University staff earning six-figure salaries tops 6,000 for first time

THE number of university staff earning more than £100,000 has topped 6,000 for the first time, new records show.

The Office for Students (OFS) revealed that for the year 2019-20 the number of people on six-figure salaries had risen by more than 600.

The chief executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance said that university leaders “must do more” to improve value for money for their students.

Across all institutions in the study, the proportion of staff paid a basic salary of £100,000 or more was up slightly to 1.8 per cent compared with 1.7 per cent in 2018-19.

Despite the increase, almost half of all the universities in the study (48 per cent) saw a decrease or no change in the number of staff earning £100,000.

The analysis looked at the pay of vicechancellors and other senior staff at 166 providers over 2019-20 so it only accounts for the start of the pandemic.

The watchdog acknowledges that some university leaders may have chosen to waive part of their remuneration over the past 18 months.

According to the data there are currently 334,589 full-time university staff meaning 6,038 earned more than £100,000 in 2019-20. Overall, the mean paid basic salary for the heads of all providers was £219,000 for 2019-20 and the mean total remuneration was £269,000 – both up slightly.

According to the analysis, the University of Exeter was at the top of the list for remuneration in 2019-20, as the head of the provider received a pay and benefits package of £584,000. Imperial College London came second with a total remuneration of £527,000, and third spot was taken by the London School of Economics with £507,000.

Total remuneration paid to vicechancellors and other heads of higher education providers rose in 93 providers (56 per cent), fell in 60 providers (36 per cent) and remained the same in 12 providers (7 per cent), the report shows.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive at the OFS, said: “These figures demonstrate that – across the sector as a whole – pay increases for vice-chancellors were lower than the increases recommended for all university staff.

“But that should not disguise the fact that some of these salaries, and the differences in pay between vice-chancellors and academic staff, will appear very high.”

John O’connell, boss at the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said the generous pay was at odds with the disruption experienced by students during the pandemic.