The University Executive Board (UEB) has agreed to implement the current pay offer for staff at level 1-3 with effect from October salaries, following detailed consideration of the outcomes of the UNITE and Unison membership ballots.

The current cost-of-living concerns experienced by many colleagues at levels 1-3 and the potential impact of further delays to implementing the pay award in the current economic position led UEB to confirm implementation of the university’s three-year offer in the October payroll, including backpay from 1 August 2022. This ensures the pay and benefits that the offer provides are available for staff as soon as possible.

Find full details of the pay award here.

It is hoped this implementation will provide some relief and certainty for colleagues, coupled with a guarantee that they will be no worse off should the national pay offer from UCEA exceed the university offer over the three-year period. In this circumstance, the university would match the national offer.

Why have we decided to implement the pay award?

UEB acknowledges that cost-of-living concerns have continued to increase since the university offer was presented to trade union colleagues and employees. However, the current pay offer of 7.6% in year 1 and a 3-year total of 16.5% exceeds any other offer available in the higher education sector. These uplifts represent new money, additional to the costs of incremental progression that employees are currently entitled to. For reference, Nottingham Trent University have come out of national negotiations at 3.5% this year.

The three-year pay offer meets key objectives for both the university and trade unions, including addressing pay differentials, consolidating the voluntary living wage, and further tackling our gender and ethnicity pay gaps.

Additionally, the offer guarantees that in the event the UCEA national offer exceeds the university offer over the three-year period – which will factor in the current period of high inflation – the university would match the national offer. This provides staff with an assurance that they cannot be worse off under the proposals, while offering a significant three-year pay award, front loaded in year one and providing greater financial certainty.

The three-year offer also includes additional non-pay elements identified by staff during the level 1-3 terms and conditions review, many of which have been requested during previous local pay negotiations. Those elements will provide significant benefit in addition to the pay uplift including:

• An extra two days’ annual leave, one day in year one (2022/23 leave year) and a further day in year three (the 2024/25 leave year)
• Removing Operations and Facilities (O&F) pay scales and moving O&F employees onto the same pay scales as APM/Technical Services employees
• An increase in pension benefits – enabling colleagues to increase their level of contribution by 1% in each of the three years of the pay offer.
• Enhanced rates for bank and university holidays
• A commitment to change the number of formal stages within the O&F disciplinary policy to match the number of steps within the disciplinary policy that applies to all other job families

As requested by Unison, UEB agreed to not to withdraw the 20% weekend working supplement at this time. This is a current benefit for staff at level one who work weekends which will now be addressed separately, and relevant staff members will be contacted about this in due course.

What happens next?

The pay award will be implemented in the October salary payment, including backpay from 1 August 2022 to ensure the benefits that the offer provides are available for staff as soon as possible. The annual leave increase will be available from the start of the new leave year – which falls on 1 October for most colleagues.

Pay award drop-in sessions – where colleagues may join a Teams call to address queries about the changes and how they affect them – will be arranged over the coming weeks and communicated separately. In the meantime, please address any queries to hr@nottingham.ac.uk.