University staff fear pay loss in allowance change

Staff at the University of Nottingham have raised concerns they will lose hundreds of pounds every month in a change to an unsocial hours allowance.

Some employees in the operations and facilities department received a fixed monthly amount for working unsociable hours, including weekends and nights. It will be scrapped from 31 July and replaced with a 15% pay uplift per unsociable hour.

The university said compensation was currently different across departments, and the changes made pay "fair and consistent".

However, some of those affected, who asked to remain anonymous, said it would lead to their overall pay being cut by 10-15%, as the hourly rate would equate to less than the fixed amount.

One employee, who claimed they stood to lose about £3,500 annually, described it as a "penny-pinching" measure.

They said: "We understand that equity is important to staff on our level, but the extent to which our pay is being reduced is insulting.

"People rely on that money to support families, to pay mortgages, to pay rent...everything about [the change] is completely unfair.

"Why is the university targeting the lowest-paid workers they have?"

The university, which previously told the BBC it had been "seriously affected by a fall in revenues and rising costs", denied the move was a cost-cutting measure.

Another staff member, who said they stood to lose a similar amount, said the changes would leave some staff on little more than minimum wage.

They said: "From the outside looking in, you might go 'that's fair, everyone deserves equal fair pay'.

"But it's the fact that they decided to take the allowances from the lowest pay grades, which hits us right back down to minimum wage."

A spokesperson for the university said previous approaches meant staff in different departments were being compensated in different ways.

They added that all staff in departments working in the lowest three pay grades, levels 1 to 3, will be eligible for the 15% uplift in pay when working hours are "deemed unsociable".

A review into the fixed allowance payments began in 2022, and negotiations with unions over the replacement of the system commenced in January 2025.

The scrapping of the fixed monthly payments was later agreed with the three trade unions recognised by the university, Unite, Unison, and the University and College Union, through a joint negotiation committee.

However, only Unison members are affected, the unions confirmed.

"These changes are intended to ensure that all staff at levels 1 to 3 continue to receive fair and consistent recognition and payment for work," the spokesperson said.

"Unfortunately, a small number of colleagues have been more negatively impacted than others by these changes and will see a reduction in salary as a result.

"The university has held engagement sessions with colleagues who have been affected most by the changes."

Vicki Norris, branch secretary for Unison, said the allowance changes were "not a done deal".

She added that new negotiations with the university would begin next week on "mitigation".

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