Over 200 staff members paid below living wage while greedy Gorman makes a killing

A poor host of workers are being paid less than the living wage – just weeks after it emerged the Vice Chancellor is paid five times more than the Prime Minister. 

An FoI request made by UNISON has revealed that 212 workers at Trent are being paid less than £7.85.

The request was made following the controversy that Trent’s Vice Chancellor Neil Gorman is the highest paid uni boss in the country, earning almost five times more than the Prime Minister at £623,000 a year in salary and bonuses.

The uni’s most recent financial statement shows a whopping turnover £13.1m, yet it remains to stand its ground saying that it cannot afford to pay all of its staff the living wage.

The UK’s current living wage is £7.85, but it is not compulsory for employers to pay this.

UNISON’s FoI request also exposed the fact that Trent spent £2.9m on agency staff in one year alone. This large sum could have been spent on giving low-paid staff the extra income they deserve.

UNISON East Midlands head of higher education Catherine Mellors said: “We have approached the university and asked it to pay their lowest-paid staff the living wage, but this has been flatly refused.

“It is sad to see that both prestigious universities in Nottingham appear to be in a rush to the bottom. The universities are some of the largest employers in the city, and claim to offer their students great employability, and yet offer some of the lowest salaries to many of their own staff.

“However, they offer some of the highest salaries in the sector, with large numbers earning over £100k per year.”