University of Glasgow - MyGlasgow - Governance at the University - Corporate Governance at the University - People governance

Remuneration Committee

Appointed by Court, the Remuneration Committee (RC) is responsible for considering and reviewing the salaries, terms and conditions, and any severance payments, for senior members of staff of the University.

Committee remit

The mandate for the RC is as follows:

To formulate the University's remuneration policy, and to review that policy annually, recommending changes to Court as appropriate;
To determine the salaries of the Principal and other members of Senior Management Group, having regard to:

Collective and individual performance in advancing the University's strategic objectives,
Offering competitive salaries with those of other major UK universities, as reflected in robust comparative data, and
budgetary parameters approved by Court;

Annually, to determine the University’s policy on the performance-related reward of professorial and senior professional staff (all level 10 staff);
In the absence of the Convener of Court, make recommendations on the nature and level of any remuneration for the Convener of Court, subject to approval by Court;
To advise Court on the University's policy on severance arrangements for staff, within the parameters agreed by Court and implement that policy, considering, on an individual basis, any severance proposal that:

Departs from the parameters agreed by Court, and/or
Pertains to for a member of the Senior Management Group

To maintain oversight of contracts of employment for senior staff (the Principal & SMG)
To receive an annual report on expenses incurred by members of the Senior Management Group
To ensure that Committee membership includes the relevant skills and experience necessary to exercise its remit effectively.
To seek the views of institutional representatives from student and staff related bodies, including those of the recognised trade unions, in relation to the remuneration package of the Principal and the senior executive team.

Scheme of Delegation

The following details the delegated authority for the RC and shows how it is placed in the overall University Scheme of Delegation with escalation to Court:

Area of Responsibility	Limit	Delegated Decision Making Auhtority	Escalation To
Pre-approve University Remuneration Policy (pre Court)	N/A	N/A	Court
Pre-approve salaries of the Principal and SMG Members	N/A	N/A	Court
Pre-approve policy on the performance-related reward of professorial and senior administrative staff (all level 10 staff)	N/A	N/A	Court
Approve severance proposals within parameters set by Court and excluding SMG Members	N/A	N/A	Court

Committee Membership

This is a non-executive chaired committee with the following membership:

Lay member of Court (Chair)
2 further lay members including one of whom will be the Convenor of Court
2 extrenal lay members
1 staff representative on Court
SRC President

In attendance:

Principal
Chief Operating Officer and University Secretary
Executive Director of People & Organisational Development

Committee Member Responsibilities

Each Committee member has a responsibility to:

Openly and constructively challenge proposals presented ensuring minimal risk exposure to the university
Take ownership for specific actions and risks in the Remuneration Committee Action and Risk Logs. All actions and risks must have a Committee member as overall owner
Activity and behaviour should embody the University’s values (click here for details)

Format and cadence

The meeting schedule will be every 6 months lasting 2 hours.

INPUTS

Institutional remuneration trends analysis
Market Supplement Policy
SMG Expense Report
Voluntary Severance and Salary Augmentation Report
Performance and Development Review Summary Report
Previous minutes and actions

OUTPUTS

Revised papers and reports to Court
Minutes

Substitutions and Quorum

Substitutions may not be made. There must be a minimum of 5 from the core group in attendance for decisions or approvals. In the event of a consensus not being reached, the Chair will have the casting decision or recommend escalation to Court.

Conflict of Interest

The RC will follow the UofG procedure for the management of any conflicts. The procedure defines declaration of conflicts as a standard agenda item at the start of the meeting, the maintenance of a register of conflicts, and a process for managing all conflicts which are declared.

Principal and Vice Chancellor Remuneration and Terms & Conditions

As the University’s Chief Executive Officer, the Principal has formal and wide-ranging responsibilities for the strategic leadership and direction of the University. The Principal is a member of Court and Convener of Senate. The Principal leads the Senior Management Group, which also includes the Senior Vice Principal & Deputy Vice Chancellor, Vice-Principals (9 in total), Chief Operating Officer & University Secretary and the Directors of Finance and Human Resources.

The remuneration and terms and conditions of the Principal & Vice Chancellor are determined by members of the Remuneration Committee. The Principal is not a member of the Remuneration Committee and is not in attendance at its meetings while his salary, terms and conditions are under discussion.

The Remuneration Committee’s review of the Principal’s salary is informed by:-

the annual P&DR discussion conducted by the Convener of Court, reflecting a comprehensive feedback process involving staff, students, members of Court and the senior executive and informed by a by an assessment of his performance against agreed objectives in the preceding year.
individual and collective SMG performance in advancing the University’s strategic objectives;
the need to provide tangible reward for excellent performance and a competitive remuneration package that is consistent with robust benchmark data and reflective of equivalent positions within comparable Russell Group/major UK universities.

Following Court approval of a recommendation by the Remuneration Committee, the Principal’s salary was revised to £290,000 effective from 1 October 2017, £300,000 from 1 October 2018 and £310,000 from 1 October 2019, representing increases of 4.1%, 3.3% and 3.3% respectively, subject to continued high performance, as determined by the annual review process.

Ratio of remuneration of the Principal to the average salary of a University staff member, in 2017/18 – 8.3:1. In 2016/17 the equivalent ratio was 6.80:1

In addition to his salary from the University of Glasgow, the Principal is remunerated as a director of Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd. The Principal gift aids this payment to the University of Glasgow.