The University has decided to approve Discretionary Pay Review (DPR) payments for University staff to recognise their exceptional contribution over the past year, in light of the pandemic.

This year, the University wanted to reward as many staff as possible, so will be awarding all those earning at or below £49,553 (top of the non-discretionary points of grade 8) a one-off DPR payment of £250.

Eligible staff will receive the payment in their January pay.

Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor, said: “Even though our finances are under strain, we have been considering how we can recognise the exceptional contribution of our staff during this very difficult time.

“We’ve decided that we will amend the DPR for this year only, to reflect our appreciation and to reward as many people as possible.

“This is something we had decided to do before the current lockdown. In light of the new challenges we face, especially having to give rent reductions, we had considered if it should still go ahead.  We concluded that our staff do deserve to be recognised for the huge contribution they made last year, and continue to make, in really tough circumstances.”

How DPR is calculated and awarded:

• The £250 amount will be pro rata, but the minimum payment (regardless of hours worked) will be £100
• All staff who met the earnings threshold and who had been employed for three months or more as at 1 October 2020 will be eligible to receive this
• Those staff who were furloughed for three months or more will not be eligible
• If staff have multiple jobs, the payment will be based on their combined FTE, up to a maximum of 1 FTE
• Eligible staff will receive payments in the January pay

The University has undertaken consultation on this approach, including with the campus unions.