Website: https://www.leeds.ac.uk
No of Staff: 9,225 in academic year 2022/23 (according to HESA)
Their Challenge:
At the University of Leeds its employee engagement survey highlighted that many staff were concerned about pay levels and cost of living pressures. To deliver its strategic objectives, the University needed to strengthen its position as an employer of choice both in the local area and across the Higher Education sector. To achieve this, it was important that it modernised its pay framework, to ensure it was competitive within the sector and the wider local/national market.
The Executive Team members and trade union colleagues agreed that a number of key principles had to be adhered to when carrying out this project, including;
Ensuring equal pay for work of equal value;
Maintaining the University’s ability to remain competitive within local, national and international market sectors based on evidence informed by benchmarking data;
Providing a pay structure that is sustainable financially, agile, flexible and resilient to a rage of factors (e.g. changes to the Real Living Wage, changes to national pay arrangements, changes to salary thresholds linked to UK immigration rules);
Recruiting, retaining and motivating their people, rewarding expertise and contribution appropriately;
Addressing cost of living pressures, particularly at lower grades; and
Promoting and embedding good employment and reward practices.
The Solution:
Initially, the University focused on understanding how roles compared across various markets by conducting internet searches of recent job adverts to establish local competitor pay rates for generic lower graded roles and reviewing other Universities’ pay and grading arrangements.
ECC is experienced in understanding and dealing with reward issues facing Universities. The University worked closely with their ECC Consultant to align their HERA grades with Korn Ferry levels. HERA provides a robust method of comparing and contrasting roles, ensuring compliance with the 1970 Equal Pay Act and the 2010 Equality Act. It helps organisations avoid potential bias in the design and sizing of roles inherent in some other schemes, as it doesn’t make assumptions about levels of responsibility and accountability.
Partnering with ECC provided the validation that their approach to reviewing benchmark data was thorough. This provided a deep understanding of how roles compared with the wider labour market. This element was critical in underpinning the design of a robust market-led structure, focussing on median to upper quartile salary ranges, and providing confidence in our evidence-based approach.
The University also worked closely with their trades unions to consider model structures that took account of the three sets of market analysis, they presented and agreed costed models and approaches to the executive team, concluded negotiations with the unions, and took the final proposal to the University Council for approval. They worked productively with the unions to agree a multiphase implementation approach over an 18-month period:
Phase one - changes to the lower end of the pay structure to meet the RLW and restore differentials between grades; implemented in February 2024 and positively impacting over 1,400 people;
Phase two - changes across grades 2 to 9 involving increased minimum and maximum points; implemented in August 2024 and positively impacting 9,000 people;
Phase three – a final phase to move grades 2 to 9 minimums and maximums in line with the wider market and aligning service increment dates to enable improved planning; to be implemented during this academic year.
The new framework is the culmination of a year’s partnership work. The alignment of the HERA grades and the wider market levels is an essential part of a future project that will ensure better informed market-based pay decisions.

The Result:
The impact of the two phases implemented so far has been significant in delivering pay improvements for all current employees on the National Pay Spine (around 9,000 people). Phase three provides a significant commitment to enable further progression within grades for many staff and provides a pay structure that compares favourably in the sector and the wider market, allowing the University to recruit and retain the best people.
Following agreement of the new framework by the unions and approval by the Executive Team and the Council, a series of open staff meetings were arranged. Detailed information about the approach taken and the agreed arrangements was provided and attendees were given the opportunity to ask general questions or meet with a member of the Reward team to discuss individual implications. Engagement and feedback from colleagues were overwhelmingly positive.
A trade union colleague said that the changes were “potentially lifechanging for our members”. Regional Officers from the recognised unions were involved in the latter stages of negotiation and all complimented the robust approach that had been taken and the commitment by the University to embrace partnership working. A Professional Service leader said “I just wanted to extend my appreciation but more importantly of people in our service who've mentioned this work to me too. This really matters. The work you've done will make a positive difference to our staff and their dependents both in terms of their financial stability but also potentially their quality of life.”
A member of the Executive Team described the work as “perhaps the most significant professional services project during my time at the University”.
It is hoped that this project will continue to have a lasting positive impact on staff.

Chris Mooney (Head of Reward):
"We are absolutely delighted to have won the ECC project of the year for 2024. The changes to our pay framework have had a positive impact for no fewer than 9,000 people in the past year, and further improvements will be implemented in August 2025.
The project couldn’t have been delivered without the involvement of a wide range of colleagues; we’re hugely grateful for their support and hard work. We’d also like to extend our thanks to our campus trades unions, with whom we worked collaboratively for the duration of the project to deliver positive change"