Latest news with #salary
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
MSPs challenge university principal on pay and perks amid £140m savings goal
The principal of Edinburgh University has defended his six-figure salary to MSPs at the same time as he refused to rule out making compulsory redundancies as the institution seeks to make £140 million of savings. Professor Sir Peter Mathieson insisted that paying the senior management team at the university 'nothing' would 'make largely no difference to the size of the expenditure challenge we face'. Pressed about the cuts the university is planning, including a £90 million reduction in the wage bill, Sir Peter said: 'I'm confident the action we're taking now is in the best interests of the university and I am proud of the leadership my team and I are providing in delivering.' He told Holyrood's Education Committee he does 'not know the precise numbers' of his salary, telling MSPs when challenged on this: 'I don't carry that figure around in my head.' Sir Peter however accepted he is 'very well paid', with committee convener Douglas Ross pointing out the principal's reported salary of £418,000 is more than the combined wages of both First Minister John Swinney and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Sir Peter however said when he had checked the salaries of the heads of organisations with a similar turnover to the university, 'for one of them it was £5 million, for another it was £17 million'. He then added: 'I was made an offer by the University of Edinburgh when I was appointed and I accepted it, and I am very satisfied with the package I was offered.' He said his 'basic salary' is 'about £350,000', adding there is a pension supplement on top of this. Asked by Mr Ross if given the 'massive cuts' the university is planning there could be a reduction in his salary, Sir Peter said: 'You could pay the senior team of the University of Edinburgh nothing and that would make largely no difference to the size of the expenditure challenge we face.' Edinburgh University has already confirmed about 350 staff will leave under a voluntary severance scheme, which will save it about £18 million a year. Sir Peter said while he would 'very much hope' future job losses could be made on a voluntary basis, he could not rule out compulsory redundancies – something trade unions have urged the university to do. 'We have not done so because we genuinely don't know if they are going to be necessary and it would be dishonest to pretend that we do know,' he said. He was pressed on how many jobs would have to go to make savings of £90 million, with the principal saying: 'We don't know the answer to that because it depends entirely which jobs. We have staff paid a wide range.' Challenged by Mr Ross to say roughly how many posts could be lost, he said: 'We haven't done that calculation.' He stressed however the need for action – saying income from international students had come in at about £20 million below the university's target for the past two years. 'We have intervened because we felt we needed to,' he told the committee. 'We're taking pre-emptive action to try and make sure the university remains in a sustainable position, we're not waiting to be in deficit before we do it.' Mr Ross however suggested the principal could 'lead from the front' by giving up some perks of his job, including free use of the university principal's house, where his utility bills are also paid for him, and a driver. The convener said: 'The driving service, the house, the utility bills, you could put that forward to say 'this is a saving we can make' to show you can lead from the front with your organisation.' Pressed further on whether the principal's house could be included in the review of properties the university is carrying out as it looks to make sayings, Sir Peter said: 'All of the buildings of the University of Edinburgh are under consideration as to whether we need them or not, that is for sure.' Asked directly by Mr Ross if he needs a principal's house – a five-bedroomed property in Edinburgh's Regent Terrace – Sir Peter said: 'That's not for me to comment. 'If I thought selling off the principal's house would solve the problems of the University of Edinburgh, then it is certainly something that could be considered, but it would be a tiny contribution to what is a massive challenge.'
Independent Singapore
2 days ago
- Business
- Independent Singapore
'Start low, climb slow?' — Fresh grad disappointed by job offer as salary falls short of expectations
SINGAPORE: For many fresh graduates entering the workforce, deciding whether to accept a job offer often comes down to one key question: 'Does the salary justify the years of studying and the money spent on getting a degree?' In a recent Reddit post, a new graduate shared that he had received a job offer shortly after completing his studies. While he was grateful for the opportunity, he felt somewhat disappointed by the offer, as the starting salary was lower than he had hoped. Despite this, he was inclined to accept the role because of its non-monetary benefits, such as opportunities for growth and a positive work environment. Still, he expressed concern about how a lower starting salary might impact his future earning potential. ' I am concerned with the growth of my salary in future,' he wrote, voicing a concern familiar to many young job seekers. 'How important is your starting salary in Singapore. Is it common for employers to ask for previous salary and give an increment based on that? I am afraid of the start low and take longer to climb scenario. I would appreciate advice from you guys on this situation.' 'Yes, it matters at the beginning, but the future is all based on skill and luck…' His post sparked a lively discussion among other Redditors, many of whom weighed in with their own experiences and advice. Several shared that in Singapore, it is indeed common for employers to ask for your last drawn salary and use it as a guide when making an offer. This practice, they said, can sometimes slow down salary growth, especially for those who start on the lower end and don't make strategic moves early in their careers. One Redditor shared, 'I had a friend who was bonded to a company. After grad, he got lowballed by this company, and after finishing the bond, he can only benchmark from his previous salary, no need to guess the ending. So yes, starting salary is very important.' Another commented, 'Important. When you want to change jobs next time, employers will ask for your last drawn salary. If your current salary is low, chances are your increment will be low as well.' On the other hand, others took a more encouraging view, pointing out that for fresh graduates, the first job is often less about securing a high salary and more about gaining experience, building skills, and forming strong professional networks. As one Redditor put it, 'I think what you do and how you do your job and the networks you form are going to be far more important. I know people who have gone from making S$40k a year to S$300k a year in 10 years (not a doctor or dentist), so yes, it can be done.' Another user added that your starting pay doesn't always determine where you'll end up, 'I've seen people that started drawing S$6k as a fresh grad, eight years later barely hitting S$10k. Likewise, people who start at S$4k but hit S$10k within five years. Yes, it matters at the beginning, but the future is all based on skill and luck.' NTU survey shows fresh grads care most about salary and benefits when picking their first job In an ideal situation, people might choose a job based on passion or the potential to learn and grow. However, with the rising cost of living, many are prioritising practicality when it comes to career decisions. A survey by Nanyang Technological University (NTU) found that 41.5% of students ranked salary and benefits as the top priority when choosing their first job. Growth opportunities came in second at 34.2%, followed by work environment (14.2%), job stability (8%), and other factors (2.1%). Still, despite salary being a top concern, many students appear willing to compromise. When asked if they would accept a job offer that paid less than expected, 73% said they would. Moreover, NTU career coach Angeline Sim noted that while salary is definitely important, it shouldn't be the only thing graduates look at when deciding on a job. She encouraged fresh grads to think about how the role fits into their long-term career goals. 'Reflect on whether the role offers opportunities for growth, skill development, and career progression,' Ms. Sim said. 'Research the company culture, values, and reputation to ensure it aligns with your own career values and preferred working style.' Read also: 'I feel underqualified' — New hire considers quitting her job less than a month in, as she's 'left to struggle without much help' Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)
Fast Company
4 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
$1,000 for a meeting? How to calculate how much time at work is really worth
Your time spent working has a real dollar amount attached to it. But I often find as a time management coach that people don't think about the 'expense' of their daily work activities. If they did, they likely would be much more hesitant to spend the equivalent of hundreds of dollars a day on things like email. If you're curious how much your time is worth and how to use that information to make choices about what you do and don't do on the job, here are three simple steps you can take today. Calculate your hourly rate In some professions, the value of your time is pretty straightforward to determine. When you bill clients per hour or get paid at an hourly rate, you know exactly what your time is worth. Making these calculations is a little bit more difficult in other situations, but not impossible. For example, if you have a salaried job with paid vacation, this is how you figure out the value of your time: Multiply how many hours you work per week by the number of weeks in a year. So for example, if you work an average of 45 hours a week, then you would multiply 45×52 to get 2,340 hours per year. Then you divide your annual salary by those number of hours. So if you make $75,000 per year, the hourly rate would end up being about $32/hour. And finally, if you get paid by the project, you'll want to take your project fee, subtract expenses like materials, and then divide the remaining amount by the number of hours it takes you to complete the project. So if you got paid $1,000 for a project, had no expendable materials, and spent about 13 hours on it, then your hourly rate would be around $75/hour. Evaluate your time spend Once you've calculated how much your time is worth, then you can start to evaluate your daily time choices through that lens. For example, maybe you have a mix between messages, tasks, and meetings throughout your day. If you find yourself frequently sucked into email, Slack, or other inboxes, ask yourself what percentage of your daily budget you think that communication is worth. Then try to limit your time in that area, such as I only give the equivalent of $250 a day to communications. Or if you notice some tasks on your list are time-consuming but not super high value, you may want to consider delegating them to someone else. If your time is worth about $60 an hour and a task takes five hours, that's $300 of time. But if you're paying an entry-level employee $15 per hour, that same task ends up only costing $75. For you to do the task might not make sense. And finally with meetings, you'll not only need to consider your hourly rate, but also the hourly expense for each additional person in the meeting. Depending on how many people are attending and their particular level of compensation, a single meeting could 'cost' $1,000 or more. By starting to look at meetings through this filter, you can better determine whether or not you should go to meetings, as well as when you're hosting, how many people really need to come, and how long the meetings need to be. Don't forget the opportunity cost Finally, to most accurately assess the value of your time, you'll need to determine not only your hourly rate, but also the opportunity cost of spending your time in different ways. This varies quite a bit depending on your compensation structure. But here are a few examples of ways to consider the financial opportunity cost of different time choices. If you're in sales and choose to fill your calendar with current client meetings to the point that you don't have enough room for meeting with prospects, your client meetings could be costing you thousands in missed opportunities for sales commissions. If you own a business and only focus on day-to-day activities without investing in business development, those routine tasks could be at the expense of large amounts of unrealized business growth. If you've been told that you need to hit certain goals to receive a promotion or bonus, and you spend your time in areas that don't allow you to hit those goals, then you're missing out on all of that potential compensation. There are certain activities that you need to do for your job no matter what. But if you evaluate how you're spending your time with the mindset that every hour has a dollar amount attached to it, then you can make better choices on how much time you spend in different areas of your work as well as whether certain activities are even worth your time at all.
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
ESB board had ‘significant concern' that €318,000 salary was not sufficient for chief executive post
The board of the ESB had 'significant concern' that the salary for company's chief executive was insufficient for retaining an appropriately-skilled person for the role, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications told a Government pay review group. In an appendix to a submission sent by the then Minister Eamon Ryan last summer, officials said at that point the post of ESB chief executive had a salary of €318,000. The department said it was 'considered imperative that the company is led by a suitably qualified, experienced and dynamic leader and the post should be competitively remunerated accordingly to attract same'. The department in its appendix to Mr Ryan's letter to the Senior Posts Remuneration Committee said 'due to the size and scope of ESB's remit, the level of remuneration has been previously cited as an area of significant concern for the board of the ESB in retaining an appropriately-skilled CEO'. READ MORE 'The chair of ESB has also noted the current salary as insufficient to attract the calibre of candidate sought for the role in comparison to alternative employment options available to them.' The department said the ESB was 'one of the country's most valuable assets' as the largest semi-State company. 'Therefore it is critically important for the business to attract, retain and motivate the right calibre of people across all levels of the organisation to deliver on their strategic goals and to meet shareholders' expectations in terms of decarbonisation, energy security, critical infrastructure provision and economic growth.' It said the ESB chief executive at that point had a salary of €318,000. It said the code of practice for governance of remuneration in State bodies urged that pay at the top level should be set in a manner that allowed 'sufficient headroom between the CEO and senior management'. The department told the review group that 'this must be considered in the context of the ESB'. [ Gas Networks Ireland, Uisce Éireann, LDA told Minister chief executive pay limits posed 'serious risks' to organisations Opens in new window ] It said as of December 2023, the ESB had a regulated asset base of about €13.2 billion, comprising ESB Networks €10.6 billion, NIE Networks €2.6 billion, a 27 per cent share of generation in the all-island market and more than two million customer accounts throughout the island of Ireland and in Great Britain. It said the ESB had provided more than €1.5 billion in dividends to the State over the previous decade. Last month following the report of the remuneration committee, the Government signalled it would update rules to allow a 'market rate' to be paid to chief executives in commercial State companies. Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the Government would implement most recommendations made by the committee. He said the Government accepted the need to update a system for top-level pay determination in commercial State organisations that had been in place for more than a decade and would move to generally implement the recommendations. He said the upper limit on any proposed package would be the market rate rather than 120 per cent of it. However, there would be no backdating of any increases to May 1st of last year, another committee recommendation, and no reintroduction of performance-related bonuses worth up to 25 per cent of salaries, which was also proposed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Here's the Salary Needed To Take Home $100K in the Western States
Want to take home $100,000? If you reside among the Western states that make up the U.S., you'll need to make at least $130K. Western states with a higher cost of living, like California and Hawaii, necessitate close to $145K in annual earnings. Discover More: Explore Next: To determine these amounts, GOBankingRates conducted an in-house study about the income one needs to earn to bring home a $100,000 salary in every U.S. state. Each Western state was isolated for the purposes of this article with a full methodology available at the end. Find out how much you need to make in order to take home $100K in the Western states. Salary needed for $100K: $130,999 Tax burden: 23.7% Check Out: That's Interesting: Salary needed for $100K: $135,420 Tax burden: 26.2% Learn More: Salary needed for $100K: $144,879 Tax burden: 31.0% Salary needed for $100K: $139,008 Tax burden: 28.1% Salary needed for $100K: $144,939 Tax burden: 31.0% View Next: Salary needed for $100K: $141,351 Tax burden: 29.3% Salary needed for $100K: $142,121 Tax burden: 29.6% Salary needed for $100K: $130,999 Tax burden: 23.7% For You: Salary needed for $100K: $139,547 Tax burden: 28.3% Salary needed for $100K: $148,309 Tax burden: 32.6% Salary needed for $100K: $139,681 Tax burden: 28.4% Trending Now: Salary needed for $100K: $130,999 Tax burden: 23.7% Salary needed for $100K: $130,999 Tax burden: 23.7% Methodology: To generate the income for what it takes to bring home a $100,000 salary by state, GOBankingRates surveyed income taxes at both the federal and state level (including FICA). Income tax estimates were created by using an in-house calculator for a single person filing taxes and using the standard deduction (with 2024 tax brackets). Once the three income taxes were calculated as an annual amount, GOBankingRates found each state's (4) total annual income taxes paid and (5) total income tax burden. All data was collected on and is up to date as of March 12, 2025. More From GOBankingRates Surprising Items People Are Stocking Up On Before Tariff Pains Hit: Is It Smart? Are You Rich or Middle Class? 8 Ways To Tell That Go Beyond Your Paycheck This article originally appeared on Here's the Salary Needed To Take Home $100K in the Western States Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
