ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS Performance related pay in UK higher education: gender and the use of discretionary pay points in AUT RESEARCH, January 2005
ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY TEACHERS Performance related pay in UK higher education: gender and the use of discretionary pay points in Summary Discretionary pay is currently used in a number of job grades for academic staff in UK higher education. Discretionary pay is a form of performancerelated pay, and is at a higher level than pay for other employees on the same job grade. Analysis of data for shows that male academics in the UK are 1.5 times more likely than their female colleagues to be awarded discretionary pay. While the discretionary pay gap is relatively narrow in England, in Wales and Northern Ireland male academics are twice as likely as female colleagues to be awarded discretionary pay. Only two higher education institutions for which the data were available had a discretionary pay gap in women s favour. At all the others, men were more likely than women to get discretionary pay at one institution, they were more than five times more likely than women to get these higher pay levels. These findings are a matter of concern given the continuing evidence for a gender pay gap in men s favour in UK higher education. In particular, they are a matter of concern because the pay Framework Agreement, which is currently being implemented in UK higher education, will place all employees on pay grades which have additional performance-related contribution points on top. AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 2
1 Introduction A number of higher education institutions in the UK use pay grades for academic staff which have additional discretionary pay points above the top point of the main grade. 1 See table 1 for an example of an academic grade with discretionary points. In the Senior Lecturer grade, for example, staff are normally appointed to the bottom point of the grade (point 20). There is then the expectation of an annual rise up the scale point-by-point to the top of the main grade (point 24). Any further progress up the scale onto discretionary points is up to the employer. These points are for use at the discretion of the institution in cases of special ability or special responsibilities. 2 Table 1 Senior lecturer Main grade (points 20-24) & discretionary points (points 25-27) Spinal point Pay point Discretionary points 27 43,067 26 41,876 25 40,841 Main grade points 24 39,958 23 38,681 22 37,629 21 36,712 20 35,251 The majority of institutions which have pay grades with discretionary pay points are those which were established before 1992 (the pre-92 or old universities). 3 The academic grades in pre-92 institutions which have discretionary pay points are: Lecturer B; Senior Lecturer; research Grade II; research Grade III. These grades all have 3 discretionary points above the main grade. The purpose of this report is to investigate whether there is a difference between men and women in terms of which academic staff are awarded discretionary pay points. Results 2 UK Male academics in UK higher education are 1.5 times more likely than their female colleagues to be awarded discretionary pay points (table 2). In the UK in, 14.9% of female academics were on discretionary pay points, compared with 23.0% of males (excluding academics on grades which have no DPs). The smallest gender gap in the countries of the UK was in England, where male academics were 1.4 times more likely than their female colleagues to be on discretionary points. In Scotland, male academics were 1.8 times more AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 3
likely than their female colleagues to be on discretionary points, and in Wales and Northern Ireland, men were twice as likely as women to be on DPs. The data also indicate a wide range of employment practice in the UK, with only 9.3% of women on DPs in Wales, compared with 15.8% in England; and with only 19% of men on DPs in England, compared with 27.2% in Northern Ireland. Table 2 Use of discretionary points (DPs) - UK % of academics who are on DPs* Men more likely than women to be on DPs** Female Male England 15.8% 22.8% 1.4 Wales 9.3% 19.0% 2.0 Scotland 13.1% 23.8% 1.8 Northern Ireland 13.4% 27.2% 2.0 UK 14.9% 23.0% 1.5 Source: AUT analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency individualised staff record for. 3 England In all but two of the pre-92 higher education institutions in England for which data were available, male academics were more likely than their female colleagues to be employed on discretionary pay points (table 3). The two institutions with a gender gap in favour of women were the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the University of Bradford. Otherwise, in all the pre-92 higher education institutions in England, men were more likely than women to be on DPs. The gaps ranged from very narrow, at the University of Kent, the School of Oriental and African Studies and the University of Surrey, where men were 1.1 times more likely than women to be on DPs, to very wide, such as at the universities of Bath, Leicester and Reading, and the School of Pharmacy, where men were nearly three times more likely than women to be on DPs. The data also indicate a wide range of employment practice in England, with only 6% of women on DPs at the universities of Leicester and Reading, compared with 28.8% of women at the London School of Economics; and with only 11.9% of men on DPs at the University of Lancaster, compared with 44.4% of men at the School of Pharmacy. AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 4
Table 3 Use of discretionary points (DPs) - England % of academics who are on DPs* Men more likely than women to be on DPs** England Female Male Ranked in ascending order London School of Hygiene 23.2% 15.1% 0.7 University of Bradford 26.9% 21.6% 0.8 University of Kent 19.5% 20.6% 1.1 SOAS 21.7% 23.4% 1.1 University of Surrey 14.2% 15.0% 1.1 Aston University 22.8% 27.3% 1.2 Brunel University 24.0% 27.9% 1.2 University of Lancaster 9.9% 11.9% 1.2 University of Manchester 15.9% 19.4% 1.2 University College London 14.9% 17.1% 1.2 University of Leeds 20.3% 27.2% 1.3 University of Southampton 16.4% 21.8% 1.3 University of Essex 9.5% 13.4% 1.4 University of Keele 9.9% 13.4% 1.4 London School of Economics 28.8% 39.1% 1.4 University of Warwick 21.0% 30.1% 1.4 City University 16.6% 25.1% 1.5 University of Hull 16.9% 26.2% 1.5 King's College London 19.7% 29.4% 1.5 University of Sheffield 14.9% 22.6% 1.5 University of Bristol 12.7% 19.9% 1.6 Imperial College 15.5% 24.6% 1.6 UMIST 23.4% 36.8% 1.6 University of Birmingham 15.0% 25.5% 1.7 Loughborough University 18.6% 31.4% 1.7 University of Newcastle 11.3% 19.2% 1.7 University of Durham 6.9% 12.3% 1.8 University of Liverpool 10.0% 17.7% 1.8 University of Exeter 12.3% 23.4% 1.9 Institute of Education 13.8% 31.3% 2.3 University of Bath 11.1% 29.6% 2.7 University of Leicester 6.0% 16.6% 2.8 University of Reading 6.0% 16.9% 2.8 School of Pharmacy 15.4% 44.4% 2.9 Source: AUT analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency individualised staff record for. AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 5
4 Wales In all of the pre-92 higher education institutions in Wales for which data were available, male academics were more likely than their female colleagues to be employed on discretionary pay points (table 4). The gender gap ranged from narrow, at the University of Wales, Lampeter, where male academics were 1.2 times more likely than their female colleagues to be on discretionary points, to extremely wide, at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, where men were 5.4 times more likely than women to be on DPs. The data also indicate a wide range of employment practice in Wales, with only 1.9% of women on DPs at Aberystwyth, compared with 28.6% of women at Lampeter; and with only 10.4% of men on DPs at Aberystwyth, compared with 33.3% of men at Lampeter. Table 4 Use of discretionary points (DPs) - Wales % of academics who are on DPs* Men more likely than women to be on DPs** Wales Female Male Ranked in ascending order University of Wales, Lampeter 28.6% 33.3% 1.2 University of Wales, Bangor 7.3% 12.4% 1.7 Cardiff University 12.3% 24.5% 2.0 University of Wales, Swansea 7.6% 17.1% 2.2 University of Wales, Aberystwyth 1.9% 10.4% 5.4 Source: AUT analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency individualised staff record for. 5 Scotland In all of the pre-92 higher education institutions in Scotland for which data were available, male academics were more likely than their female colleagues to be employed on discretionary pay points (table 5). The gender gap ranged from narrow, at the University of Strathclyde, where male academics were 1.3 times more likely than their female colleagues to be on discretionary points, to very wide, at the University of Stirling, where males were more than 3 times more likely than females to be on DPs. The data also indicate a wide range of employment practice in Scotland, with only 8.5% of women on DPs at the University of Stirling, compared with 28% of women at Strathclyde; and with 19.4% of men on DPs at the University of Dundee, compared with 35.2% of men at Strathclyde. AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 6
Table 5 Use of discretionary points (DPs) - Scotland % of academics who are on DPs* Men more likely than women to be on DPs** Scotland Female Male Ranked in ascending order University of Strathclyde 28.0% 35.2% 1.3 University of Aberdeen 13.1% 19.7% 1.5 Heriot-Watt University 11.7% 20.1% 1.7 University of Dundee 10.9% 19.4% 1.8 University of Glasgow 10.6% 21.0% 2.0 University of Edinburgh 10.1% 23.2% 2.3 University of Stirling 8.5% 26.3% 3.1 Source: AUT analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency individualised staff record for. 6 Northern Ireland In both of the pre-92 higher education institutions in Northern Ireland, male academics were more likely than their female colleagues to be employed on discretionary pay points (table 6). At Queen s University Belfast, male academics were 1.6 times more likely than their female colleagues to be employed on discretionary points; the gender gap was wider at the University of Ulster, where men were 2.3 times more likely than women to be on DPs. Although the proportion of women on DPs was similar at both institutions, there was a wide range in the proportion of men on DPs, with 17.8% at Queen s Belfast, compared with 33.9% at Ulster. Table 6 Use of discretionary points (DPs) Northern Ireland % of academics who are on DPs* Men more likely than women to be on DPs** Northern Ireland Female Male Ranked in ascending order Queen's University Belfast 11.2% 17.8% 1.6 University of Ulster 14.7% 33.9% 2.3 Source: AUT analysis of data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency individualised staff record for. AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 7
7 Conclusion It is clear from the data analysed in this report that there is widespread evidence of differential treatment of women and men in terms of awarding discretionary pay points. Almost without exception male academics are more likely than their female colleagues to be awarded discretionary points. While in some institutions the extent to which men are more likely than women to get discretionary points is quite small, in others it is extremely marked. This finding is significant for two reasons. The first, and more important, reason, is that it provides further evidence of direct or indirect discrimination against female academics in employment in UK higher education. 4 Although other factors - such as career breaks and the type of work women undertake - may contribute to gender pay gaps, a significant part of the gap can be attributed to discrimination. 5 It is a matter of concern that such wide gaps exist between men and women and the different way they are treated in the higher education labour market. What increases that concern is the current process of implementing the Framework Agreement in UK higher education, because the Framework involves all staff in UK higher education being employed on grades with so-called contribution points above the pay points of the main grade. If current practice in UK higher education institutions is anything to go by, female employees have much to be worried about in the implementation of the Framework. Although the Framework states that Action to foster more equal opportunities and to ensure deliver of equal pay for work of equal value is at the heart of this Framework Agreement, 6 a great deal will need to be done by employers to show that their pay practices are both fair and transparent. The second reason the findings are significant is that they show a very wide range of practice among UK higher education institutions in the operation of discretionary pay points. While some institutions pay discretionary points to a very small percentage of their staff, others have a third or more of their staff on DPs. So the likelihood of an academic being awarded discretionary pay is something of a lottery at the moment, depending as much if not more on their choice of institution, as on the consistency of pay and employment practice in higher education as a whole. It is hoped that the implementation of the Framework will bring much needed consistency to employment practice across the higher education sector. AUT research January 2005 AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 8
Endnotes 1 Although discretionary points are used for other categories of staff, such as academic related staff, data on their use is currently not collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. 2 Universities academic salaries committees (1987), 23 rd report, para 16. 3 Although former centrally-funded institutions in Scotland have discretionary points for Lecturer and Senior Lecturer grades, there was insufficient HESA data for these grades to enable analysis. 4 For further information, see The Unequal Academy at http://www.aut.org.uk/index.cfm?articleid=917 5 See Wendy Olsen and Sylvia Walby, Modelling gender pay gaps, Equal Opportunities Commission, Working Paper Series no. 17, Winter 2004. 6 Joint Negotiating Committee for Higher Education Staff, Framework Agreement for the Modernisation of Pay Structures, July 2003. AUT 2005 gender & use of discretionary points 9