· Union
says report from the Office for Students exposes the regulator as
a “paper tiger”
· 97%
of institutions paid their head over £150,000
· Around
half (47%) paid over £300,000
The University and College Union (UCU) today
(Tuesday) branded a report from the Office for
Students (OfS) into senior pay at universities as
lightweight and said it exposed the regulator a “paper
tiger”.
The union said the report failed to look at
the excessive and arbitrary rises still enjoyed by some
vice-chancellors, or tackle the expenses and other benefits in
kind that have plagued universities in recent years.
OfS chief executive Nicola Dandridge
previously told the education select
committee that the OfS was “proposing that anyone being paid more
than £150,000 per year will be required to justify it, and the
OfS will look at that justification to make sure that it is
appropriate”.
The report shows that only four institutions
out of 133 (3%) paid their head under that £150,000 threshold,
and contained no details about the justification for those
awards. Around half (47%) paid out more than £300,000 in
2017/18.
UCU head of policy Matt Waddup said:
‘With this lightweight report the OfS has shown itself to be a
paper tiger incapable of stopping the pay and perks scandals that
have plagued universities. The report simply regurgitates some of
the analysis done by UCU and others in recent years, but pulls
its punches on how to address the problem.
‘The OfS fails to
ask why some vice-chancellors are still picking up double digit
pay rises and doesn’t even look at their expenses or other
benefits in kind. This report
sends a message that those who accept such largesse have nothing
to fear from the new regulator.’
