The College is committed to offering a total remuneration package that is equitable, fair, and appropriately reflects our standing as a world-leading university based in London.

Human Resources undertakes an annual benchmarking exercise to review the College’s salaries against the Russell Group, London Higher Education Sector, agreed relevant benchmark comparators, and London market pay rates. This information is shared with the University Management Board, whose members review the College’s approach to pay. This includes the annual pay award, benefits, and the criteria for the review of individual salaries.

At the College, local pay bargaining takes place annually to decide whether there will be a salary increase (pay award) for staff employed on the College’s local pay scales.

The College negotiates with the Joint Trades Unions (JTUs) – UCU, UNISON and UNITE – to determine if there should be an increase in pay and the rate. When negotiations have ended, any agreed annual salary increase (known as the annual pay award) is applied to all salaries covered by pay bargaining from 1 August.  If negotiations have not concluded by 1 August or have been delayed, any pay award is usually backdated to the 1 August.

2023 Local Pay Negotiations

The dates for this year's local pay negotiation meetings have been set for 31 March and 21 April.

If you have any questions regarding the above, please contact one of the following:

Harbhajan Brar
Director of Human Resources
020 7594 5540
directorofhr@imperial.ac.uk

Audrey Fraser
Deputy HR Director (Strategic Partnering and Reward)
020 7594 5547
audrey.fraser@imperial.ac.uk

Vijay Tymms
UCU President
020 7594 5238
v.tymms@imperial.ac.uk

Tanya Hunt
UNISON Secretary
020 7594 5887
t.hunt@imperial.ac.uk

Susan Parker
UNITE Chair
020 7594 7886
s.parker@imperial.ac.uk

Which salaries are covered by the local pay bargaining?

The academic, research and professional, technical, operational services, learning and teaching salary scales are covered by this local pay bargaining process.

Which salaries are not covered by the local pay bargaining?

Clinical salary scales – which are set by the NHS, not by the College – are not covered by this process.

For staff who are employed on the national pay scales, any annual pay award is determined by national pay negotiations between UCEA (the Universities and Colleges Employers’ Association) and HE Trade Unions.

How does the local pay bargaining process work?

The pay bargaining process normally takes place from March to June each year and runs as follows:

1. The University Management Board will consider affordability as the principal requirement to determine what the annual pay award should be. They will also look at:

• recruitment and retention data from Imperial
• higher education institutions and other sectors’ pay awards
• benchmark salary data

2. The University Management Board will set the pay mandate, which is the total amount of money that can be spent by the College on the annual pay award.

3. The JTUs make their pay claim which sets out a request for a specified pay increase amount and includes the reasoning behind the requested amount.

4. Normally a maximum of three negotiating meetings are then held which are attended by representatives from the College and the JTUs.  The management representatives will be undertaking these in line with the pay mandate set by the University Management Board.

5. Following each meeting, the College position will be confirmed in writing and published on this webpage and be available to view by all staff. Responses from the JTUs will also be published.

6. The outcome of the final meeting will be confirmed in writing and taken to the trade unions’ members by the JTUs and members vote on whether to accept or reject the offer.

7. The outcome of the JTU members vote is presented to the University Management Board who will make a final decision on what action to take.

8. HR will apply any salary increase to all salaries covered by local pay bargaining. The effective date will be 1 August, and the changes to salaries are then processed by Payroll.  Where a decision to implement a pay award is made after 1 August, the pay award will be backdated to 1 August.

Who is involved in local pay bargaining?