We continue our termly look at the decisions made by our University Executive Board.
Gender Pay Gap reporting
The Equality Act 2010 requires all employers with 250 or more employees to publish data each year showing the pay gap between their male and female employees.
At the January UEB meeting, the Board was shown the University’s Gender Pay Gap Report, which was published in March 2018. The data is based on a snapshot date of 31 March 2017.
The data showed a mean gender pay gap of 20.2 per cent which means women are paid, on average, 20.2 per cent less than men. However, the University is confident that the gap does not stem from paying men and women differently for work of equal value, but instead results from the different seniorities of roles in which men and women tend to work, and the salaries that these roles attract within the University.
Our gender pay gap return also shows a bonus pay gap in favour of men, and that a higher proportion of men than women received bonus pay. The majority of bonus pay was paid in the form of Clinical Excellence Awards, and approximately two thirds of Clinical Excellence Award recipients are men, reflecting the gender profile of our clinical employees; this impacted our overall bonus pay gap.
Work is ongoing to address the gaps identified. The action plan from our 2017 Equal Pay Review, which will be presented to UEB in the next few months, will aim to reduce or close gender, disability and ethnicity pay gaps by addressing the barriers and stereotypes that drive them.
UEB discussed the data at length, and all members agreed that the University needs to challenge itself when considering achievement awards and promotions. It was also decided that the Equal Pay Review be presented yearly (it is currently every two years) for deeper scrutiny and challenge.
More information about Equal Pay and Gender Pay Gap reporting is on the University website.
Read the SUSSED post about this story here.
Research Integrity statement
Each year the University has to submit an annual report on Research Integrity in line with the requirements of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity.
Each year the report is shared with the UEB whose role is to approve it for publication. The statement includes a summary of actions and activities that have been undertaken to support and strengthen understanding and application of research integrity issues. It provides an assurance that the University has transparent, robust and fair processes in place for dealing with allegations of research misconduct, and it also outlines any formal investigations of research misconduct that have taken place.
The UEB approved the report but requested that it include a reference to the large amount of important research integrity training that is being introduced across the University.
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations)
GDPR is pan-European legislation that repeals the Data Protection Act (1998). It includes a strengthened set of principles governing the use of personal data. Full compliance of the new data protection regulations is scheduled for 25 May 2018.
At the UEB meeting in March, the Board was asked to approve the approach for processing personal data for student, alumni and donor activities. GDPR requires the University to choose one of six lawful methods for processing personal data. This has to be done for each of the University’s data processing areas of business.
The UEB approved the approach for each of the areas, which took into consideration the balance of both compliance requirements and the potential impact on core business needs.
In March, staff were emailed details about GDPR training which you can find here.
Read more about the GDPR team here.
Open Day Evaluation
The UEB received a report about Institutional Research’s evaluation of the 2017 UG Open Days. It stated that the Open Days are the most significant direct touchpoint for recruiting and converting applications to this University and are, therefore, a key activity that requires support and resource.
The UEB were asked to support the continued prioritisation of Open Days, specifically the participation of key staff and cross–departmental working to build on the gains made in 2017. There will be continued focus on delivering a compelling visitor experience, which showcases the courses, campus and community available at Southampton. Discussion took place around the impact of staffing the Open Days, particularly at the weekends. It was noted that this is a complex issue and needs resolving.
Industrial Action
At the beginning of each UEB meeting, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Christopher Snowden, updates members on pensions and the current industrial action. Each update has always focused on how to ensure the minimum impact to the student experience and how to support those who are anxious about the impact on their classes and exams. Where possible there have been updates on communications with Universities UK (UUK) and the University and College Union (UCU) and any movement on resolving the pension issues.
Health and Safety
Each month various Health and Safety Policies are brought to the UEB for approval. These can all be found on the Health and Safety Sharepoint Site. They include the following policies:
Biological Containment Laboratories
Specified Animal Pathogens
Mental Wellbeing
Ionising Radiation
Business Continuity
