Top earners increase at Russell Group universities despite cuts

Almost 10,000 staff across the Russell Group are paid at least £100,000 a year, analysis reveals, with almost one in 10 employees earning over this threshold at some London institutions.

Times Higher Education’s analysis of universities’ 2024-25 financial statements found that there has been a large increase in the number of highly paid staff, despite the sector’s financial difficulties.

The accounts show that about 9,400 staff were paid at least £100,000 last year, up from 8,200 the year before.

THE analysis has previously shown that the median salary for the vice-chancellors across the 24 members of the research-intensive mission group was £348,018 – up from £328,500 the year before.

The University and College Union said that despite complaining about tight budgets and making swathes of job cuts, Russell Group universities have yet again managed to raise pay for those at the top.

“If the money can be found to benefit the most secure, well-paid staff, then universities must surely be able to raise pay for staff on average incomes, as well as protect jobs and protect courses,” added a spokesperson.

Roughly a third of the group’s members posted deficits last year. The University of Nottingham, which recorded a loss of over £85 million, increased its number of top earners significantly from 207 to 294. And there were 185 at the cash-strapped Cardiff University.

Of the 24 members of the mission group, only the University of Cambridge saw a drop in the number of staff paid more than £100,000 but it still had almost 900 in this bracket.

There were more than 1,200 at UCL – the largest number of all and 7 per cent of total staff, which was the third highest of all the institutions analysed.

A UCL spokesperson said the figures reflected central London costs and the inclusion of senior clinical academics whose pay aligns with NHS scales.

About 9 per cent of all staff at Imperial College London and the London School of Economics and Political Science are paid at least £100,000. Both institutions said this was to maintain their positions as world-leading institutions.

This was compared with just 2 per cent at the universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh.

Glen O’Hara, professor of modern and contemporary history at Oxford Brookes University, said the figures show how difficult it is for universities to make cuts that stick.

“Given how much of their outgoings are in salaries, promotions, the need to retain world-class staff and the very limited pool of leadership talent are always going to mean a lot of wage drift.

“The rapid fall of academic salaries, so that they are now at really pitiful levels compared with other professions, cannot go on forever. Perhaps this is an early sign of that.”

About 990 Russell Group staff were paid more than the UK prime minister’s salary of £169,344. And 50 people earned at least £300,000 in 2024-25.

A spokesperson for the Russell Group said: “Research-intensive universities employ staff with the right skills and talent to help run our large, global and complex organisations, educating thousands of students every year and delivering research that drives growth.

“It’s right that amidst financial challenges, institutions continue to provide competitive salaries to recognise these contributions and attract highly skilled staff.”