The Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea) has announced a “full and final” pay offer of 1.4 per cent, warning that it must be “prudent” as institutions’ finances “deteriorate” at unprecedented speed.

Revealing its hand after the third negotiating meeting on the pay rise for the coming year, Ucea said it was “well aware that this is the lowest pay uplift since 2020” but universities had worked hard to “provide some uplift for valued employees”.

Alongside the pay offer, it said it will remove the bottom two pay spine points from the framework agreement known as New JNCHES, which would mean that the lowest-paid staff would receive an uplift of 2 per cent.

Ucea said that this was “the only prudent option” open to employers, with hopes of better protecting both students and staff. This uplift would begin from 1 August 2025, and it said about half of staff will be eligible for a pay increment up to a value of 3 per cent, on top of the pay award.

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However, the offer is markedly below that demanded by trade unions representing university staff which have called for a pay increase of “at least” the retail price index of inflation – which currently stands at 3.6 per cent – plus 3.5 per cent, bringing the total claim to a rise of 7 per cent.��

Last year saw Ucea present a final pay offer of between 2.5 per cent and 5.7 per cent, which was imposed despite objections from unions. The University and College Union (UCU) initially threatened to call a strike ballot in response, but later put these plans on hold in order to focus on fighting job cuts across the sector.

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A joint statement released by all the trade unions involved in the process said the pay offer translated as a real-terms cut of about 1.8 per cent and negotiators were recommending it be rejected.��

“Higher education is central to the economic success of our cities, regions and nations, yet it is falling drastically behind in terms of pay and conditions,” the statement said.

“Low pay is a symptom of how little our work is valued by those running universities. Year on year pay erosion has not saved jobs, prevented the use of insecure contracts types, exploitative workloads, or equality pay gaps.”

Raj Jethwa, Ucea’s chief executive, said that sector finances have “deteriorated still further” since the pay round began, adding that “the pace of change for HE institutions remains relentless”.

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“In these circumstances the pay uplift clearly does not reflect the true value employers place on staff. However, given the severity of the financial pressures they face, the only prudent option open to employers, to try to protect students and staff, is this pay offer. I know that trade union colleagues are also concerned by sector challenges.”

He added that Ucea was prepared to “begin work jointly with the unions on important work as set out in the previously agreed terms of reference”, which had previously been taken off the table after UCU called the strike ballot. “This work should commence following the successful conclusion of the 2025-26 pay round, and we will bring forward a schedule for this.”

The unions said Ucea had shown a “lack of commitment” to meaningfully addressing issues of inequity in the system.

“The joint trade unions know that there is no trade off between job security, pay and equity in work. These are all symptoms of a failure to properly value HE staff. We are committed to working together as part of the New JNCHES process and beyond to create a positive vision for the sector which properly values the role of staff and students in HE.”

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George Boyne, chair of Ucea, said that it has “listened very carefully” and discussed “in detail” the many elements of the trade unions’ claim.��

“Financial pressures across the sector are a joint concern for employees and employers alike, and we appreciate the trade unions’ recognition of that. This full and final pay offer will be financially challenging for most of our HE institutions and we appreciate their support for this pay uplift,” he said.

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juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com