Update on University's financial position
21 October 2021
The University’s financial position – an important joint update from the Vice-Chancellor, UCU and the Staff Forum
Theis was sent as all-staff email on 21 October.
Representatives of the UEB, the UCU and the Staff Forum met again on 19 October to review the University’s financial position as part of the Phase 1 agreement.
You can read more about the context for these discussions in the agreement we reached last year.
Our discussion was informed by the most up-to-date information prepared by colleagues in Finance. This shows that the impact of COVID-19 on the University’s projected financial position continues to be a gross loss of c. £80 million, as reported earlier. However, savings from reduced travel and vacancy savings have resulted in a reasonable improvement to the University’s projected financial position. With that in mind we are able to confirm two things:
1. In February this year we stated that the tiered pay cuts scheduled for this calendar year would not now be necessary, with a cautionary note that we must not become complacent. We are now able to fully confirm that pay cuts will not be necessary.
2. The agreement included a three-year pay freeze covering the years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23. We are very pleased to announce that we are now able to make a pay award for the year 2021/22, with effect from 1 August 2021. This will see most colleagues receiving a 1.5% increase, with some larger increases applied to the lowest points on the grade structure.
Further, more detailed information about this pay award will follow including confirmation of when the payment will be made.
It is very important to be clear that this good news does not mean we should assume that the challenges relating to COVID have entirely gone. Our agreement remains in place and we will continue to meet on a three-monthly basis to review the financial position. Importantly our decision to apply a pay award this year does not assume that a further pay award will follow in the year 2022-23. This will be the subject of further discussion in October 2022.
We have always recognised that the cost-saving measures we agreed as an alternative to potential redundancies represented a significant collective sacrifice. We are therefore very pleased to be in a position to make a pay award for the year 2021-22, and we would like to take the opportunity to thank all of you for the work you have done and the sacrifices you have been prepared to make to ensure that we get through the challenges arising from the pandemic successfully.
Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor
Sally Pellow, President RUCU
John Jack and Sian Walsh, Co-Chairs Staff Forum