Twenty eight academy trusts have been ordered to justify paying senior leaders in excess of £100,000.
Academies Minister Lord Agnew has written to 28 chairs of trustees as part of the Government’s drive to curb alleged ‘excessive’ salaries based on the size, standards, and financial health of trusts.
The academies have been told they will need to provide further details to justify the pay of senior executives who earn more than £150,000 – and those earning £100,000 if two or more people in a school earn a six-figure salary.
Lord Agnew’s directive follows new requirements for academy trusts to publish high salaries in their accounts.
In the letter, which has been sent to less than one per cent of academy trusts nationwide, Lord Agnew has called on trustees to justify salaries and reassure ministers that that they are not “diverting financial resources that could be more effectively deployed on the front line of education”.
The Department for Education hopes that putting pressure on the minority of academy trusts that pay excessive salaries will bring them in line with the majority of academy trusts. Its data reveals that less than 4 per cent of trusts pay two or more salaries between £100,000 and £150,000.
Lord Agnew, said: “The best academies place freedom in the hands of school leaders but with that autonomy comes greater accountability and transparency, which is exactly why I am insistent that the salaries of their executives are justifiable. And just because we are advocates of the academies programme, doesn’t mean we won’t call a trust out where we believe they are not acting responsibly.
“The overwhelming majority of academies are behaving responsibly and by publicly challenging the minority of trusts that are not complying with this request, we will ensure that every pound of public money is spent as effectively as possible to continue improving the standard of education in our schools.”
Samantha Randall, a Solicitor who specialises in employment law, said: “Given that many schools are facing a difficult situation, trying to balance their books whilst paying their staff a salary commensurate with their experience, it is increasingly important that trustees and CEOs are able to properly justify the salaries of their senior leadership team.
“Well drafted employment contracts which clearly define issues such as pay reviews, and bonuses can be extremely useful to ensure clarity on both sides and to help justify pay scales.”
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