More than two-thirds of the UK’s higher education institutions are yet to implement a new pay modernisation agreement, despite the deadline being just one week away.
The latest figures from the University and College Union (UCU) show that just 50 of the 165 institutions in England, Scotland and Wales have implemented the new deal – designed to reform staff pay and conditions – ahead of the 1 August deadline.
Malcolm Keight, head of higher education at the UCU, said: “The agreement should be in place by August, and if institutions don’t implement by then they will be, in effect, defaulting on that agreement.”
Peter Thorpe, chief policy adviser at the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association, said: “We expect the majority of organisations to implement the deal over the next month. As long as the other institutions backdate the deal to 1 August then there should not be a problem,” he said.
