Remuneration Committee

Membership

The current membership of the University’s Remuneration Committee is set out below:

* Members of Senate, the University’s Governing Body.

In Attendance

A number of senior officers attend Remuneration Committee meetings as required. These officers are not members of the Committee and are not present for any discussion relating to their salary or terms and conditions of employment.

Details are set out below:

Committee Secretariat

The Registrar and Chief Operating Officer acts as Secretary to the Committee. The Committee is serviced by staff in the Directorate of People and Culture.

Terms of Reference

The Remuneration Committee’s Terms of Reference are as set out below:

1. To determine and to review annually, on behalf of the Senate, the salaries and employment terms and conditions of the Senior Management Group and Senior Academic Managers.

   The Senior Management Group currently includes:
   • President and Vice-Chancellor
   • Pro-Vice-Chancellors
   • Registrar and Chief Operating Officer
   • Professional Services Directors
   Senior Academic Managers currently include:
   • Heads of School
   • Dean of the Graduate School
   • Directors of the GRI Institutes

   Such other senior officers as designated by the Senate from time to time.

2. To keep under review the Senior Salaries Scheme, taking due account of wider developments within both higher education and the wider economy.
3. To oversee severance arrangements for members of the Senior Management Group and Senior Academic Managers, in the context of specific guidance from the University’s sponsoring Department and its own policy governing all severance packages, to identify boundaries of delegated authority for agreeing packages and to determine settlements in excess of pre-agreed limits.
4. To consider and advise on any matters concerning the terms of appointment and conditions of service of any senior officers defined in (a) above when referred to it by the President and Vice-Chancellor or the Pro-Chancellors.
5. To consider, endorse and monitor performance against the approved key objectives of the Senior Management Group.
6. To provide an Annual Report for consideration and approval by Senate.
7. To promote the University’s responsibilities for equality and diversity by ensuring that relevant issues are given full consideration in all matters relating to the remuneration of all staff falling within the remit of the Committee.

Schedule of Meetings for 2018/19

The Remuneration Committee Schedule of Meetings for 2018-19 is set out below:

Remuneration of President and Vice-Chancellor

Professor Ian Greer was appointed as President and Vice-Chancellor with effect from 1 August 2018, following an extensive global search for the best qualified person to lead Queen’s University Belfast.

Professor Greer’s remuneration package is determined by the Remuneration Committee and is commensurate with the size of the institution, its budget and the scale of its operations. Queen’s is a highly complex organisation, making a significant contribution to the economic and social wellbeing of the city and the region, and operating in an increasingly competitive environment which requires the very highest level of leadership.

In determining the package, the Remuneration Committee considered relevant benchmark data for Vice-Chancellors’ pay in universities of similar size and complexity. Accordingly, Professor Ian Greer’s salary is £295,000. In addition, there is a £6,000 contribution to USS making the total remuneration package £301,000. The package reflects the complexity and demands of the role and is comparable with the lower-range packages within the Russell Group of Universities. In the interests of openness and transparency, the Vice-Chancellor’s remuneration package is routinely published and publicly available on the University website, in the spirit of the guidance issued by the Committee of University Chairs.

Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code

Senate has welcomed the new Committee of University Chairs (CUC) Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code. The Code sets out a framework through which institutions can demonstrate that they are being managed in the best interests of their key stakeholders, including staff and students. In this context, Senate has endorsed a number of updates to its current practices in response to evolving best practice across the sector.

Additional Guidance

Further information on the role of Remuneration Committees in the Higher Education sector is available as set out below:

• Higher Education Code of Governance
• Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code