Universities pay 3,600 staff more than £100k

‘Complaining of budget cuts’

AT LEAST 3,600 university staff are on more than £100,000 a year, a report shows.

The figures from the TaxPayers’ Alliance pressure group also show that 762 employees were paid more than £150,000.

The University of Edinburgh had the most high earners, with 335 staff receiving more than £100,000. It was followed by the University of Manchester, with 331 breaching the same threshold.

‘This shines a light on the thousands of university administrators taking home very plush pay packets,’ said Kieran Neild of the TPA.

‘Taxpayers and students will be left with a degree of uncertainty over whether this is money is being well spent, particularly when Left-wing professors are so keen to lecture them about the evils of inequality.

‘Instead of constantly complaining about faculty budget cuts, uni bosses need to get their bumper wage bills under control and focus on providing their students with the very best higher education they can.’

Across the 120 universities in the survey, there were 3,615 staff taking home over £100,000 each year.

Russell Group universities reported much larger numbers of highly paid staff than less vaunted university groups and unaffiliated institutions.

Universities with more staff paid over £100,000 fared better in student satisfaction surveys. However there was no such correlation in relation to salaries of more than £150,000. There was a positive link between higher numbers of wellpaid staff and higher earnings for their graduates. The connection was not evident when it came to employment rates for graduates.

Oxford and Cambridge did not provide the full information requested and were excluded from the survey.

A spokesman for Universities UK, which represents the sector, said: ‘It is important for universities to demonstrate that the process for determining pay for senior university staff is rigorous and that decisions are fair, explained and justified.

‘We support the Committee of University Chairs’ remuneration code and its principles to create a more transparent system for determining senior staff pay.’

For the three years from 2016, Russell Group members gave an average of 185 members of staff over £100,000, and 63 over £150,000.

Students starting their courses this autumn will be paying £9,250 a year in tuition fees. Some may graduate with up to £50,000 worth of debt.