Vice-Chancellor suggests he deserves salary of £360,000 as he has to oversee huge staff redundancies

A university vice-Chancellor has suggested that he deserves his salary of £360,000 as he has to oversee huge staff redundancies. 

Peter Horrocks, the head of the Open University, said that his institution is undertaking “the largest re-structuring redundancy programme ever in UK university history” and so needs an “appropriate leader” to oversee the process.

During a parliamentary hearing on value for money in higher education, MPs on the education select committee repeatedly asked vice-chancellors to justify their levels of pay, with MPs signalling that greater regulation may be needed to curb high pay.

Asked by Ian Mearns, a Labour MP for Gateshead, whether vice-Chancellor salaries are “now part of a racket”, Mr Horrocks acknowledged that the issue could “potentially undermine the value of universities in this country”.

Mr Horrocks added that vice-Chancellors' salaries should not be regulated, as this would not take into account the “diversity and different needs of each institution”.

Mr Horrocks, a former BBC executive, went on to say: “The Open University, as a result of this dramatic fall of 60pc in part time study, is facing some of the most convulsive changes.

“We are going to have to carry out the largest re-structuring redundancy programme ever in UK university history as a result of this fall in part time.

“The university - not myself - needs to have appropriate leadership to handle that. That is a particular circumstance that our university is dealing with.”

According to the Open University’s latest financial statement, Mr Horrocks was paid a total of £360,000 in 2016-17. This includes a salary of £332,000, performance related pay of £13,000 and taxable benefits of £15,000.

The 2017 annual report into vice-Chancellor pay and perks, compiled by Universitity and Colleges Union, found that he was the 23rd highest vice-Chancellor in the country.

Mr Horrocks told MPs about the measures he has taken so that he can “look Open University students straight in the face”.

He said that he has proposed that the university sell the vice-Chancellor’s residence, and that no rewards should be paid out to him and his team this year.

He said he also asked the remuneration committee, which he does not sit on, to carry out a review of his salary.

An Open University spokesman said: “We have told our staff that implicit in the cost reductions we are seeking is that a significant number of jobs will go, but at the same time other different roles will be created.  

“We have undertaken to retrain staff where appropriate and will do what we can to maximise the number of people who leave on voluntary redundancy terms.”