UK universities appear to have been very conscious that inflated pay rises for vice-chancellors would not be a good look during a pandemic and avoided major rises during 2020-21, according to the initial set of financial accounts to be published.

Among the 15 institutions of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities to have released accounts by early January, no vice-chancellors who were in post for the whole of 2019-20 saw their basic salary rise.?And some also took a Covid-related cut to their pay to leave their overall remuneration down on the year before.

When allowing for these salary cuts, the highest paid leader in the group, according to accounts released so far, was Alice Gast, president of?Imperial College London, who received total remuneration including benefits of ?519,000.

She was followed by Minouche Shafik, director of the London School of Economics, whose total remuneration was ?486,000, Stephen Toope, vice-chancellor of the?University of Cambridge?(?475,000), and Louise Richardson at the?University of Oxford?(?459,000).

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According to the accounts, Professor Gast took a salary cut of ?18,000 in 2020-21 due to the pandemic, while Baroness Shafik took a 20 per cent salary cut each month until February 2021. Both saw their overall remuneration fall as a result.

Others in the group, including Professor Richardson, did not take a Covid-related cut but, in line with rank-and-file staff whose pay was frozen in 2020-21, received no bonuses or increase in their basic salary.

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However, extra payments were not completely absent from the accounts.

As previously?reported, a retention bonus of more than ?100,000 promised to outgoing?University of Exeter?vice-chancellor Sir Steve Smith, was paid on his departure at the end of August 2020. He is also due to receive another similar payment this year if he does not work for any other institution.

Outside the Russell Group, one of the best paid leaders in the sector remains?London Business School?dean Fran?ois Ortalo-Magn¨¦, whose overall remuneration rose 16 per cent in 2020-21 to ?577,000, although this percentage increase reflects him waiving ?120,000 of his salary the year before.

simon.baker@timeshighereducation.com