Universities across the UK have been advised to implement their final pay offer despite its rejection by the sector’s five unions. 

The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) announced in May that it would be offering a 2 per cent increase to staff amid a “challenging financial backdrop”.

But the sector’s unions – including the University and College Union and Unison – had been pushing for a 3 per cent rise on top of the Retail Prices Index (RPI), which at the time equated to a rise of roughly 7 per cent in total. 

Universities will now be able to implement the rise, which was originally due in August but was delayed while the unions consulted on the offer. The offer also includes a commitment to a joint review of the national pay spine, which is already under way.  

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The review is being conducted “on the basis that any new pay spine will be implemented by an HEI no earlier than 1 August 2027”. 

Raj Jethwa, Ucea’s chief executive, said it was “clear from the very outset” that the sector’s financial challenges would “be a key hurdle for both sides”. 

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“But the pay round saw constructive exchanges between the parties throughout the negotiations, and employers recognise there will be understandable disappointment that the dispute resolution process did not result in an increased pay uplift. 

“A 2 per cent pay uplift has been delayed for more than two months now and, while it clearly does not reflect the true value employers place on staff, it is unfortunately the best we can offer given the severity of the financial pressures facing the sector.”

Jethwa added that a review of the pay spine is a “testing commitment for both sides”. 

“The national pay spine has not been fundamentally reviewed for over 20 years. We welcome the positive and constructive engagement of the trade unions in this process, which we hope will result in a competitive and durable pay spine for many years to come.”

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Jo Grady, general secretary of UCU, said: “UCU members will be rightly disappointed about another below inflation pay offer being enforced by the employer. With so many institutions ripping the heart out of the sector with reckless and short-sighted redundancies and course closures, this further erosion of pay is indicative of a sector on the brink. The government must step in immediately before the situation becomes beyond repair. Each union will now consult their own democratic processes.”

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com