Every year, at least £11,700,000 is shared between just 117 members of staff at the University of Leeds.
The Office for Students (OfS) have published their first annual analysis of what senior staff are paid at universities across the country. Published on the 12th February, the study revealed that 117 staff members at the University of Leeds received a salary of £100,000 or more between 2017 and 2018.
Across the 133 universities studied, the proportion of all staff paid a basic salary of £100,000 or more in 2017-18 was 1.5 per cent.
The study showed that, at the University of Leeds, the average number of staff in full time employment last year was 7,240. This means that the University of Leeds was above the national average, with 1.6 per cent of staff on a salary of £100,000 or more, an increase from 1.4 per cent of staff between 2016 and 2017.
The study also revealed that the University of Leeds received a total income of £715 million (2017-2018).
When speaking to the University about the increase in percentage of staff on salaries of over £100,000, a University spokesperson said:
“Leeds is one of the biggest universities in the UK – for example, we have 10,000 more students and 5,000 more members of staff than Leeds Beckett – meaning we inevitably employ more staff of all levels of seniority across academic and managerial roles.
“As a world top 100 university, we also operate in a globally competitive market, so we need to attract and retain the very best people to provide students with the exceptional education that has seen us rise up many of the league tables over the past few years. We are always mindful of the need to provide value for money and remain committed to being transparent about senior staff salaries.”
Interestingly, there is an alarming disparity between the University of Leeds and other Leeds based universities. Leeds Art University, for example, had a total income of £19 million, with only two members of staff (0.9% of staff overall) on salaries of over £100,000 in the academic year 2017-8.
In comparison to Leeds Beckett, the University of Leeds received £496 million more in terms of income in 2017-8. While Leeds Beckett employed 2,391 full time staff members, only twelve (0.5% of staff overall) were paid over £100,000.
Furthermore, Leeds was 8th, along with the University of Sheffield, when it came to the relationship between the basic salary of the Vice Chancellor and the median salary of all other employees at the University, at a ratio of 10.6. The average ratio across all universities was 7.2. The VC at Leeds receives a salary of £281,000, which has remained the same for the past two years.
Speaking further on this issue of VC pay, a University spokesperson said:
“Leeds remains one of the largest universities in the Russell Group, which represents the 24 leading UK universities, and since taking up his post in 2013, Sir Alan Langlands has received only one salary increase of 1.1%, which was in line with the nationally negotiated pay increase. When comparing total remuneration, Sir Alan is 20th in the Russell Group.”
Many London based Universities had the most alarming results. 120 of 801 full time employees at London Business School earned over £100,000 in 2017-18, the highest percentage in the country (15%), although this is a reduction from the 16.5% recorded between 2016 and 2017.
At University College London, 354 full time employees received salaries of over £100,000, the highest number of staff members at a single institution to earn this amount (2.3% of overall staff).
Zahra Iqbal
Image: [Pixabay]