On 6 March 2023, Peter Mitchell, Interim Director of HR, emailed all staff. You can read the message below:
Dear Colleague,
I am writing to let you know the outcome of the 2023/24 pay round that was brought forward in agreement between University and Colleges Employer Association (UCEA) and the sector unions, and to give you a further update on industrial action.
The pay round
UCEA has made a series of pay offers, including splitting the pay award into two tranches, payable from 1 February 2023 and 1 August 2023, in order to recognise the cost of living pressures on staff. The final pay offer has been rejected by the unions and an impasse on pay has been reached. As a result, UCEA is instructing institutions to implement the first tranche of pay uplifts from 1 February in the March payroll, backdated to 1 February.
The total pay uplift will be between 8% and 5%. There will be an interim uplift of £1,000 on each pay point, or 2%, whichever is greater. Staff will receive the remainder of the uplift in August, taking the total pay award to 8% on the lower pay points, tapering down to 5% at the top of the pay scales in total. For those receiving 2% in February, this will mean a further 3% uplift in August. For those receiving £1,000 in February, they will receive the remainder of their 5%-8% uplift in August. It should be noted that this is an increase in the salary scales, rather than a one-off non-consolidated lump-sum payment (as the previous cost of living payments were). As such, the increase is spread across the year in the monthly payroll and taxed as usual.
UCEA has been clear on the need for the uplift to be included in the March payroll to enable payments to staff in need of the increase and to avoid end of tax year implications, and we can confirm that these changes will be implemented in our March payroll.
Additional industrial action
The University and College Union (UCU) has called an additional day of strike action on 15 March in response to the pay round announcement. Therefore, the current known schedule of strike days is now:
- Wednesday 15, Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March
- Monday 20, Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March
UCU members are also still being asked to take Action Short of a Strike (ASOS), until 20 April 2023.
What next?
As we have said throughout this period of industrial action, we very much hope that national agreements can be reached that are acceptable to our staff, whilst recognising the challenging financial circumstances that universities find themselves in. Both sides have agreed to ongoing dialogue on the non-pay items (workload, casualisation and equality pay gaps and USS pensions) and we will, of course, keep you updated on any further developments.
Further information
We are providing a wide range of information to students, including what they can expect during the industrial action and it would be very helpful, if asked for any information on this, that you please direct them to the Student Hub.
We will also be updating information and guidance for you on our Industrial Action webpages, which include FAQs and a full glossary of terms.
With best wishes,
Peter Mitchell
Interim Director of HR