The University salary scales are subject to a review with effect from 1 August each year. Our salary scale is negotiated nationally by the Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff (JNCHES). This includes the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) representing the University management and the five Trades Unions representing staff.
The three negotiating meetings for this year have completed and this has resulted in a final offer of a 2% increase to the pay spine, with higher increases on the lower spine points. The details of the offer can be found on the UCEA website.
At a time when the HE sector is subject to a range of challenging financial pressures and expectations of increasing value-for-money for students, the Chair of UCEA has said that “we have sought to provide a balanced and fair offer to reach the best achievable outcome that maintains sector pay competitiveness despite ongoing uncertainties”.
The basic pay uplift is just one element of the total reward package. As well as our contribution pay scheme, around half of our staff are also eligible for pay progression (a further 3%) making the average pay increase around 3.5%. This compares to the national earnings growth which is currently 2.9%. Staff at the lower end of the pay scale are also benefiting from our commitment to the voluntary living wage.
Other elements of this offer include commitments to national cross-sector work on gender pay, ‘casual’ employment and workload. The Trades Unions are now consulting with their members on this offer and if agreed, we would expect it to be paid with effect from 1 August 2018.
Richard Brooks, HR Director