Remuneration of the Vice-Chancellor & President of King's
The Vice-Chancellor & President of King’s College London, Professor Shitij Kapur has made clear his commitment to financial transparency. As part of that, he believes it is important for everyone in the university’s community to have easy access to information about the salary the Vice-Chancellor & President is paid, and how this remuneration is calculated and structured.
This page has been established to provide that information. It will be updated annually to reflect any changes. A breakdown of payments to our Vice-Chancellor & President is also published annually in our financial statements.
The salary of the Vice-Chancellor & President is set by the university’s Remuneration Committee, a sub-committee of the university’s Council. The Committee is responsible for setting the remuneration and terms of service for the Vice-Chancellor & President and other senior post holders at the university. The Remuneration Committee reports directly into Council; its membership does not include the Vice-Chancellor & President or any other member of the Senior Management Team. The Vice-Chancellor & President's salary is reviewed on an annual basis and in setting this the Committee is informed by guidance from the Council of University Chairs.
Professor Kapur was appointed to start as Vice-Chancellor & President of King’s in June 2021 after a three-decade long career as an academic in world-leading universities, having served in senior roles as Dean, Executive Dean and Assistant Vice-Chancellor. He brings to this role extensive experience of having served on the Boards and Councils of numerous academic, research and medical institutions. He has led the University to date through a successful period of expansion, with an increase in income from £1 billion in 2020/21 to £1.27 billion in 2023/24. He has represented King’s nationally and internationally, as well as becoming an increasingly important voice for the Uk Higher Education Sector.
The decision of Council and the Selection Panel to appoint Professor Kapur followed an extensive global search and recruitment exercise.
The salary received by Professor Kapur is proportionate to equivalent leadership roles in similar institutions in the UK, and reflective of the responsibility of leading a large and complex higher education and research-intensive organisation. The level of pay received by the Vice-Chancellor & President is determined by several factors, including:
- The breadth of responsibilities, leading one of the UK’s largest universities with 10,000 staff, more than 34,000 students and over 220,000 alumni.
- The financial responsibilities for an institution with a turnover in excess of £1.2bn.
- Leading a globally connected and internationally renowned university that holds links and partnerships with nations across the globe.
The Vice-Chancellor & President's annualised remuneration details
The Vice-Chancellor & President's annualised remuneration details for the period 1 August 2023 – 31 July 2024 (2023–24 Financial Year) are set out below.
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Salary in period
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£313,000
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Pension
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Standard employer contribution – which reduced from 21.6% of salary to 14.5% of salary from 1st January 2024 in line with national changes to USS contribution levels
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National pay award
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No - consideration via Remuneration Committee [see above]
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Private healthcare
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No
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Accommodation
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Contribution worth £40,000 pa [see explanation below]
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Travel expenses
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Organised through central university booking system, in accordance with financial regulations and procedures applicable to all staff
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Car
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No
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Details of pay ratios between Vice-Chancellor & President and other staff
As part of our reporting to the Office for Students, we publish details of the pay ratios between the Vice-Chancellor & President and other staff.
This package of salary and benefits put together - including accommodation value and employer's contribution to USS - is shown as a value of £428,000. The value of the benefits for the previous financial year have been re-stated in the Financial Statements to £431,000 because of a change in the deemed valuation and consequent taxation treatment of the accommodation provided to Professor Kapur.
In comparison to median salaries at King's for the 2023/24 financial year, the salary received by Professor Shitij Kapur is 7.4 times (2022/23 7.3 times) the median base pay of staff at King’s and 8.9 times (2022/23 8.9 times) to the median total remuneration.
The median base pay is not to be confused with average mean base salary. The median is the midpoint salary of all other employees.
Other remuneration
The Vice-Chancellor & President has no other remunerated appointments and is required to get the approval of the Chair of Council before entering any such work. This information is current and will be modified if anything changes.
Accommodation and related expenses
The Vice-Chancellor & President of King’s, as at many universities, is required to live in accommodation on or near to campus as a condition of their employment to fulfil their academic, representational, engagement and fundraising duties. The accommodation and related expenses are deemed to be a benefit with a value of £40,000, following a valuation exercise conducted in 2023. This calculated benefit is similar to that shown in other central London universities.
The relocation expenses for the Vice-Chancellor & President upon his appointment are detailed in King’s financial statements for the year ending 31 July 2023 (pdf 3.60MB).
Pension
The Vice-Chancellor & President is personally responsible for paying the USS pension employee member contribution.
The Vice-Chancellor & President's contract start date and length
Vice-Chancellor & President's contract start date and length
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Contract start date
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1 June 2021
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Contract length
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5 years (renewable for a further period)
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