University staff to receive £1000 cost-of-living payment

Most staff at the University of Manchester are due to receive a £1000 bonus payment, as extra support with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

In a statement published on the University’s StaffNet, Dame Nancy Rothwell, the University’s President and Vice-Chancellor, promised a payment of £1000 to all staff on grade 1-8 of the University’s pay structure. This payment would be split into two £500 payments – one either side of the new year.

This encompasses salaries from £19,838 per annum up to £71,644 and includes lecturers and senior lecturers. To staff at the bottom of the scale, this represents a bonus of approximately 5%, but to those lecturers at the top of the scale, it is closer to 1.5%.

Some staff – largely professors – will not receive the £1000 payment. Most professors earn between £80,000 to just under £100,000, although according to the University’s pay-scale, professors can earn anything from around £70,000 up to just over £200,000. Staff included in this range are due to receive a £500 payment in November.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), are also receiving what is approximately a 3% pay-rise, but not the extra-one off payment. The University says that this is because “GTA’s work variable hours”.

Further, the UKRI has increased its minimum student stipend for postgraduate researchers by 10%, and over £2000. This is separate from the salary GTAs get from the University.

If staff do not feel that they need, or do not want, the payment, they can elect to give their payments to the Student Hardship Fund. The Mancunion reported exclusively on this in September. At the time of the writing, the University has committed £360,000 to aid students through the cost-of-living crisis.

A University spokesperson said: “We know this is a challenging time for colleagues and additional payments of £1000 this winter (with £500 paid in November and £500 in January), is over and above what many other organisations are offering as extra financial support. This is on top of the generous pre-existing support and benefits package which all employees can access, and our status as a Real Living Wage Employer.

This economic environment affects us all in very different ways and therefore are we are also offering colleagues the opportunity to divert their full payment to our Student Hardship Fund if they feel they can.”