Dear Colleagues,

We are all aware that the Higher Education sector is facing significant financial challenges, with the impact playing out in recent media coverage. Coupled with geopolitical tensions overseas we have a uniquely difficult period ahead of us.

Despite these challenges, as a University we are performing comparatively well; amongst other achievements we have improved our position in the QS rankings and maintained positive student and staff satisfaction.

These achievements are down to our people. If we are to continue our successes, we recognise a need to keep investing in our staff. One of the issues you consistently raised in recent surveys was pay and recognition. This was last given a major review in 2006, and we therefore think it is time to take another look, to ensure that it enables us to attract, retain and motivate the skilled people we need.

I am grateful to UNITE, the union, who have used the mandate from their members to work with us and to establish our next steps. Please find a link to the agreement here Pay Developments.

We will be starting a review of pay and recognition which we expect will take us up to two years to complete. The review will explore the issues you raised with us, and we intend to work with a range of stakeholders, including all three Trade Unions, so we can be confident that pay and recognition for our staff at Bath is fit for the future.

We are on track to achieve our financial targets for the year, so in the interim while we undertake this review, we will be making a one-off financial payment of £600 per person for employees on Spine Point 43 or below as of 1 May 2026. Payments will be made to all eligible employees in June 2026. A further payment of £400 per person will be made in May 2027. Given affordability constraints, we believe it is right to focus this support on colleagues who receive less through the pay system.

To be eligible:

• You must be employed on 1 June 2026 for the first payment
• You must be employed on 1 May 2027 for the second payment

Payments will be pro-rated as follows:

We’re aware that for some individuals, a one-off increase in pay could affect state benefits. If this applies to you, there are alternative options available, you can choose to:

• receive the payment spread across several instalments, or
• receive the payment as a voucher.

If you choose the voucher option, it will be issued after deductions for tax and National Insurance, so that the final (net) value you receive is the same as it would have been through payroll.

If you would like to take up either of these options, please contact reward-hr@bath.ac.uk by 5pm Thursday 11th June 2026.

I would like to thank UNITE for bringing the concerns of their members to us, and for their input, professionalism, and constructive engagement on this.

I would also like to thank to UNISON and UCU for engaging positively in anticipation of some interesting discussions to come.

Kind regards,

Richard Brooks,

Director of Human Resources