Unions call for reduction of senior management pay

New data reveals that seven out of eight senior managers at University of Aberdeen earned between £150,000 and £300,000 per year as of September.

The Aberdeen University branches of three staff unions have expressed “serious concern” about the six-figure salaries paid to members of the university’s Senior Management Team (SMT).

Responding to a Freedom of Information request via What Do They Know, University of Aberdeen shared SMT total salaries (comprised of salaries and allowances) as they were on 4 September 2025:

This comes as a University-commissioned governance efficiency report finds “power struggles” between staff and SMT, alongside a “toxic culture” at Senate meetings. Last week, Principal George Boyne retired early to make way for newly-appointed Principal Pete Edwards who has appointed new Vice-Principals.

UNISON, Unite and the University and College Union (UCU) are “not surprised, but deeply disappointed” by the combined salary bill of “approximately £1.6 million annually”.

In a shared press statement they wrote: “While many University staff who teach and research face uncertainty about their jobs, the University’s top managers — most of whom neither teach nor conduct research — continue to receive six-figure salaries. If Management is serious about reducing costs, they should look first to their own pay packets. A modest reduction in the salaries of the highest-paid could make a meaningful difference to the deficit and help protect the jobs of colleagues who deliver the University’s core mission.”

UNISON, Unite and UCU Aberdeen highlight the “steep” pay differential between the lowest-paid staff and “off-scale” senior management pay. The University’s entry salary for the lowest grade is £24,554 per annum. The six-figure salaries of eight senior managers means that many at the top earn four to six times, or more, than the lowest paid staff members.

The contrast “is raising questions” amid financial pressure and proposed compulsory redundancies, said the three unions. They are calling on the University’s senior management and governing body to:

• “Engage proactively and transparently with staff and trade unions to avoid compulsory redundancies or programme closures;
• “Conduct a top-to-bottom review of senior management remuneration benchmarks and consider reducing ‘gold-plated’ salaries in line with the University’s financial crisis;
• “Prioritise the preservation of professional services, academic and teaching jobs over senior managerial cost-structures.”

A University of Aberdeen spokesperson replied:

“Universities are complex multi-million-pound businesses and salary placement is based on experience, market rates and benchmarked data for the sector on senior salaries. Salary appointments over £100,000 are approved by our independent remuneration committee which is a sub-committee of our governing body, Court.”

Christina Schmid, Student President, replied for comment on the staff unions’ statement. Christina responded that the university needs to consider its funding model more largely:

“As a Students’ Union our priority is to ensure that students’ education and experience are protected and retaining staff and courses are central to ensuring that. While reports about senior management salaries have been highlighted, it is important to not lose sight of the broader issue; the ongoing funding crisis facing Universities and the government’s continued deprioritisation of education.

“It is vital that all University staff are paid fairly, particularly given the casualisation of roles and the low job security faced by early-career researchers and staff, such as those who have recently completed their PhDs. A sustainable funding model for education must be a priority to help deliver this.”