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A final pay offer has been made in the annual process for reviewing basic pay for staff in the higher education sector.

The Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) and the HE trade unions (EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and Unite) met last week (6 May) as the New JNCHES (Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff) for the final of three agreed meetings of the HE negotiating round for the 2021-22 base pay uplift.

UCEA has made a final pay offer which guarantees increases of at least 1.5%, with higher percentage uplifts made to the pay points below Spine Point 22, up to a maximum of 3.6%. The offer is a significant improvement upon the employers’ opening offer, having moved twice over the course of this negotiating round.

UCEA is representing Sussex in the national negotiations in relation to the base pay uplift for 2021-22 against a backdrop of continuing financial challenges across the sector.

The basic pay uplift is in addition to any incremental salary increases that staff receive annually through moving up spinal points on the salary scale.

Director of Human Resources at the University of Sussex, Siobhan O’Reilly, said: “Investing in our people is really important to us and we want to reward staff fairly and in a sustainable way, regardless of the current climate and the financial challenges, including insecurities relating to Covid-19, Brexit and significant increases in employers’ pension contributions. This final offer is a significant improvement upon the opening offer and demonstrates the investment the sector continues to make in its highly-valued staff.

“We remain committed, through UCEA, to the national bargaining arrangements and constructive dialogue with the trade unions.”

The 2020-21 0% pay uplift was as a result of uncertainty and challenges exacerbated by Covid-19 and the scale of the financial challenge.

The negotiations are conducted in a three-phase process to allow employers and unions the opportunity to respond to the other’s position with a view to reaching agreement.

Negotiations for the basic pay uplift for 2021-22 began on 31 March, with further meetings on 14 April and 6 May.