Museum staff are paying the price for job satisfaction
Working in museums is seen as an attractive career, yet a role in the sector can pay up to £5,000 a year less than other industries. Geraldine Kendall investigates museum salaries
A career in museums was once so badly paid that, in the 1900s, adverts for curators were targeted at “gentlemen of independent means” who could afford to work for next to nothing.
The situation may have improved a little these days (although unpaid work was certainly not left behind in the last century), but low pay continues to be a major issue for museum staff.
Last month, the Prospect union called on the National Trust to pay no less than the living wage to all staff, saying low pay at the charity had left many workers “struggling below the poverty line”.
The living wage is not statutory but is calculated as the minimum amount necessary to cover the basic costs of living: that comes in at £7.85 an hour outside London and £9.15 an hour in London, or £16,328 and £19,032 per year respectively for a full-time post.
But the living wage is not the only issue, says Prospect’s negotiations officer John Stevenson. At many organisations in the heritage sector, including the National Trust, salaries are not commensurate with the level of skill, responsibility and experience required by a role.
Culture shock
The union’s research has shown that a job in the heritage sector pays between £2,000 and £5,000 less than an equivalent role in another sector. It’s something that has long been recognised as a problem, and is partly down to the fact that cultural heritage is an attractive career and people are prepared to make sacrifices to follow their chosen vocation.
“There has been an acceptance of low pay,” says Stevenson. “But that doesn’t mean it should continue just because there is a history of it.”
The National Trust is not the only organisation in the sector to be criticised for meagre wages. Strikes over pay have recently taken place at publicly funded institutions such as Brighton Museums, National Museums Liverpool and the National Gallery.
At many organisations, staff working in unskilled roles are frequently paid little more than the statutory minimum (£6.50 an hour). But jobs that require qualifications and experience can also pay less than the living wage: last year, English Heritage was criticised for advertising a full-time skilled gardening job starting at just over £12,000 a year, while a museum trust in Yorkshire was called out by museum professionals recently for seeking a teaching assistant for just £7.50 an hour.
Higher up the career ladder, although staff may earn more than the living wage, they remain underpaid for their skill level. Recently advertised jobs include a position for an experienced and qualified curator starting at £18,700 a year and a managerial job from £23,000.
If the Museums Association’s (MA) salary guidelines, which are due to be updated next year, are increased in line with inflation (see box), both roles would fall far below the recommended pay scale for their grade.
There are also wide disparities in freelance fees. One recent contract for a project researcher was set at £7,800 for eight months – just over £11,000 a year as a full-time salary.
Heritage consultant Claire Adler says there is a growing culture of museums offering zero-hours-style contracts to freelancers for “very low fees and no stability”, particularly for work such as learning engagement, which would once have been done in-house.
More up-to-date research is needed, but there can be little doubt that the big funding cuts of the past five years have exacerbated the problem.
Salaries have been an obvious target for cuts, and many organisations have witnessed cumulative years of pay freezes, reduced working hours and a move towards zero-hours contracts and income-maximising business models.
Staff are also under greater pressure. This year’s MA cuts survey, which was published last month, revealed that employees are taking on higher levels of responsibility or working unpaid overtime to cover roles that have been made redundant. Respondents also said roles that had been vacated were being re-advertised with salaries that were up to 20% lower.
The rise in volunteering and internships over the past five years has also complicated the issue. Unpaid work can, of course, be exploitative in its own right, but it also deflates the wages of paid staff and increases the expectations of employers as to the level of experience required for basic roles.
For a socially responsible workplace, the moral imperative to pay well should be enough. But there are also numerous practical benefits. Employers report lower staff turnover and absenteeism, higher levels of morale and productivity, a more knowledgeable and diverse workforce, and knock-on benefits to the local economy.
Hands tied
But as museums struggle to balance the books, what can be done to bring their pay levels up to scratch?
Many organisations say the issue is out of their hands, as economic constraints and public sector pay freezes are preventing them from taking action on low wages.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage says the organisation has less flexibility than others when it comes to wages, and has been subject to pay restraints by the government.
The spokeswoman says the organisation may review “the flexibilities it has available to it” when it splits in two and establishes a standalone charity next year.
But other organisations have taken a stand in spite of the cuts. Among those to have signed up to the living wage are the National Portrait Gallery in London and Birmingham Museums Trust.
“It is a challenge to meet this commitment when the pressure is on to reduce margins and maximise income, particularly around commercial activity,” says Simon Cane, the deputy director at Birmingham.
“But organisations in receipt of public funding should consider this issue in the broader political context of their stakeholders and supporters.”
Funders and sector bodies also have a responsibility to set standards on pay. One source says that when she came under pressure to set a lower salary for a role that she believed was worth more, she received little support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), which was funding the project, to argue the case with her employer.
She calls on the HLF and other funders to set out clear salary guidelines for organisations in receipt of their funding. Recruitment advertisers have also been urged to turn down posts that fall below the living wage.
As funding gets ever tighter, museums and policy-makers will urgently need to address the question of low pay, or risk losing valuable expertise and talented staff to other sectors.
“Museum work is supposed to be a profession,” Adler says. “It should be paid as a profession.”
The museum sector has long struggled with issues of low pay, but the financial crisis has made the problem worse. Wages have fallen and zero-hours contracts have become more common. At the same time, the cost of living has risen significantly. Staff are now asking how they can afford to live on a museum salary.
Issues around low pay increasingly apply to skilled roles. There has been a particularly worrying trend for museums to advertise jobs requiring a high level of qualifications and experience at pay levels near the minimum wage.
There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence of unpaid interns and volunteers being recruited to do jobs that should be paid staff roles.
We recognise that many museums are under financial pressure. However, staff are a crucial resource, and their role in caring for collections and engaging the public needs to be fairly rewarded.
The MA supports the living wage for all museum staff. We have also published guidance on internships setting out how museums can offer short-term project-based placements that do not undermine the principle of paid employment.
Alistair Brown, policy officer, Museums Association
Collections and learning
Entry I
£18,622-£22,114
A basic entry- or trainee-level role. Candidates likely to have a degree (or equivalent qualification, experience or training). Minimal or no relevant experience.
Entry II
£22,987-£27,642
An entry-level role that requires candidates to have some working knowledge in a particular professional discipline. Likely to have degree and relevant postgraduate qualification (or equivalent qualification, experience or training). Some relevant experience (up to one year).
Visitor services
Entry I
£16,876-£18,622
A basic entry- or trainee-level role that does not require candidates to have much sector knowledge. Good standard of education. Minimal or no relevant experience.
Career I
£18,622-£22,405
A role that requires candidates to be able to take on basic responsibility and customer care. Good standard of education and professional training. Some relevant experience (two to three years).
*Figures are Museums Journal’s calculations based on the MA’s 2009 salary guidelines increased in line with inflation.
The situation may have improved a little these days (although unpaid work was certainly not left behind in the last century), but low pay continues to be a major issue for museum staff.
Last month, the Prospect union called on the National Trust to pay no less than the living wage to all staff, saying low pay at the charity had left many workers “struggling below the poverty line”.
The living wage is not statutory but is calculated as the minimum amount necessary to cover the basic costs of living: that comes in at £7.85 an hour outside London and £9.15 an hour in London, or £16,328 and £19,032 per year respectively for a full-time post.
But the living wage is not the only issue, says Prospect’s negotiations officer John Stevenson. At many organisations in the heritage sector, including the National Trust, salaries are not commensurate with the level of skill, responsibility and experience required by a role.
Culture shock
The union’s research has shown that a job in the heritage sector pays between £2,000 and £5,000 less than an equivalent role in another sector. It’s something that has long been recognised as a problem, and is partly down to the fact that cultural heritage is an attractive career and people are prepared to make sacrifices to follow their chosen vocation.
“There has been an acceptance of low pay,” says Stevenson. “But that doesn’t mean it should continue just because there is a history of it.”
The National Trust is not the only organisation in the sector to be criticised for meagre wages. Strikes over pay have recently taken place at publicly funded institutions such as Brighton Museums, National Museums Liverpool and the National Gallery.
At many organisations, staff working in unskilled roles are frequently paid little more than the statutory minimum (£6.50 an hour). But jobs that require qualifications and experience can also pay less than the living wage: last year, English Heritage was criticised for advertising a full-time skilled gardening job starting at just over £12,000 a year, while a museum trust in Yorkshire was called out by museum professionals recently for seeking a teaching assistant for just £7.50 an hour.
Higher up the career ladder, although staff may earn more than the living wage, they remain underpaid for their skill level. Recently advertised jobs include a position for an experienced and qualified curator starting at £18,700 a year and a managerial job from £23,000.
If the Museums Association’s (MA) salary guidelines, which are due to be updated next year, are increased in line with inflation (see box), both roles would fall far below the recommended pay scale for their grade.
There are also wide disparities in freelance fees. One recent contract for a project researcher was set at £7,800 for eight months – just over £11,000 a year as a full-time salary.
Heritage consultant Claire Adler says there is a growing culture of museums offering zero-hours-style contracts to freelancers for “very low fees and no stability”, particularly for work such as learning engagement, which would once have been done in-house.
More up-to-date research is needed, but there can be little doubt that the big funding cuts of the past five years have exacerbated the problem.
Salaries have been an obvious target for cuts, and many organisations have witnessed cumulative years of pay freezes, reduced working hours and a move towards zero-hours contracts and income-maximising business models.
Staff are also under greater pressure. This year’s MA cuts survey, which was published last month, revealed that employees are taking on higher levels of responsibility or working unpaid overtime to cover roles that have been made redundant. Respondents also said roles that had been vacated were being re-advertised with salaries that were up to 20% lower.
The rise in volunteering and internships over the past five years has also complicated the issue. Unpaid work can, of course, be exploitative in its own right, but it also deflates the wages of paid staff and increases the expectations of employers as to the level of experience required for basic roles.
For a socially responsible workplace, the moral imperative to pay well should be enough. But there are also numerous practical benefits. Employers report lower staff turnover and absenteeism, higher levels of morale and productivity, a more knowledgeable and diverse workforce, and knock-on benefits to the local economy.
Hands tied
But as museums struggle to balance the books, what can be done to bring their pay levels up to scratch?
Many organisations say the issue is out of their hands, as economic constraints and public sector pay freezes are preventing them from taking action on low wages.
A spokeswoman for English Heritage says the organisation has less flexibility than others when it comes to wages, and has been subject to pay restraints by the government.
The spokeswoman says the organisation may review “the flexibilities it has available to it” when it splits in two and establishes a standalone charity next year.
But other organisations have taken a stand in spite of the cuts. Among those to have signed up to the living wage are the National Portrait Gallery in London and Birmingham Museums Trust.
“It is a challenge to meet this commitment when the pressure is on to reduce margins and maximise income, particularly around commercial activity,” says Simon Cane, the deputy director at Birmingham.
“But organisations in receipt of public funding should consider this issue in the broader political context of their stakeholders and supporters.”
Funders and sector bodies also have a responsibility to set standards on pay. One source says that when she came under pressure to set a lower salary for a role that she believed was worth more, she received little support from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), which was funding the project, to argue the case with her employer.
She calls on the HLF and other funders to set out clear salary guidelines for organisations in receipt of their funding. Recruitment advertisers have also been urged to turn down posts that fall below the living wage.
As funding gets ever tighter, museums and policy-makers will urgently need to address the question of low pay, or risk losing valuable expertise and talented staff to other sectors.
“Museum work is supposed to be a profession,” Adler says. “It should be paid as a profession.”
Staff are a crucial resource that must be fairly rewarded
The museum sector has long struggled with issues of low pay, but the financial crisis has made the problem worse. Wages have fallen and zero-hours contracts have become more common. At the same time, the cost of living has risen significantly. Staff are now asking how they can afford to live on a museum salary.
Issues around low pay increasingly apply to skilled roles. There has been a particularly worrying trend for museums to advertise jobs requiring a high level of qualifications and experience at pay levels near the minimum wage.
There is also plenty of anecdotal evidence of unpaid interns and volunteers being recruited to do jobs that should be paid staff roles.
We recognise that many museums are under financial pressure. However, staff are a crucial resource, and their role in caring for collections and engaging the public needs to be fairly rewarded.
The MA supports the living wage for all museum staff. We have also published guidance on internships setting out how museums can offer short-term project-based placements that do not undermine the principle of paid employment.
Alistair Brown, policy officer, Museums Association
Salary guidelines*
Collections and learning
Entry I
£18,622-£22,114
A basic entry- or trainee-level role. Candidates likely to have a degree (or equivalent qualification, experience or training). Minimal or no relevant experience.
Entry II
£22,987-£27,642
An entry-level role that requires candidates to have some working knowledge in a particular professional discipline. Likely to have degree and relevant postgraduate qualification (or equivalent qualification, experience or training). Some relevant experience (up to one year).
Visitor services
Entry I
£16,876-£18,622
A basic entry- or trainee-level role that does not require candidates to have much sector knowledge. Good standard of education. Minimal or no relevant experience.
Career I
£18,622-£22,405
A role that requires candidates to be able to take on basic responsibility and customer care. Good standard of education and professional training. Some relevant experience (two to three years).
*Figures are Museums Journal’s calculations based on the MA’s 2009 salary guidelines increased in line with inflation.