It has been announced that the former head of Barnet College was paid off to the tune of £203,000 in 2011 when she left the job.
While this kind of “golden parachute” is generally accepted as standard practice for outgoing executives – the institution has still not honoured a 0.7 per cent pay rise for staff that it was promised.
This is despite the fact it will only cost £173,000 – substantially less than Marilyn Hawkins’ payoff.
The University and College Union (UCU) also said the former head’s payment was more than 144 per cent of her annual salary.
The body said it was not convinced the payoffs were an effective use of taxpayer money and claimed it had referred the matter to the Public Accounts Committee and the National Audit Office, who will investigate further.
UCU London regional official, Chris Powell, said: “While former bosses share thousands of pounds, staff are denied a measly pay rise that won’t even cover the increase in their pension contributions.”