During her admission speech on 10 January 2023, the Vice-Chancellor, Irene Tracey, commissioned an independent analysis of all aspects of pay and conditions for all staff, academic and non-academic.
‘I have heard the strength of feeling on pay and working conditions, and it is a priority for me to make sure the University is doing everything it can to support staff during these difficult financial times and to be an attractive place to work in the future.’
- Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor
The purpose of the Pay and Conditions Report is to conduct a comprehensive review of the total reward and benefits offer for all staff groups across the University.
View key themes arising from staff feedback in our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Pay & Conditions Report objectives
The key objectives of the Pay & Conditions Report are to:
- Provide a benchmark on academic and research pay in comparison to our competitors within the UK and internationally;
- Provide appropriate benchmarks on professional services and support pay;
- Consider the full employee value proposition, rewards and benefits outside of pay – identify areas where we might do things differently, and where appropriate, provide benchmarks with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other sectors including place of work, and policies such as volunteering;
- Provide feedback on our investment in people: learning and development, career progression, and more;
- Provide feedback on our salary structures and mechanisms for pay progression;
- Provide feedback on our recognition schemes;
- Consider approaches we might take as an institution to reduce the percentage of staff on fixed-term contracts;
- Make recommendations for change and the development of a reward strategy;
- Ensure the total reward and benefit offer and procedures are fit for the future.
Steering Committee Members
The Pay & Conditions Steering Committee reports directly to the Vice-Chancellor and Council. Its membership includes staff from the collegiate University as well as expertise from other Higher Education Institutions and other sectors.
- Professor Dame Kay Davies (Chair), Dr Lee’s Professor of Anatomy (Emeritus) and former Head of the Department
- Charles Alexander, Finance Bursar, Merton College
- Duncan Brown (external), independent pay and reward professional (committee member until Sept 2023)
- Professor Sir Rory Collins, Head of the Nuffield Department of Population Health, Member of Council
- Professor Matt Jarvis, Professor of Astrophysics, Associate Head (People) for MPLS Division, Member of Personnel Committee
- Dr Markos Koumaditis, Human Resources Director
- Professor Catherine Law (external), Emeritus Professor at UCL
- Rupert McNeil (external), former Government Chief People Officer, and Group HR Director of Lloyds Banking Group
- Bob Price (external), a former HR director and former Leader of Oxford City Council
- Lucinda Rumsey, Supernumerary Fellow in English and Senior Tutor, Mansfield College
- Professor Tim Soutphommasane, Chief Diversity Officer
- Dr Ignacio Torrecilla, Senior Postdoctoral Research Scientist
- Professor Anne Trefethen, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, People & Digital
- Adrian Walcott, independent workplace culture consultant (joined Sept 2023)
The Pay & Conditions project team supporting the committee is made up of members of the University's Human Resources and Internal Communications (Public Affairs Directorate) teams.
Committee meeting dates
Pay & Conditions Steering Committee meetings and workshops in 2023:
- Meeting – 19 June
- Meeting – 19 July
- Workshop: Professional services pay benchmarking – 22 August
- Workshop: Academic pay benchmarking – 13 September
- Meeting – 19 September
- Workshop: Benefits – 9 October
- Workshop: Investment in people – 19 October
- Meeting – 24 October
- Workshop: Pay benchmarking & reward policies and procedures – 16 November
- Meeting – 22 November 2023
- Meeting – 6 December 2023
