Exclusive: University of Nottingham Vice Chancellor to take pay cut

The executive team are expected to take pay cuts also


University of Nottingham Vice-Chancellor, Shearer West, will be taking a pay cut in the following months, the Tab Nottingham can reveal.

While detail has not yet been decided, it was confirmed that the executive staff team will undergo pay cuts also.

VCs at other universities are also undergoing pay cuts in the wake of financial pressures faced by the pandemic.

According to the university website, the VC’s salary is currently £286,000 per annum, with an additional £60,346 in lieu of employer pension contributions.

Assuming Nottingham’s VC’s pay cut is similar to those detailed at Bristol and Edinburgh, the cuts could be between £7,000- £14,000, for roughly six months.

The news follows similar announcements from the University of Bristol and University of Edinburgh, whose senior leadership team will be taking 20 per cent and ten per cent pay cuts respectively – for six months.

This is in contrast with the Oxford University VC who is refusing to take a pay cut, despite earning an astonishing £450,000.

Imperial’s Alice Gast  – the country’s highest paid uni boss – has also taken a 20 per cent pay cut. Both Liverpool University and LSE are considering cutting pay for their Vice Chancellors, however this has not yet been confirmed.

The Times reported earlier this month that universities will “face a hole in their finances” as international students choose not to study in the UK, with only 1 in 7 international students saying they will take up their places in September.

Confirming the move, a UoN spokesperson added: “Our first priority has been to assure the continued education of our students and support the national effort to tackle the coronavirus. University staff and leaders are working around the clock to deliver online teaching to more than 40,000 students, donate £2 million of coronavirus testing equipment, and contribute our research and medical expertise to the NHS.

“We are now considering a wide range of savings to meet the significant financial impacts of coronavirus, to ensure we can support our students’ education and protect our dedicated staff. We will publish more details of these savings, which will include executive pay measures, shortly.”