three short, sharp strikes, today at 11am.

The union said the 5.1% average pay hike is likely to be an underestimate of vice-chancellors' full packages as it does not include pension contributions. Last week student groups described the employers' 1% pay offer to staff as 'measly' and called for a quick resolution to the dispute

The biggest rises were awarded to the Craig Calhoun at the London School of Economics, who got a heady 61.1%, Sir Keith Burnett, at the University of Sheffield who got 39%, and Michael Driscoll of Middlesex University, who pocketed a 25% increase.

UCU general secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'This analysis shows that far too many vice-chancellors are happy to line their own pockets while pleading poverty to their staff. Almost one in three accepted a pay rise greater than 10% yet continue to drive down staff pay.

'It is the utterly arbitrary nature of the rises that make so little sense. Vice-chancellors need to stop hiding behind shadowy remuneration committees and print the minutes of those meetings detailing what exactly they did to deserve such handsome rises. They also need to explain to staff why they deserve to be paid so much more than the people doing the teaching, research, admin and many roles that keep our universities ticking over.

'Guarantees made to ministers about pay restraint for university leaders have proved to be nothing but empty promises. Pay for those at the top has soared ever-upwards while pay for everyone else has plummeted. Our members, who are the backbone of universities, have seen their pay slump by 13% in real terms over the past five years.'

The three two-hour stoppages are scheduled to take place at these times:

Thursday 23 January 11am-1pm

Tuesday 28 January 2pm-4pm

Monday 10 February 9am-11am

Full table of vice-chancellors' pay

University	Vice-chancellor	2011/12 salary 000s	2012/13 salary 000s	% increase
London School of Economics	Craig Calhoun	270	435	61.1%
University of Sheffield	Professor Sir Keith Burnett	269	374	39.0%
Middlesex University	Professor Michael Driscoll	256	320	25.0%
Heriot-Watt University	Professor Steve Chapman	169	210	24.3%
University of Derby	Professor John Coyne	212	261	23.1%
Arts University Bournemouth	Professor Stuart Bartholomew	170	205	20.6%
University College Birmingham	Professor Ray Linforth	202	243	20.3%
SOAS, University of London	Professor Paul Webley¹	159	190	19.5%
Bournemouth University	Professor John Vinney	181	214	18.2%
Liverpool John Moores University	Professor Nigel P. Weatherill	187	221	18.2%
University of Greenwich	Professor David J Maguire	194	229	18.0%
University of Hull	Professor Calie Pistorius	240	283	17.9%
University of Strathclyde	Professor Sir Jim McDonald	240	283	17.9%
Coventry University	Mr John Latham	218	257	17.9%
Teesside University	Professor Graham Henderson	233	270	15.9%
Royal Holloway, University of London	Professor Paul Layzell	230	265	15.2%
City University London	Professor Paul Curran	281	323	14.9%
University of Winchester	Professor Joy Carter	195	223	14.4%
Birmingham City University	Professor Cliff Allan	258	295	14.3%
Lancaster University	Professor Mark E Smith	210	239	13.8%
University of Worcester	Professor David Green	241	273	13.3%
Norwich University of the Arts	Professor John Last	131	148	13.0%
Edge Hill University	Dr John Cater	239	270	13.0%
De Montfort University	Professor Dominic Shellard	193	218	13.0%
Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance	Anthony Bowne	133	150	12.8%
University College London	Professor Malcolm Grant	280	315	12.5%
University of Leeds	Professor Michael Arthur	289	325	12.5%
University of Lincoln	Professor Mary Stuart	191	213	11.5%
York St John University	Professor David Fleming	183	204	11.5%
University of the West of England	Professor Steve West	240	267	11.3%
The Open University	Martin Bean	316	351	11.1%
University of Liverpool	Sir Howard Newby	328	360	9.8%
Aberystwyth University	Professor April McMahon	208	228	9.6%
University of London	Professor Sir Adrian Smith	140	153	9.3%
Goldsmiths, University of London	Patrick Loughrey	206	225	9.2%
University of Huddersfield	Professor Bob Cryan	207	226	9.2%
University of East Anglia	Professor Edward Acton	209	227	8.6%
Swansea University	Professor Richard B Davies	222	241	8.6%
University of East London	Professor Patrick McGhee	215	233	8.4%
University of the West of Scotland	Professor Craig Mahone	217	235	8.3%
Queen Margaret University	Professor Petra Wend	170	184	8.2%
University of Reading	Sir David Bell	215	232	7.9%
Birkbeck, University of London	David Latchman	291	314	7.9%
University of Bath	Professor Glynis M Breakwell	356	384	7.9%
University of Essex	Professor Anthony Forster	212	228	7.5%
University of Birmingham	Professor David Eastwood	372	400	7.5%
Southampton Solent University	Professor Van Gore	222	238	7.2%
Nottingham Trent University	Professor Neil T Gorman	300	321	7.0%
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine	Janet Hemingway	202	216	6.9%
University of Cambridge	Professor Leszek Krzysztof Borysiewicz	271	289	6.6%
Bucks New University	Professor David Sines	168	179	6.5%
Bath Spa University	Professor Christina Slade	203	216	6.4%
University of Roehampton	Professor Paul O'Prey	203	216	6.4%
University of Hertfordshire	Professor Quintin McKellar	253	269	6.3%
University of Stirling	Professor Gerry McCormac	193	205	6.2%
University of Southampton	Professor Don Nutbeam	277	294	6.1%
University of West London	Professor Peter John	212	225	6.1%
University of Brighton	Professor Julian Crampton	203	215	5.9%
University of Northampton	Professor Nick Petford	198	209	5.6%
Harper Adams University	Dr David Llewellyn	149	157	5.4%
University of St Mark and St John	Professor Cara Aitchison	149	157	5.4%
Durham University	Professor Christopher Higgins	232	244	5.2%
Queen's University Belfast	Professor James C McElnay	220	230	4.5%
University of Warwick	Professor Nigel Thrift	275	287	4.4%
University of Westminster	Professor Geoffrey Petts	224	233	4.0%
Falmouth University	Professor Anne Carlisle	215	223	3.7%
Kingston University	Julius Weinberg	190	197	3.7%
Leeds College of Art	Simone Wonnacott	118	122	3.4%
University of Glasgow	Professor Anton Muscatelli	250	258	3.2%
Guildhall School of Music and Drama	Professor Barry Ife	165	170	3.0%
London Business School	Sir Adrian Smith	338	348	3.0%
Aston University	Professor Julia King	272	280	2.9%
University of Surrey	Sir Christopher Snowden	320	329	2.8%
Ravensbourne	Professor Robin Baker	152	156	2.6%
University of Oxford	Professor Andrew Hamilton	371	380	2.4%
Courtauld Institute of Art	Professor Deborah Swallow	174	178	2.3%
Imperial College London	Sir Keith O'Nions	323	330	2.2%
University of the Arts London	Nigel Carrington	239	244	2.1%
Manchester Metropolitan University	John Brooks	249	254	2.0%
University of Kent	Professor Dame Julia Goodfellow	218	222	1.8%
Liverpool Hope University	Professor Gerald Pillay	228	232	1.8%
University of York	Professor Brian Cantor	232	236	1.7%
University of Manchester	Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell	248	252	1.6%
Cardiff Metropolitan University	Professor Antony J Chapman	198	201	1.5%
University of Dundee	Professor Pete Downes	219	222	1.4%
University of Aberdeen	Ian Diamond	261	264	1.1%
Staffordshire University	Professor Michael Gunn	176	178	1.1%
Keele University	Professor Nick Foskett	264	267	1.1%
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine	Professor Peter Piot	278	281	1.1%
University of the Highlands and Islands	Dr Crichton Lang	190	192	1.1%
University of Portsmouth	Professor Graham Galbraith	196	198	1.0%
Bangor University	Professor John Hughes	219	221	0.9%
Robert Gordon University	Professor Ferdinand Von Prondzynski	223	225	0.9%
Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts	Mark Featherstone-Whitty	126	127	0.8%
Glasgow School of Art	Professor Tom Inns	127	128	0.8%
University Campus Suffolk	Richard Lister	142	143	0.7%
Newcastle University	Professor Chris Brink	223	224	0.4%
University of Bristol	Professor Eric Thomas	282	283	0.4%
Writtle College	Dr Stephen Waite	114	114	0.0%
University of Nottingham	Professor David Greenaway	318	318	0.0%
London Metropolitan University	Professor Malcolm Gillies	254	254	0.0%
University of Salford	Professor Martin Hall	209	209	0.0%
Institute of Education	Chris Husbands	191	191	0.0%
University of Cumbria	Professor Peter Strike	170	170	0.0%
Sheffield Hallam University	Professor Philip Jones	246	246	0.0%
King's College London	Professor Rick Trainor	272	272	0.0%
Leeds Metropolitan University	Professor Susan Price	215	215	0.0%
University of Edinburgh	Sir Timothy O'Shea	227	227	0.0%
St George's, University of London	Professor Peter Kopelman	229	229	0.0%
University of Ulster	Professor Richard Barnett	205	204	-0.5%
University of Gloucestershire	Stephen Marston	161	160	-0.6%
Glasgow Caledonian University	Professor Pamela Gillies	229	227	-0.9%
University for the Creative Arts	Dr Simon Ofield-Kerr	160	158	-1.3%
Institute of Cancer Research	Professor Alan Ashworth	215	212	-1.4%
University of Sunderland	Professor Peter Fidler	201	198	-1.5%
University of Wolverhampton	Professor Geoff Layer	183	180	-1.6%
Queen Mary, University of London	Professor Simon Gaskell	208	204	-1.9%
London South Bank University	Professor David Phoenix	238	233	-2.1%
University of St Andrews	Professor Louise Richardson	235	230	-2.1%
University of Sussex	Professor Michael Farthing	248	241	-2.8%
University of Central Lancashire	Professor Gerry Kelleher	240	233	-2.9%
University of Leicester	Robert Burgess	269	259	-3.7%
University of Bradford	Brian Cantor	179	171	-4.5%
Brunel University	Professor Julia Buckingham	267	237	-11.2%
University of Bolton	George Holmes	230	202	-12.2%
University of Exeter	Professor Steve Smith	334	290	-13.2%
Cardiff University	Professor Colin Riordan	264	218	-17.4%
Loughborough University	‌Professor Robert Allison	266	201	-24.4%
Canterbury Christ Church University	Professor Rama Thirunamachandran	203	147	-27.6%
University of Abertay Dundee	Professor Nigel Seaton	245	164	-33.1%
Leeds Trinity University	Professor Margaret House²	134	82	-38.8%
Anglia Ruskin University	Professor Michael Thorne	255	n/a	n/a
University of Bedfordshire	Bill Rammell	280	n/a	n/a
St Mary's University College, Twickenham	Dr Arthur Naylor	144	n/a	n/a
Edinburgh Napier University	Professor Andrea Nolan	209	n/a	n/a
Northumbria University	Professor Andrew Wathey	233	n/a	n/a
University of Chichester	Professor Clive Behagg	150	n/a	n/a
Central School of Speech and Drama	Professor Gavin Henderson	164	n/a	n/a
Oxford Brookes University	Professor Janet Beer	214	n/a	n/a
Glyndŵr University	Professor Michael Scott	199	n/a	n/a
Plymouth University	Professor Wendy Purcell	280	n/a	n/a
Royal Veterinary College	Professor Stuart Reid	237	n/a	n/a
Average		223	235	5.1
¹ SOAS advise us that Professor Webley's sharp jump in salary can be explained by the fact that during the autumn term in 2011/12 he was in Norway on research leave and received a reduced salary during this period. On his return he resumed full pay. Professor Webley's annual pay of £190,363 is the same amount he has received since 2008/09. ² Professor House's salary is only for seven months as she took over in January. On a pro-rata basis she would have earned £140,000 - an increase of 4.2%

Last updated: 10 December 2015

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University heads pocket 5% pay rise but drive down staff pay

Full table of vice-chancellors' pay

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