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At UEA, our staff enjoy a wide range of benefits.
It's a great place to work, with a diverse campus community and lots of opportunities to connect with others and get involved.
We recognise that everyone leads a different lifestyle, and we are growing our benefits provision to create greater choice and flexibility for everyone.
1. Pay, pensions and holiday
Competitive rates of pay
We operate a single pay spine for most members of staff with competitive rates of pay. This structure is adjusted annually in line with the national pay award. Grades for individual jobs are determined through the application of the Higher Education Role Analysis Scheme (HERA).
Generous pensions
We have generous pension schemes available to UEA employees, who are eligible for either the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) or the UEA Group Personal Pension operated by Scottish Widows (GPP).
Employees in Academic or Academic-related roles are auto-enrolled into USS, a defined benefit scheme. The University pays a monthly contribution of 14.5% of your salary into your pension. Employees receive tax relief on their 6.1% contribution with a lower rate of NI payable, and have the opportunity to make voluntary contributions.
Employees in support roles are auto-enrolled into the GPP, a defined contribution scheme. The scheme offers an affordable way for employees to build up a sum of money in a tax-efficient means to help support their retirement. The minimum monthly employee contribution is equivalent to 5% of qualifying earnings (inclusive of tax relief). The minimum employer contribution is set by the government as 3% but the University has elected to provide a minimum employer contribution of 1.5 times employee contribution (a minimum of 7.5%), up to a maximum employer contribution of 9%.
Both schemes provide immediate life cover for your dependents, plus incapacity cover.
Holiday
University roles attract a generous holiday entitlement in excess of statutory leave, on top of annual leave, staff benefit from an additional six ‘customary' days leave each year (taken as 4 days at Christmas, 2 at Easter). Annual leave, customary and statutory leave entitlements are set out in the terms and conditions for the respective staff group.
SportsPark contracts offer different annual leave arrangements.
2. Family and work-life balance
We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and have introduced a number of policies to support this with the intention of helping staff balance their commitments and interests outside of work with the contractual obligations, these include flexible working and hybrid working policies. There are a range of activities that you can engage with during your lunch break, including regular wellbeing walks and a range of activities at the Sportspark.
We also have exceptional provision for those with families. We have generous maternity, paternity, shared parental and adoption leave, as well as a full-day care nursery with an outstanding Ofsted rating on campus with employees able to receive tax-free childcare via a Salary Sacrifice Scheme when their children are placed at the UEA Nursery.
3. Health and wellbeing
UEA has a number of initiatives to support all employees with their health and wellbeing, including 24/7 access to our Employee Assistance Programme.
A purpose-built campus Medical Centre provides a full range of medical services for staff, students and the local community, including dental care.
Sport is an integral part of community life at UEA for staff and students alike. We pride ourselves on being able to provide a wide-ranging programme of sporting, recreational and health promoting activities. Our Sportspark is the UK's biggest indoor sports centre, Employees are able to access the Sportspark for free, receiving discounted membership enabling you to take advantage of the Olympic sized swimming pool, fitness and aerobic centres, athletic track, climbing wall, gymnastics centre and various courts and pitches.
4. Personal and professional development
Our Organisational Development Service support a variety of valuable development areas; from communication and organisational skills, to leadership and management. We believe it’s important for learning to be a continuous journey, and that’s why we facilitate a range of impactful development opportunities including a professional coaching scheme, mentoring programme, apprenticeships, qualifications, live workshops, video courses, conferences and more. UEA provides all staff and students with access to LinkedIn Learning. The wide range of courses available ensure there is support for both your personal and professional learning.
5. Discounts
UEA employees can take advantage of hundreds of shopping discounts on a wide range of products with popular retailers, helping to save money on household bills. Discounts available as instant vouchers, reloadable cards, cashback and available as an app for your phone so that you can check out discounts whilst out shopping.
A range of discounts are also available to staff on campus, including discounts at the SportsPark and on catering.
6. Community and connection
There are many different ways that staff can get involved with our University community. UEA’s music centre and faith centre are open to all staff and details of networks and social opportunities are below.
The UEA Staff Association is run by a team of volunteering UEA staff for all UEA staff. They aim to provide members with fun and cultural trips and activities throughout the year. They also run several sports groups for varying abilities (e.g. badminton, football) so whether you want to keep fit or meet new people, there will be a group for you.
Networks
UEA offers a diverse range of staff networks, organised and led by staff with the aim of providing support to colleagues and helping to sustain an inclusive working environment. Examples included the BAME network. Staff Pride, Access All Areas and the Research Network. Find out more on our Staff Networks pages.
Participation events
There are opportunities to get involved in The Ziggurat Challenge which is a ‘recreational-level’ programme of events open to all students, alumni, staff and faculty of the University including those based at the Norwich Research Park. The programme has been designed to promote enjoyable participation in the spirit of sporting competition as well as encourage friendly interaction/rivalry between schools.
7. Travel to work
UEA provides options for more affordable travel and is committed to supporting and promoting travel by sustainable means.
To support individual travel choices, we provide staff with reduced price parking at the Park and Stride site, a Cycle to Work scheme, fantastic discounts on public transport and a car share scheme.
There are various travel discounts available to UEA staff, including a 66% discount on an annual First bus pass, 40% discount on a Konectbus bus pass and a free-to-use park and ride service.