Vice Chancellor, Sir Alan Langlands, will not pay all staff the living wage, LS can reveal.

In a letter to the Leeds University Living Wage Campaign, the VC said he had decided not to pay contracted-out staff the Living Wage. Sir Langlands also revealed he had increased hourly pay for all employees of the University so that it “is at or above the current Living Wage level.”

In the letter, the VC insisted he took the issues raised in the campaign “seriously” and that the pay increase showed “an expression of our commitment”

Leeds University Living Wage Campaign co-ordinator, Tom Follett, said: “While we welcome the increase in pay for some University staff, many of whom are students themselves and will appreciate the extra cash, we are disappointed that the Vice-Chancellor has not taken this opportunity to guarantee a decent income for everyone who works on campus. If contractors aren’t paying their staff fairly, the University shouldn’t be using them”.

The Living Wage is the hourly rate that is necessary for someone to earn, to be able to afford a reasonable standard of life.

University staff had previously been paid at the Living Wage rate, but when it was increased to £7.65 per hour, to account for inflation and cost increases, staff pay did not rise correspondingly.

While Leeds has not increased pay to the Living Wage for all staff, many other universities have, including Queen Mary’s University London, LSE and Huddersfield University.

Maddy Keating