TaxPayers' Alliance: More than 10,000 university staff now receiving six-figure pay packets

There are now more than 10,000 university staff receiving over £100,000 in remuneration, new research by the TaxPayers' Alliance has revealed, up from 4,112 from the last time this research was conducted in 2020. When comparing universities that provided data in both years, the number increased from 3,142 to 5,305.

This comes after Universities UK demanded more money for higher education, with the president of the lobby group saying that “direct government grants and fees haven't kept up with the cost of teaching and with inflation.”

Included in the 10,477 staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration in 2023-24 were 2,703 receiving over £150,000. The total cost of staff receiving over £100,000 is estimated to be over £1.2 billion. 

The university with the most high earners was Imperial College, with 1,231. The London Business school had the most high earners per student, at 64.78. The individual with the highest remuneration relative to their university's median graduate remuneration was from the University of Stirling, with a pay packet worth£415,000. This individual was also the third highest remunerated overall, with the highest being an employee at the University of Cambridge, with total remuneration of £421,000.

The university with the most high earners was Imperial College, with 1,231. The London Business school had the most high earners per student, at 64.78. The individual with the highest remuneration relative to their university's median graduate remuneration was from the University of Stirling, with a pay packet worth£415,000, almost fifteen times the median earnings a student at the university can expect three years on from graduation. 

Universities are funded by both taxpayers and students (including graduates) directly. Because of this mixed form of funding, the university sector is spared the scrutiny usually applied to other institutions.

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Key findings:

• Across 105 universities, there were at least 10,447 university staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration in 2023-24. Of these, at least 2,703 received over £150,000 in total remuneration.
• 64 universities responded in both 2024 and 2020. Within this group, the number of staff receiving:
  • over £100,000 grew by 68.8 per cent from 3,142 to 5,305.
  • over £150,000 grew by 78.8 per cent from 709 to 1,268.
• The total cost of staff receiving total remuneration over £100,000 in 2023-24 is estimated to be at least £1,221,444,320, although this is likely an undercount as exact figures were not provided in many cases.

Shimeon Lee, researcher of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said:

"This shocking surge in the number of university fat cats should put an end to the debate about boosts in funding for the sector.

"In many institutions students are being given an increasingly poor service, leaving them in significant debt but without the employment prospects expected, yet at the same time the top brass are benefitting from surging pay packets

"University bosses need to get these taxpayer-subsidised salaries under control and focus on providing students with the quality education that they deserve."

FURTHER INFORMATION

International rankings

• According to the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR), 67.8 per cent of universities examined fell in the international ranking from 2019-20 to 2024, by an average of 21 places:
  • Sheffield Hallam University fell 75 places. In that same period the number of staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration increased eight fold, from 14 to 112, the most of any university.
  • Oxford Brookes University fell 244 places. In that same period the number of staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration increased by 269 per cent, from 16 to 59.
  • The University of Bristol fell 17 places. In that same period the number of staff receiving over £100,000 in total remuneration increased by 254 per cent, from 158 to 560.

Staff to student ratios

• Excluding specialist arts and music universities, in 2023-24 there were an average of 6.24 staff receiving total remuneration of over £100,000 per thousand students.
• Universities with the most staff receiving total remuneration of over £100,000 in 2023-24 per thousand students were:
  • London Business School with 64.78 per thousand students,
  • Imperial College London with 55.31 per thousand students,
  • the London School of Economics and Political Science with 23.32 per thousand students,
  • and the University of Cambridge with 22.89 per thousand students
• Universities with the fewest staff receiving total remuneration of over £100,000 in 2023-24 per thousand students were:
  • the University of Suffolk with 0.29 per thousand students,
  • Buckinghamshire New University with 0.42 per thousand students
  • and Northumbria University with 0.52 per thousand students.

Median earnings

• Average median earnings three years after graduation at non-specialist universities was £27,506 in 2021-22, the latest year for which figures were available. This is around £3,981 more than the median gross annual pay of all 22 to 29-year-olds in 2021 which was £23,525 in 2021. 
  • The University of Hull had median graduate earnings of £25,200, around £2,306 lower than average. However, it had a ratio of 7.21 staff receiving over £100,000 per thousand students in 2023-24, 15.5 per cent more than average.
  • Royal Holloway, University of London had median graduate earnings of £26,800, £706 lower than average. However, it had a ratio of 14.92 staff receiving over £100,000 per thousand students in 2023-24, more than double the average.

Highest remunerated individual

• The individual with the highest remuneration relative to their university's median graduate remuneration was from the University of Stirling. They received £415,000, or 14.8 times the university's median graduate remuneration (£26,800 in median earnings plus a 4.5 per cent average employer pension contribution). 
• The individual with the highest overall remuneration was at the University of Cambridge, at £420,689

Specialist art and music universities

• Average median earnings three years after graduation at specialist art and music universities was £6,398 lower than non-specialist universities, at £21,108 in 2021-22.
• The Courtauld Institute of Art had the highest ratio of staff receiving over £100,000 in 2023-24 relative to the student population, with 12 staff in this category for just 605 students. From 2020-21 to 2024 the college fell 146 places in international rankings.