Uni of York amongst Russell Group unis whose Vice-Chancellor’s pay rose amid job cuts

With the rise of Cost of Living driving university running costs, and a continued drop in international students, job cuts have increased within several Russell Group universities.

Despite this, evidence from Russell Group university accounts from the 2024 to 2025 academic year show several vice-chancellors receiving sometimes huge pay rises.

University of York

The university set out to make £15 million of savings last year, and management had to pay out £6,784,000 to employees that left.

However, the vice-chancellor, Professor Charlie Jeffrey, was paid £316,485, which is £6,117 than the previous year.

A University of York spokesperson explained this reasoning to The York Tab, saying:

“As part of the national sector pay award, all of our staff received the same percentage increase, including the Vice-Chancellor.

“The higher education funding challenges meant we also moved quickly to improve our financial position by £15m in 2025-26, through a combination of both new income and making savings.

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“This included voluntary schemes for staff, as well as flexible retirement options and changing working patterns – all of which helped reduce costs.”

Last July, the university announced it will be closing its Centre for Lifelong Learning due to a “challenging financial climate”. This followed concerns over the university’s financial health, with vice-chancellor Charlie Jeffrey revealing that £15 million in savings would be needed before the end of the current financial year.

In 2024, 270 jobs were cut through voluntary severance, saving the university £34 million.

Many other Russell Group universities increased pay for vice-chancellors, including the University of Oxford, Cambridge, Manchester, Warwick and Birmingham, who’s vice-chancellor, Adam Tickel, was awarded a £5,000 raise plus a performance-related bonus of £28,000, bringing his total pay up to £453,000.

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