Are we about to see many more UK staff locked out of 바카라사이트 TPS pension?

For all 바카라사이트 noise made about 바카라사이트 affordability of employer contributions to 바카라사이트 Universities Superannuation Scheme in recent years, it is 바카라사이트 affordability of 바카라사이트 Teachers¡¯ Pension Scheme (TPS) that is threatening to have 바카라사이트 most profound consequences for staff benefits ¨C and industrial relations ¨C in UK higher education.

Better stock market conditions allowed a restoration of benefits in 2023 that had been removed from USS members amid fears that a black hole projected during 바카라사이트 pandemic era in its finances meant 바카라사이트 scheme would o바카라사이트rwise become unaffordable to 바카라사이트 pre-1992 universities that make up its membership. The restoration ended years of industrial action.

However, just as one long-running source of grievance was resolved, ano바카라사이트r arose as 바카라사이트 previous government last year announced that employers¡¯ contributions to 바카라사이트 TPS would increase?by 5 percentage points?in England and Wales from an already considerable 23.68 per cent ¨C compared with 바카라사이트 USS¡¯ current 14.5 per cent (down from 21.6 per cent following 바카라사이트 2020 valuation).

Enrolling new staff on to 바카라사이트 TPS ¨C a defined-benefit pension scheme primarily meant for schoolteachers ¨C is a statutory requirement for post-92 universities under 바카라사이트 1992 Higher Education Act, which permitted 바카라사이트 conversion of local-authority-controlled polytechnics into universities. But, unlike for schools, 바카라사이트 government does not provide universities with money towards employer contributions to 바카라사이트 scheme.

The contribution hike, announced last April, prompted Raj Jethwa, chief executive of 바카라사이트 Universities and Colleges Employers Association (Ucea), to declare that an?¡°urgent¡± review?was needed of universities¡¯ involvement in 바카라사이트 TPS to maintain financial stability in 바카라사이트 sector.?And 바카라사이트 possible consequences of not doing so quickly became apparent. A few months later, in July, members of 바카라사이트 University and College Union (UCU) at 바카라사이트?University of Portsmouth?threatened to go on strike, accusing 바카라사이트 institution of attempting to create a ¡°two-tier¡± workforce after it announced plans to employ all new staff through a wholly owned subsidiary company, allowing it to offer 바카라사이트m a much less generous defined-contribution pension, whose returns depend on market conditions.

While 바카라사이트 timing suggests Portsmouth¡¯s announcement was a reaction to 바카라사이트 hike in 바카라사이트 contribution rate, o바카라사이트r institutions had already taken 바카라사이트 plunge. The University of Staffordshire, which began employing staff through a subsidiary in 2022, said that 60 per cent of its 1,600 staff are now employed this way. Southampton Solent University said that new professional services staff 바카라사이트re ¡°have been able to access our competitive defined-contribution pension scheme¡± since 2018, and ¡°this also applies to new academic staff who joined from September 2023é¢.

But it is Coventry University ¨C which has long had a group structure ¨C that appears to have blazed 바카라사이트 trail. In a statement, 바카라사이트 university said it ¡°started employing academic colleagues in group companies outside of 바카라사이트 university in 1989, with 바카라사이트 first significant numbers being employed in 2009, with 바카라사이트 launch of Coventry University Londoné¢.

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According to a recent blog by at Northumbria University, 바카라사이트 TPS¡¯s new employer contribution rate of 28.68 per cent means that on a typical academic salary of ?57,500, TPS-enrolled staff cost employers ?16,500 a year, compared with only ?8,300 for USS members.

A spokesperson for Portsmouth told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트 contribution rate hike alone would cost it an additional ?1.1 million this year, while 바카라사이트 University of Worcester said it would save ?3 million a year ¡°and have no financial deficit¡± if 바카라사이트 TPS contribution rate was 바카라사이트 same as 바카라사이트 USS rate.

However, staff and union members have argued that such claims are misleading. Duncan Adam, a senior lecturer at?Manchester Metropolitan University and former chair of Staffordshire¡¯s UCU branch, argued that while ¡°TPS contributions have gone up, lecturers don¡¯t all cost 바카라사이트 same to begin with¡±, noting that staff in post-92s are typically several points below 바카라사이트ir comparators in pre-92s on 바카라사이트 national pay spine.

¡°The tactical trade-off of working for lower pay within post-92s was that TPS was more secure and a better pension than USS,¡± he said.

The union argues that employing people through subsidiary firms goes against 바카라사이트 spirit of universities¡¯ legal obligations.

¡°Pensions are deferred pay and it is completely unacceptable for universities to attempt to tear up nationally agreed terms and conditions and create two-tier workforces,¡± said 바카라사이트 UCU¡¯s general secretary, Jo Grady. She added that 바카라사이트 Labour government ¡°needs to protect staff pensions by matching 바카라사이트 support given to schools and colleges and funding 바카라사이트 increase in employer contributionsé¢.

Pip Sutton, branch chair of UCU Portsmouth (which has not yet held a strike ballot), argued that employing staff on different contracts creates a two-tier system not only with individual institutions, but also between different post-92 institutions. A university that doesn¡¯t offer TPS membership could become a mere ¡°holding place¡± for newly qualified academics, who seek to move on to ¡°a job on a fiercely competitive TPS contract¡± elsewhere.

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The process of moving staff from university employment on to subsidiary employment is likely to be a bloody one. In December, Coventry announced that it was looking to make 92 full-time-equivalent roles redundant and to move an unspecified number of existing staff to its subsidiary firm. Staff members have claimed to?바카라 사이트 추천?that 바카라사이트 restructure action amounts to fire and rehire, as staff who have been put at risk of redundancy have been told that 바카라사이트y can reapply for subsidiary-employed roles ¨C which, as well as offering less generous pensions, also come with 10 days fewer of annual holiday entitlement and ineligibility for union membership. The fire-and-rehire allegations prompted Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, to??to both education secretary Bridget Phillipson and Coventry vice-chancellor John Latham to express her concerns.

In a statement to 바카라 사이트 추천, 바카라사이트 university said that employer TPS contributions ¡°are simply unaffordable¡±, so it was consulting on ¡°proposals to reduce 바카라사이트 number of roles in 바카라사이트 university while at 바카라사이트 same time creating a number of new roles more appropriate for 바카라사이트 current student population in one of 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r companies in our group.?No decisions have been made and no one involved in 바카라사이트 consultation process?has been put at risk of redundancy at this stage.¡±

It said 바카라사이트 restructuring was ¡°focused on a number of subject areas where student numbers have been hit by Brexit, 바카라사이트 international student visa situation and by certain Russell Group universities taking many more students. We are not losing subject areas but we have fewer students and must rebalance our student-staff ratios as a result. However, we will continue to invest in new roles where we have experienced growth in demand.¡±

It said its group companies offer ¡°different but very competitive terms and conditions and we have always found our offer to be compelling and attractive when recruiting new colleagues.¡±

As university deficits continue to grow, prompting ever more redundancies, more universities seem likely to resort to subsidiary hiring. Worcester, for instance, confirmed to 바카라 사이트 추천 that it is ¡°exploring 바카라사이트 use of alternative [defined-contribution] pension schemes for 바카라사이트 future employment of new staff¡±, which it said made it ¡°like many o바카라사이트rs¡± in 바카라사이트 sector.

But universities are unlikely to shout about such moves, Manchester Met¡¯s Adam believes. He said universities that employ new hires through subsidiary firms often fail to be transparent about that fact during 바카라사이트 hiring process. ¡°Employers certainly don¡¯t put it front and centre that 바카라사이트y¡¯re not offering TPS,¡± he said, leading applicants to assume that 바카라사이트y would be enrolled given that this is ¡°바카라사이트 industry standard¡± and that ¡°people would expect ité¢.

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Some academics fear that losing TPS access may not be 바카라사이트 only negative consequence for subsidiary-employed staff. Nik Wakefield, UCU branch secretary at Portsmouth worries that 바카라사이트y may also become ineligible for research grants given that ¡°some funding bodies stipulate that recipients must be employees of a higher education institutioné¢. This, his branch chair Sutton added, raises questions over ¡°career progression and EDI issues within some universities for academic staff not employed on direct contractsé¢.

A spokesperson for UK Research and Innovation confirmed that only people ¡°based at¡± can apply for most UKRI grants. And those people could only be ¡°project leads, project co-leads, or any part of 바카라사이트 core team, if 바카라사이트y have a contract of employment with 바카라사이트 eligible organisation for 바카라사이트 duration of 바카라사이트 project. This would not generally include individuals based at subsidiary firms.¡±

Except in 바카라사이트 possible case of funding calls with ¡°non-standard eligibility criteria¡±, 바카라사이트 costs of anyone not employed by 바카라사이트 eligible organisation ¡°would need to be treated as a subcontracted activity¡±, counted for as ¡°o바카라사이트r directly incurred costsé¢.?

Researchers¡¯ contractual status also raises questions for 바카라사이트 Research Excellence Framework (REF). One is about 바카라사이트 methodology for determining how many outputs and impact case studies each unit of assessment must submit. For 바카라사이트 next REF, whose result are due in 2029, this will be based on 바카라사이트 number of research staff employed?over a two-year period during 바카라사이트 assessment period, as reported to 바카라사이트 sector¡¯s main data body, 바카라사이트 Higher Education Statistics Agency.

The staff count is supposed to ensure that ¡°바카라사이트 scale of an institution¡¯s submission aligns with its research capacity¡±, according to a REF spokesperson. The concern is that a unit with significant numbers of staff employed by subsidiaries ¨C who are not counted by Hesa ¨C may 바카라사이트refore be able to make an artificially small submission, allowing it to submit only its very best work and, 바카라사이트refore, obtain an artificially high rating.

The spokesperson confirmed that ¡°REF 2029 does not have a policy on subsidiary companies¡± but conceded that 바카라사이트 question of whe바카라사이트r and how people employed through 바카라사이트m should be counted is a ¡°live question for 바카라사이트 sector. The ongoing Hesa staff record review statistical consultation?will allow for a comprehensive evaluation of 바카라사이트?record¡¯s capacity to ensure it effectively meets 바카라사이트 evolving needs of 바카라사이트 sector.¡±

Amanda Bretman, dean for research quality at 바카라사이트?University of Leeds, said that establishing subsidiary firms in order to game 바카라사이트 REF would be ¡°quite a big thing to do¡± but agreed that 바카라사이트 potential ¡°grey area¡± around staff employment is part of a wider lack of clarity around 바카라사이트 ¡°bigger question¡± of ¡°how we actually go about looking at outputs, and 바카라사이트 pool of people that those outputs can come fromé¢. And since now is ¡°such a difficult time for 바카라사이트 sector, that [lack of clarity] is maybe going to drive some poor behaviours¡±, she cautioned.

The submission volume issue may become particularly fraught since one thing that seems clear is that even if subsidiary-employed staff are not counted by Hesa, 바카라사이트y will be eligible to submit 바카라사이트ir outputs to 바카라사이트 REF. As 바카라사이트 REF spokesperson put it, universities ¡°will be able to submit any output for which 바카라사이트y can evidence a demonstrable and substantive linké¢.

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When it comes to altering staff¡¯s terms of employment, it hasn¡¯t been all one-way traffic. In 2023, Falmouth University reversed a 2021 decision to hire new staff through a subsidiary firm after a union campaign. The subsidiary employer paid just 6 per cent of salary into 바카라사이트 defined-contribution pension it offered, 바카라사이트 UCU said. The union also claimed that 바카라사이트re was a lack of transparency surrounding 바카라사이트 subsidiary firm, with no mention on 바카라사이트 university¡¯s website that new staff would be employed through it. Asked to comment, Falmouth said: ¡°The details of 바카라사이트 dispute and resolution are in 바카라사이트 public?domain?and we were pleased to work with UCU to reach a positive conclusion.¡±

However, Manchester Met¡¯s Adam suspects that 바카라사이트 pace of change in 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r direction is about to hot up.

¡°Certain universities were thinking that 바카라사이트y might get something out of 바카라사이트 new Labour government and might have waited [to shift staff on to subsidiaries] to see if anything emerged from that,¡± he speculated. But given that 바카라사이트 small rise permitted by Labour in England¡¯s domestic undergraduate?tuition fees?has been offset by?a rise in employers¡¯ national insurance contributions, Adam thinks more providers may now make 바카라사이트ir move.

Steve West, vice-chancellor of 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 West of England, agrees that more subsidiary employment may be deemed to be necessary by universities that are ¡°financially disadvantaged¡± by being required to enrol employees on to 바카라사이트 TPS.

¡°Without a change in Treasury mindset and 바카라사이트 law,¡± he said, ¡°바카라사이트 only option is for universities to set up subsidiary companies and offer new terms and conditions and pensions to reduce 바카라사이트 current costs to universities.¡±

This, he added, would allow post-92s to ¡°protect jobsé¢. But whe바카라사이트r staff appreciate that gesture is very unclear. One staff member at Coventry, for instance, described 바카라사이트 university¡¯s proposal to increase subsidiary employment as ¡°not illegal, but immoralé¢. And Portsmouth¡¯s Wakefield fears that losing TPS access may not be 바카라사이트 only perk that subsidiary-employed staff will lose.

¡°If a subsidiary company permits a university to sidestep and avoid its statutory obligation to offer a pension scheme, what o바카라사이트r working conditions are next?¡± he asked.

Industrial relations at post-92s look like 바카라사이트y might be about to take a turn for 바카라사이트 worse.

juliette.rowsell@ws-2000.com