22 February 2021 
Margaret Ayers, Chief People Officer
The 2018 Senior Staff Remuneration Code was a welcome step forward in the governance of remuneration. An (interim) review of the Code has been initiated by the CUC (Committee of University Chairs) and carried out with the support of AdvanceHE. The review took place in late 2020. Published today, it is timely, and on behalf of the UHR community I welcome the work that has been done and the approach that has been taken.
The key principles of the Code are ones that are supported keenly by UHR members – remuneration should be fair, appropriate and justifiable, and procedures around remuneration should also be fair, transparent and delivered with accountability.
UHR’s role is to work alongside other ‘interested party organisations’ to encourage effective implementation of the Code. For instance the review places continued emphasis on the importance of the collection of consistent staff data, which in turn enables better reporting and comparative analysis to the benefit of the sector’s remuneration governance. In this we will continue to work with UCEA, Jisc and others, to encourage collection of appropriate data, and sharing of good practice on interventions that worked.
The reporting notes increasing divergence around governance among the four nations of the UK, and points to opportunities to learn from others’ approach. For instance, the report recommends decisions on remuneration should be taken in an explicit “fair for all” context – learning from approaches in Scotland and Wales; and a need for greater alignment between OfS reporting requirements and the Code to support better institutional decision-making in England. Efforts to reduce burden and improve consistency are welcomed by UHR members.
UHR particularly notes and supports recommendations 6 and 8 in the report. Recommendation 6 considers the importance of staff and student voice in remuneration processes, to aid transparency and public confidence. Universities will have a range of context-appropriate ways to bring in those views that were once viewed as external to the process. Recommendation 8 looks at the development of best practice examples to support Chairs of Remuneration committees, governance and HR staff, in the practical management of remuneration. While we believe that HR departments are engaged and equipped for this task, the focus on the everyday “how to” of remuneration governance can only be of benefit. There is certainly an appetite across UHR members for collaborative thinking to support everyone’s implementation, and to this end we will be working with partner organisations including AHUA, CUC and UCEA to arrange a joint event later in the year.
We’ve come a long way on this subject, and at reasonable speed – but then, we know we needed to do so. UHR notes the CUC’s intention to “Conduct a future full review (of the ) with a systematic analysis of actual adoption and practice to enhance the evidence base of governance effectiveness further.”
Margaret Ayers
UHR Vice Chair
Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development at Canterbury Christ Church University.
