Remuneration statement

1. Introduction

1.1 The University is committed to ensuring fair and appropriate remuneration for all its staff, including the Vice-Chancellor and his executive team (who for the purposes of employment and remuneration are classed as Senior Staff in accordance with the University’s articles of government).  To this end it has adopted the CUC Higher Education Remuneration Code for Senior Staff which requires:

1. a fair, appropriate and justifiable level of remuneration;
2. procedural fairness; and
3. transparency and accountability.

1.2 The University has an excellent track record in securing equality and diversity in its staff body.  However, the University is operating in a competitive environment, particularly in London where there are challenges in recruiting and retaining key staff. The remuneration strategy of the Board of Governors takes account of these challenges while ensuring parity and fairness for all staff within the University through monitoring pay ratios, the gender pay gap and the ethnicity pay gap. It should be noted that no permanent members of staff are paid below the London Living Wage.

2. Remuneration Committee

2.1 Determining remuneration for senior staff is undertaken by the Remuneration Committee on behalf of the Board of Governors. Membership comprises the Chair of the Board and three other independent governors. The Remuneration Committee normally meets once a year and is chaired by one of the independent governors. The Vice-Chancellor advises the Committee on the performance of the Executive Team. He is not a member of the Remuneration Committee and is not present during any discussions of his own remuneration.
 

2.2 To inform its deliberations, the Remuneration Committee takes account of the following:

1. The CUC HE Senior Staff Remuneration Code
2. The Office for Students Accounts Direction
3. The UCEA Senior Staff Survey with benchmarked comparator data¹
4. The CUC Survey on Vice-Chancellor’s pay
5. The University’s gender pay gap and the ethnicity pay gap
6. Information on the University’s pay ratios

2.3 When considering remuneration, the Remuneration Committee receives a detailed appraisal of individuals’ performance considered against their objectives.

3. The University’s approach to senior staff remuneration

3.1 The University is operating in a very competitive London market with 44 recognised universities combined with a range of UK and overseas satellite campuses, and numerous private providers. The University of West London operates at the intersection of this high level of concentration of provision. In recent years it has carved itself a clear market-niche by offering high quality, career-focused education for ‘opportunity’ students, in particular, those who have a mixture of social, economic and cultural disadvantage. The University is now a growing and complex organisation, serving the needs of these students in a genuinely meritocratic way.

3.2 The University is a growing and complex organisation, serving the needs of its students, the majority of whom come from very disadvantaged backgrounds. It has been successful in improving the outcomes for these students and meeting and exceeding its strategic aims over a number of years. These aims are measured by stretching key performance indicators which ensure that the institution continues to improve and grow year on year while maintaining financial stability.  This performance is carefully benchmarked against other similar institutions. 

3.3 In this climate, the University’s Board of Governors is committed to fair remuneration of its senior staff that supports its ability to recruit and retain talented individuals with the skills required to lead the University.  In doing so it is mindful of the need to balance remuneration with the need to deliver value for money for students and the tax payer. For this reason, senior staff remuneration is carefully and prudently benchmarked and the University considers the pay in similar institutions for similar roles using the UCEA senior staff survey and the CUC survey of Vice-Chancellor’s pay to inform its deliberations. However, although pay is benchmarked, any increase in remuneration is subject to performance against agreed objectives. These objectives are agreed each year by the Remuneration Committee and directly linked to the achievement of annual key performance indicators which measure progress with the University’s strategic plan, Achievement 2023 and other key requirements including year on year income and student number growth. 

3.4 The remuneration judgements are assessed and measured according to a set of high-level objectives and stringent key performance indicators (KPIs) which are disseminated throughout the institution from their starting point – the annual objectives set for the Vice-Chancellor. 

3.5 A detailed appraisal of achievement against objectives is received by the Remuneration Committee for each member of staff under consideration.  There is no automatic inflationary increase. Staff must have achieved at least a satisfactory performance throughout the previous year to receive the annual increase in pay as agreed through UCEA.  Any further uplift must be as a result of good or excellent performance measured against the individual’s objectives. 

3.6 The University does not provide bonuses to senior staff other than any bonus payments provided to all staff.

4. Job evaluation

4.1 Where a new member of senior staff is recruited or where there is a change in responsibilities, the job description will be carefully evaluated by means of the HAY Method of Job Evaluation and the salary set in accordance with this evaluation. The HAY method is a factor comparison scheme which enables the comparison of different roles in a disciplined and consistent way.

5. Pension provision

5.1 All senior staff are eligible to join either the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or the Local Government Pension Scheme. The University also operates a defined contribution scheme which any member of staff may join. The University has a policy, which is applicable to all staff, for those individuals who are no longer able to contribute to one of the pension schemes as a result of tax implications. Such staff are eligible for a supplement in lieu of the University’s pension contribution.  

6. Remuneration in the context of the University’s strategy and performance

6.1 The University’s performance in relation to its strategic plan is rigorously monitored through a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) designed to ensure the continuous improvement of the institution and its sustainability. The performance of senior staff including the Vice-Chancellor is measured against the achievement of these KPIs.

7. External appointments and expenses

7.1 No member of senior staff may undertake external appointments without prior approval. Any income from these appointments will normally be taken into account as part of the overall remuneration of the individual. 

7.2 Reasonable expenses for senior staff are paid for external travel and other business in accordance with the University’s financial regulations. These regulations are approved by the Finance Committee on behalf of the Board of Governors. 

8. Pay ratios

8.1 The Remuneration Committee reviews the pay ratios for the Vice-Chancellor against the pay of staff as a whole. The University employs students as student ambassadors (SA) who are paid on a sessional basis and are predominantly female. For this reason, the figures were published without these to show the underlying trends.

9. Publication of senior staff salaries

9.1 Information relating to senior staff salaries is published in the University’s annual accounts and financial statements in accordance with the Office for Students’ annual accounts direction.

¹The University currently uses data from similar sized institutions in London and the South East of England as comparators.