Bath’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Dame Professor Glynis Breakwell, is at the centre of a major ongoing row over pay for university bosses and university funding.
Bath’s Vice-Chancellor and President, Dame Professor Glynis Breakwell, is at the centre of a major ongoing row over pay for university bosses and university funding.
Breakwell, who at more than £450k per year boasts the highest pay of any university boss in the UK, has become the centre of attention for campaigners looking to change university funding and improve transparency in the sector.
Former education minister and architect of the student fee system, Lord Adonis, singled out the VC in a scathing attack in the House of Lords, saying: “The only example the vice-chancellor of the University of Bath is setting to her staff is one of greed.”
Ongoing revelations about the additional expenses claimed by Dame Professor Glynis Breakwell are compounding the media coverage, with the recent revelations that she claimed more than £8k in cleaning and laundry fees at the £1.6 million mansion she lives in as part of her job. Famously, the VC claimed £2 for biscuits last year.
Much of the current concern revolves around a meeting of University Court in February where a motion to express concern at the decisions and transparency of the remuneration committee was lost by a margin of 33-30.
In the meeting the Vice-Chancellor, at least five members of staff whose pay is set by the remuneration committee, and two other members of the remuneration committee, voted against the motion.
Local Councillor and former member of staff at the University, Joe Rayment, told the Sunday Telegraph in August that this amounted to a “cover-up”, and four MPs have now quit University Court amid growing unhappiness about the amount awarded to the VC.
The University is currently being investigated by both the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Adonis has requested that the Charity Commission also investigates under charity rules.
Universities Minister, Joe Johnson, has urged universities to show restraint in the awards made by VC’s and has called on the new sector regulator, the Office for Students, to investigate universities awarding salaries above the level paid to the Prime Minister (c. £150k per year).
The University’s statement on the issue, says: “The salary and conditions of service of our Vice-Chancellor are independently determined by the Remuneration Committee of our University Council and are comparable with that of long-standing Vice-Chancellors in other successful universities. The increase reported in the 2015-16 accounts reflects her excellent track record and the confidence placed in her leadership of the senior team and the wider University community.”
There has been little by way of public defence for the VC, but the row has prompted some within the sector to defend VC pay in terms of the scale of the role and the international market that exists in higher education management.
Perhaps more significantly for students, the issue is keeping up the pressure on the debate around tuition fees and university funding.
Dame Professor Glynis Breakwell wrote to members of staff in September, saying: “We hope that these events and the coverage surrounding them are not seen to have overshadowed the esteem in which our university is rightfully held.”
She plans to launch and effectiveness review of Council, which will include a detailed evaluation of the Remuneration Committee, its functions, processes and effectiveness, later this autumn.
Our position
The SU has, for several years, been calling for greater transparency within the University’s finances and in the Remuneration Committee in particular. Whilst The SU President and Education Officer sit as members of the governing Council, they are excluded from discussions on remuneration and, unlike other Universities, have no seat in the remuneration committee itself. In line with our policy, we are calling for the University to introduce a pay ratio which links the highest paid members of staff in the university to those earning the lowest wages.
SU President, Ben Davies, said:
“this statement in the House of Lords is a testament to the gross inequality that has been a continuous source of conflict at the University for years”
“I hope this stands as a wake- up call to the Vice Chancellor and the senior management of the University to revaluate this situation.
“The remuneration committee is highly contentious and should be more transparent. It is my hope that the University and the Students’ Union work together to find a suitable solution.”
The SU has also signed a joint letter to the University Chancellor, the Earl of Wessex, calling for urgent action on the issue.
UPDATE
- There have been reports of a "very significant" drop in undergraduate student applications. These match feedback from staff across the academic departments that prospective students and parents are frequently raising questions and concerns about senior management pay and governance.
- University Council (the governing body) announced the removal of the Vice-Chancellor from the Remuneration Committee. However, the Vice-Chancellor will still attend meetings of the Remuneration Committee and UCU have described the announcement as a "worthless stunt to try and stem the tide of damaging media stories".
- Council have revealed some details of the long-awaited university governance review. The joint unions are concerned that staff and students will not be able to meaningfully participate in the review.
- Staff, students and Emeritus Professors who are members of University Court have requested an urgent meeting to discuss senior management pay and governance. They have received a letter to inform them that this request has been blocked by University Council.
- Film director and University of Bath honorary graduate Ken Loach is the first external speaker to publicly cancel an event at the University over the scandal. He joined students to demand "the resignation of the vice-chancellor and senior governors", introduction of a 10:1 pay ratio, cuts to student rents and governance reforms "to give students and staff more control" of the university.
- Four Members of Parliament have now resigned from the University, citing unacceptable senior management pay and inequality. The MP for Bath, Wera Hobhouse, has also condemned university governors for the Vice-Chancellor's "morally indefensible" £451K salary, which she said had "brought the university into disrepute".
- Freedom of Information requests have revealed that last year almost £19K was claimed in expenses for the Vice-Chancellor's Lansdown Crescent residence (including bills, Council Tax and a housekeeper), and that the Vice-Chancellor has also received a £31K interest-free car loan from university funds.
Many of these developments have been summarised in a timeline article by the Bath Chronicle.
UPDATE
At the February 2017 meeting of University Court (a statutory body representing the interests of the University's internal and external constituencies), a motion was filed "That Court makes representation to Council that it is concerned at the lack of transparency and accountability of the Remuneration Committee (committee that sets senior staff pay) and the decisions the Remuneration Committee has made in the past year" this was in response to the Vice-Chancellor receiving an 11% increase in pay, totalling £451,000 in 2016 and making her the highest paid Vice-Chancellor in the country. This motion fell 30 votes to 33, with a number people who sit on Remuneration Committee and the staff whose pay is set by it voting on the motion with no conflicts of interest raised.
Former Education Minister, Lord Adonis, singled out the Vice-Chancellor in a speech in the House of Lords on Thursday 13 July regarding levels of pay and reward received. Lord Adonis then filed an official complaint to the Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE) asking them to investigate University remuneration and governance. A number of MPs resigned their position from the University Court in response.
The University’s statement on the issue, said: “The salary and conditions of service of our Vice-Chancellor are independently determined by the Remuneration Committee of our University Council and are comparable with that of long-standing Vice-Chancellors in other successful universities. The increase reported in the 2015-16 accounts reflects her excellent track record and the confidence placed in her leadership of the senior team and the wider University community.”
The HEFCE report raised concerns on the conduct of the Court meeting, citing that members should have abstained and declared a conflict of interest. Had they done so the motion would have passed. HEFCE also raised other governance concerns such as a lack of standing orders for Court (process how a meeting is conducted) and the transparency of decisions taken by Remuneration Committee. The HEFCE report made thirteen recommendations, finding that the University has “a significant distance to travel” to open the committee’s work to legitimate scrutiny which the University said are very open to accepting. It is also worth noting that the report also noted that “The Remuneration Committee of the university meets the basic requirements of HEFCE and Committee of University Chair’s (CUC) guidance. But there is scope for much improvement in the way it operates, particularly in terms of its transparency”.
There is an effectiveness review of Council being planned, run by an independent external consultant which will include a detailed evaluation of the Remuneration Committee, its functions, processes and effectiveness, later this year. These happen every 5 years but this is the first time an external independent consultant will undertake this work.
University Council (the governing body) announced the removal of the Vice-Chancellor from the Remuneration Committee (she was never present when her own pay was discussed). However, the Vice-Chancellor will still attend meetings of the Remuneration Committee when invited to comment on other senior staff.
There have been reports in the press of a "very significant" drop in undergraduate student applications based on a leaked email. The University claim they are ahead of the national trend at this point in the year and the drop was due to the fact that we don’t have a medical school and at the time of that leak it tends to be those applying for medicine who have applied due to their earlier deadline so this drop was to be expected. Staff in departments report increasing questions from prospective students and parents over rates of pay for senior staff.
On the 22nd November there was a meeting of Senate – the supreme academic body at the University. A member of Senate proposed the motion that “Senate has no confidence in the Vice-Chancellor” this motion failed with 2 abstentions, 16 for the motion and 19 against the motion.
There was an emergency staff meeting also on the 22nd November organised by the campus Trades Unions ahead of Senate where over 350 staff unanimously agreed that the Vice-Chancellor should resign.
On the 24th November the Board of Trustees decided to hold a referendum to determine student opinion on the current situation regarding the University’s leadership and governance in relation to senior management pay.
The referendum was used to determine whether students have confidence in the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bath, Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell, and whether students have confidence in the University’s governance in relation to the remuneration committee and its governing Council.
The outcome was used to determine The SU’s policy on the issue of pay and governance ahead of the University Council meeting on Thursday the 30 November at which this issue was discussed.
The referendum proposals that went to an all-student vote were:
- I have no confidence in the Vice-Chancellor
- I have no confidence in the University Governance in relation to Council and Remuneration Committee
With 3 options, agree, disagree or abstain.
We included two questions in the referendum as the feedback we gathered from students suggested that there was a variety of opinion as to whether there was a question of confidence in the Vice-Chancellor, a question of confidence in the governance processes of the way that the University conducts itself and its remuneration processes, or whether this was something that students felt there was a degree of oversight in terms of process but on the whole they are satisfied with the Vice-Chancellor and the role of the University governance.
During the middle of our referendum it was announced that the VC would leave employment with the University on the 28 February 2019. She will be stepping down from her role with effect from 31 August 2018 to commence a 6 month sabbatical and will vacate her University residence at the same time. The SU have been assured that we will be involved in the recruitment process for a new Vice-Chancellor. The car loan was also written off.
The total number of students currently at the University of Bath is 17,843 (figure supplied by the University). Quoracy, as defined by the constitution of The SU at 5%, is therefore 893.
Statement 1 - I have no confidence in the Vice-Chancellor
Given the VC’s announcement that she would step down from her post next year, the Board of Trustees decided to close formal voting on this referendum at 2pm on Wednesday 29th November. There is therefore no formal result to the referendum on this statement. As of 2pm on Wednesday 29th November, 87% of students who had voted supported the motion of No Confidence in the VC.
Statement 2 – I have no confidence in the University Governance in relation to Council and Remuneration Committee
In total, 2,748 students voted in the referendum on this statement.
At the close of the referendum, the votes cast were:
- FOR 2,371
- AGAINST 151
- ABSTAIN 226
This result of the referendum on this statement was that it was CARRIED.
Inside the meeting of Council on Thursday 30th November, the pressure from the staff and students and the growing protest outside led to a vote of no confidence in the Chair of Council, Thomas Sheppard.
As a Students' Union we seconded the proposed motion.
I told Council:
2371 out of 2748 students, 86%, had expressed No Confidence in the University Governance in relation to Council and Remuneration Committee.
Students are sending a very clear signal to Council that they have no confidence in their business in agreeing the pay and package for Senior Management at this University. This is the fault of Council and Remuneration Committee.
The recommendations made in the HEFCE report are nothing new, they are things that should have been implemented years ago.
The package that has been given to the VC following her decision to step down has made students even angrier about the situation. Ultimately the common factor and fault rests with the Chair of Council and Remuneration Committee which is why we supported the motion.
The majority of Council members once again ignored the calls from staff and students, but Council was divided. Only 13 of the 22 voting members expressed confidence in the Chair by voting against the motion.
The total breakdown for the motion of No Confidence in the Chair of Council, was as follows:
4 For the Motion
13 Against the Motion
5 Abstentions