Cash-strapped UEA defends big rise in six-figure packets

The university now has 22 members of staff earning at least £150,000, compared with just 12 in 2022.

The rise follows a recruitment drive which means the total number of employees with six-feature pay packages on the campus has reached 78, including its vice chancellor who joined last year and is paid at least £340,000.

Over the same period, the UEA has had to save millions of pounds from its budget because of the impact of inflation and a drop in the number of overseas students.

This process is ongoing and last month the university said it needed to trim a further £11m from its budget, warning this may lead to compulsory redundancies.

The institution has defended the increase in pay for senior managers, insisting it has been driven by "market forces".

But the news - which also comes the week the government announced that tuition fees would be rising to £9,535 a year - has triggered a furious response elsewhere.

Nicholas Grant and Nadine Zubair, co-chairmen of the UEA branch of the Universities and Colleges Union said: "Vice chancellor and executive team pay at UK universities has got out of hand.

"At a time when UEA is seeking to cut staff and is claiming to be unable to pay the real living wage, is it right that the pay of senior leaders is so high?

"We also need to ask whether these huge salaries offer good value for money, especially if the university is consistently missing its targets and struggling to manage its finances."

Clive Lewis, Norwich South MP

Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South, added: "I get entirely why staff worrying about their jobs resent these high salaries and are concluding it is one rule for them and another for us.

"Much more needs to be done to fix the foundations of higher education and I will continue to argue for that in parliament at every opportunity."

UEA officials say the increase in senior pay is partly driven by pay rises and partly by the recruitment drive, which they say is a key part of the university's 'Strategy 2030', a plan designed to preserve and build the organisation over the next six years.

David Maguire (Image: University of East Anglia)

A spokesman said: "It is important that we are able to recruit and retain staff in order to deliver on the priorities set out in our Strategy 2030 and to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment.

"We have recruited to a number of senior roles in recent years that have specialist, particular skillsets to deliver specific areas and tasks.

"All of these roles are central to the delivery of our Strategy 2030."

The spokesman added: "Over half of the roles that are paid over £150k are in clinical specialities where the remuneration is linked to NHS work and therefore the university does not pay all of the salary."

When the organisation initially revealed its need for muti-million pound savings in early 2023, it confirmed it would be likely have to make job cuts.

Its vice chancellor at the time, David Richardson, stood down from his role in the midst of the turmoil  - which also resulted in protests from staff and students.

It was able to reduce its deficit by removing vacant posts and accepting voluntary redundancies.

NUMBERS IN DETAIL

(Image: UCU)

At the beginning of 2023, the university announced it needed to trim £30m of budget in the space of a year - and £45m over the course of the next three years.

It was originally feared this would involve a string of compulsory redundancies.

However, after making a series of posts vacant and accepting a number of voluntary redundancies this did not end up happening.

But last month, its vice chancellor David Maguire revealed that declining student numbers and faltering overseas recruitment had meant it needed to find a further £11m in savings - on top of the £45m over three years announced last year.

This, he said, meant that compulsory redundancies, still described as a "last resort", could not be ruled out.

The figures have been revealed following a Freedom of Information request sent to the university. They relate to remuneration, meaning they include various additions to salaries, such as expense allowances and contributions in lieu of pension.

The figures revealed 22 employees earning £150k in the following brackets:

£150k-154,999: three

£155k-159,999: one

£160k-164,999: three

£165k- 169,999: two

£170k-174,999: one

£175k-179,999: one

£180k- 184,999: one

£185k-189,999: two

£190k-194,999: one

£195k-199,999: three

£200k-209,999: one

£220k-224,999: two

£340k-£344,99: one (Prof Maguire)