AoC Governor Council launches member consultation on the proposed Colleges Senior Staff Remuneration Code

The AoC Governors’ Council has announced a consultation with members on a new Colleges Senior Staff Remuneration Code. This will be the first amendment to the AoC Code of Good Governance for English Colleges since its creation and adoption in March 2015. The Remuneration Code provides more guidance to college governing bodies on how they can exercise their duties to see senior pay based around three principles: fairness, independence and transparency. As well as covering how to set fair and appropriate pay, the Code provides guidance on the maintenance of open and transparent systems, severance arrangements, median pay multiple methodologies and proposes new annual reporting arrangements. The Code will enable colleges to account for their decisions to regulators, funders, partners, staff and their community. David Hughes, AoC Chief Executive said: “I would encourage every member to respond to the consultation on the Code. Senior staff pay in colleges is well controlled and governors are making proportionate decisions in appropriate ways. However, we have seen the strong media and public interest in senior pay in the private sector as well as the public sector, and most recently there has been a lot of concern expressed about senior pay in universities. It is imperative, therefore, that colleges can show openly how they are acting correctly. Our proposed new Code will help governing bodies to show more clearly how they are acting properly. The Code builds heavily on good practice in colleges as well as best practice in the corporate, charity, HE and other sectors, and will help ensure that governing bodies can demonstrate fair, transparent and justifiable decision making.” Atholl Stott, the Chair of AoC Governor Council, said: “AoC Governor Council is committed to good governance, to promoting transparency in how resources are used in our colleges and to ensuring that the pay of the most senior staff in colleges is fair and attractive to ensure we can attract and retain the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver. To this end, we are working with members, partners and regulators to develop the Colleges Senior Staff Remuneration Code. This Remuneration Code encompasses three core principles: fairness, independence and transparency. These principles are key to ensuring that pay levels are both reasonable and appropriate and allow stakeholders to have confidence that resources are being used effectively.” AoC members can find more information, and respond to the consultation here.