Sheffield vice-chancellor Koen Lamberts received £23k pay rise for 2023-24 academic year

The University of Sheffield’s vice-chancellor Koen Lamberts received a £23,650 pay rise before the start of the 2023-24 academic year, financial documents have revealed.

The university’s financial statements show Professor Lamberts’ salary increased by 7.7 per cent, from £306,350 to £330,000.

Analysis by The Tab has subsequently found that this was the second highest pay increase awarded to an incumbent Russell Group university vice-chancellor last year.

This comes as the University of Sheffield continues to face financial difficulties, amid a £50m deficit and cost-cutting efforts in the form of a voluntary severance scheme for some academic and professional services staff.

In response, a spokesperson for the university told The Sheffield Tab: “The vice-chancellor’s salary, determined by an independent committee, reflects the leadership of a large and complex institution, as well as his important role as a key ambassador and influencer both locally and internationally, engaging with government, industry, and global stakeholders.

“Since 2018, the vice-chancellor’s salary has been below sector average with no pay increase, other than the nationally negotiated pay award applied to all staff. Given the complexity and scope of the role, in 2023, the independent committee determined a salary adjustment was necessary to align with market levels and the leadership demands of a world-class university. This salary increase was effective from 1 August 2023.”

The financial statement explains that this increase was inclusive of the nationally negotiated pay award, and the first pay rise since Lamberts’ tenure began at the university in 2018 to exceed it. Five years ago, an FOI by The Sheffield Tab found his salary to have been £285,000 a year.

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The report also states that the Senior Remuneration Committee – which is responsible for overseeing the pay and performance of the University Executive Board – had agreed it was of “absolute importance” for Lamberts to be remunerated in line with market data, further noting that he continues to opt out of the bonus scheme.

2024 financial reports at other Russell Group universities show vice-chancellor salaries ranging from £260,399 at the University of Manchester to £420,000 at the University of Cambridge.

Further calculations reveal a widening gap between the vice-chancellor’s basic salary and the median basic salary of all other university staff – growing to be 8.9 times greater, an increase of 0.4 on the previous year.

Lamberts’ total salary is now 9.2 times greater than the media total salary of all other university staff, a rise of 0.6 from 2022-23.

Image credit: University of Sheffield / @steelcitysnaps on X

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article said the pay rise was “for 2024”. It has now been amended to clarify that the pay rise was effective from before the start of the 2023-24 academic year, on 1st August 2023.