Vice-Chancellor Sir David Eastwood receives a pay rise and a bonus amid the pandemic

He received a £61k bonus

| UPDATED

The University of Birmingham Annual Report and Accounts released earlier this week shows that Sir David Eastwood received a pay rise in the academic year 2019/2020.

The Vice-Chancellor also received a bonus of £61,ooo.

This is his final year as Vice-Chancellor, as he announced earlier this year that he would be retiring after 12 years in the position.

Sir David Eastwood received a pay rise of £9,000 from 2019 to 2020. His salary was raised from £339,000 to £348,000.

In both 2019 and 2020, he also received a ‘performance-related award’ of £61,000.

Table showing the Vice-Chancellor’s pay

This brought his total earnings for the year 2020 to £460,000. This is £10,000 more than he received in 2019.

In a statement published on UoB intranet, the university claim that the VC’s pay is based on performance in 2018/19.

In 2020, it was reported that Sir David Eastwood refused to take a pay cut to his £450,000 pay package despite the financial pressure the university has been placed under during the pandemic.

However, many Russell Group university vice-chancellors took pay cuts, including Edinburgh, Nottingham, Manchester, Imperial College London, Liverpool, Cardiff, London School of Economics, Bristol, York, and King’s College London.

Several of these vice-chancellors donated their salaries directly to student hardship funds, including Imperial College and Bristol.

The university has been contacted for comment, but they have not responded.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• UoB is ranked number one targeted University by top graduate employers in the UK

• UoB First Dates hosted by Carnival RAG is back

• The top ten things UoB students can do to stay motivated this semester