The annual process for reviewing basic pay for staff in the higher education sector is under way.

This year, Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association (UCEA) has opened the New JNCHES (Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff) discussions on the basic pay uplift, in negotiation with the five HE trade unions (EIS, GMB, UCU, UNISON and Unite).

UCEA is representing Sussex in relation to the base pay uplift for 2021-22 against a backdrop of continuing financial challenges, funding restraint as well as uncertainty created by the Covid-19 pandemic which has implications for our students as well as our colleagues.

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.

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 higher education sector continues to face a set of financial challenges and uncertainties, including the longer-term impact from the pandemic and Brexit on international student recruitment and research funding, as well as the future funding of higher education. Compounding those financial uncertainties is the inevitability of very large increases in employers’ pension contributions.

Director of Human Resources at the University of Sussex, Siobhan O’Reilly, said: “Our staff are our greatest asset and investing in our workforce is important to us. We are determined to reward staff fairly and in a way that is sustainable.

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

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. Further negotiations took place on Wednesday 14 April and the final meeting will happen on 6 May.