National directors awarded bonuses despite staff cuts
Bonuses range from £7,000 to £40,000
Against a climate of cuts and redundancies, most national museum directors did not receive or have chosen not to accept a bonus in 2011/12.
Despite staff being laid off, directors at the Natural History Museum, National Maritime Museum, the Science Museum Group, and the Wallace Collection were awarded bonuses, according to the museums’ annual reports.
Directors of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales and National Museums Liverpool chose to donate their bonuses back to their museums.
The largest bonus, of between £35,000-£40,000, almost half of her full salary for that year, was awarded to Rosalind Savill, who retired as director of the Wallace Collection in October 2011.
A spokeswoman for the Wallace Collection said that the bonus was unusually large because it was consolidated with her bonus from the previous year.
Andy Bodle, director of operations and human resources at the National Maritime Museum (NMM), said that pay for senior management at the NMM was deliberately set below market rate, and that bonuses were treated as “re-earnable pay”.
“All museums need increased performance from senior staff,” he said: “By encouraging people to have their pay put at risk means that they are not simply paid for whatever they do, good or bad.”
According to Bodle about half of director Kevin Fewster’s bonus of between £15,000-£20,000 was for exceeding performance.
David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool (NML), received a bonus of £15,735. He donated his previous year’s bonus of between £10,000-£15,000 back to the museum. According to an NML spokeswoman he will do the same with his bonus of £15,735.
David Anderson, director of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museums Wales, received a bonus of £7,500, but has gift aided his bonuses for 2011/12 and 2010/11 back to the museum. According to a spokeswoman for the museum: “The bonus is in funds available to be used in support of the museum’s charitable aims and will be drawn down as required to support the museum’s work.”
Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum, was awarded a bonus of between £20,000-£25,000, and Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum Group received a bonus of between £15,000-£20,000.
Despite staff being laid off, directors at the Natural History Museum, National Maritime Museum, the Science Museum Group, and the Wallace Collection were awarded bonuses, according to the museums’ annual reports.
Directors of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales and National Museums Liverpool chose to donate their bonuses back to their museums.
The largest bonus, of between £35,000-£40,000, almost half of her full salary for that year, was awarded to Rosalind Savill, who retired as director of the Wallace Collection in October 2011.
A spokeswoman for the Wallace Collection said that the bonus was unusually large because it was consolidated with her bonus from the previous year.
Andy Bodle, director of operations and human resources at the National Maritime Museum (NMM), said that pay for senior management at the NMM was deliberately set below market rate, and that bonuses were treated as “re-earnable pay”.
“All museums need increased performance from senior staff,” he said: “By encouraging people to have their pay put at risk means that they are not simply paid for whatever they do, good or bad.”
According to Bodle about half of director Kevin Fewster’s bonus of between £15,000-£20,000 was for exceeding performance.
David Fleming, director of National Museums Liverpool (NML), received a bonus of £15,735. He donated his previous year’s bonus of between £10,000-£15,000 back to the museum. According to an NML spokeswoman he will do the same with his bonus of £15,735.
David Anderson, director of Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museums Wales, received a bonus of £7,500, but has gift aided his bonuses for 2011/12 and 2010/11 back to the museum. According to a spokeswoman for the museum: “The bonus is in funds available to be used in support of the museum’s charitable aims and will be drawn down as required to support the museum’s work.”
Michael Dixon, director of the Natural History Museum, was awarded a bonus of between £20,000-£25,000, and Ian Blatchford, director of the Science Museum Group received a bonus of between £15,000-£20,000.
Update
01.03.2013
Andy Bodle's quote was changed to include the word "simply". It now reads: "By encouraging people to have their pay put at risk means that they are not simply paid for whatever they do, good or bad."