UK Postdoc - Is salary negotiation even possible?
There is no reason why a post doc cannot be appointed at a higher point on the spine if there is money there, that said, rarely is there money available. The number of people doing multiple post docs in the UK is smaller than in the US, and they usually stay at the same school. That means they often can be appointed to a higher grade. Therefore grants for post docs usually budget for the lowest salary and normal progression. A school or university funded postion would have more flexibility, but the head of school is not going to authorize more money from their budget.
I would not bring up the salary until after an offer is made. Once an offer is made, it cannot really hurt to say "hey, I deserve to be at the top of the scale since ...". They will then laugh and say you are right, but that is all they can offer.
Yes, you can negotiate your salary …
I, and several of my friends, successfully negotiated an increased initial postdoc salary in the UK.
… but it’s hard
First off, the timing is awkward: It’s altogether common to start your postdoc work without a contract in hand. At this point your chance for negotiation is effectively over (or at least greatly diminished). Many postdocs even start without having formally defended their PhD, which makes negotiation even harder (because your previous salary is very low, and you don’t yet have the degree, which determines the salary).
In addition, there isn’t a good time during the interview to bring up the salary. This is also true in industry but it’s even harder in postdoc interviews: depending on the circumstances there might not even be a formal interview.1 My advice is to bring it up before you commit, even hypothetically, to starting the postdoc. This may seem obvious but it’s not.
Secondly, you are negotiating with two distinct parties: your prospective group leader, who will also be your line manager, as well as the University’s HR department.
In my experience, your future PI is probably happy to support your demands, if they’re at all interested in hiring you. In fact, if the PI is blocking the salary negotiation I’d count that as a major red flag.
The University HR department, on the other hand, aims to keep cost low. They want you to justify every single increase. I had it easy, I was able to provide a salary statement from my previous “bridging postdoc”, which happened to be outrageously high by UK standards.2 Prepare to provide an extensive record of your work experience prior to, during and after your PhD. This seems to be the single most relevant argument for an increased starting salary scale point.
The easiest way of increasing your starting salary would be to get hired as a senior postdoc. But this effectively requires either extensive previous postdoctoral experience (which you don’t seem to have), or the support of your former PI; and your future line manager will still need to provide compelling reasons to HR.
You should negotiate your salary
Universities don’t really expect postdocs to negotiate their salaries. They expect them to accept whatever offer lands on their table. Some institutes3 go to great lengths to avoid having to negotiate, for instance by billing the postdoc as a “postdoctoral trainee”, rather than a full fellowship or research position, or by refusing to acknowledge relevant work experience before the completion of the PhD.4
I find this unacceptable, and strongly recommend pushing back. Prepare to walk away from an offer that refuses to acknowledge your work experience in a salary negotiation, or which pretend that you’re still a “trainee” after ten years5 of University education. This isn’t being “materially minded”, it’s valuing your own worth. Postdoctoral salaries in the UK are low enough as it is, compared to cost of living. Other European countries pay a lot more.
In sum, I strongly advise everybody looking for a postdoc to negotiate their starting salary.
1 For the position that I ended up accepting, I didn’t have a formal interview: I met the PI pre-interview and then scheduled a separate day to present my research to his group, and talk to its members, without the PI present at any point. After that I got a formal offer by letter. Luckily I had already mentioned the salary to the PI beforehand. So when I received the offer which put me into the minimum salary point, I replied to HR (CC’ing the PI) with my demands.
2 I did the bridging postdoc in the UK but working for an international organisation so I was paid a salary that’s competitive internationally, which the UK postdoc salary is decidedly not (my bridging postdoc salary was ~ 38k GBP).
3 E.g. the Francis Crick Institute in London. Shame on them.
4 Even if you have several years’ worth of relevant work experience pre-PhD, the Crick Institute’s internal rules ignore this for the purpose of salary calculations.
5 Assuming undergrad, master & PhD.
I have not been on a hiring committee in academia, so take my answer with a grain-of-salt. However, I see no particular reason that an applicant could not negotiate their starting-point in a salary scale if the applicant has appropriate qualifications/experience to justify being on the high end of the scale. Universities hire new staff at all sorts of levels, and if they are willing to hire staff across different Grade levels, there is no reason to think that they would be unwilling to hire across different scale levels within a Grade level, particularly if it allows them to attract a good hire. (Bear in mind that there may be budget constraints that constrain what the panel can offer, but if they advertise a particular salary range, they should be able to make offers in that range.)
If you have not previously worked as a postdoc or equivalent, then it is likely that you will not be able to make a strong case for a higher level on the scale. In that case, it is probably not a good idea to seek a higher offer, and it may come off badly for you. However, if you already have substantial experience at this level of appointment (e.g., having done a postdoc or equivalent at another university), and you are close to the requirements of a Grade 8 hire, then you could point out your additional experience and skills, and seek an offer at the higher end of the Grade 7 scale. Basically, if you want to seek an offer at the high end of the scale, you need to be an applicant who is close to meeting the requirements of a hire at the next grade level. Be clear about this, and make sure you have judged things correctly, and can back this up.
If this is a situation where you think you might be a good enough candidate to be given an offer at the higher end of that scale, you should obtain a copy of the university's position descriptions of what it expects from a Grade 7 academic and what it expects from a Grade 8 academic. Check with the specific university you are applying for, but here is an example of grade descriptions from the University of Edinburgh. Once you have this information, you now have a basis for determining whether you are near to meeting the requirements for a Grade 8 appointment . If you are close to these requirements (by the university's own description) then that would make a reasonable case for seeking an offer at the high end of Grade 7.
One final piece of advice: if you are considering doing this, make sure you look at it from the University's point of view. Don't think about it from the point of view of your needs (single parent, kids, expensive area); think about it from the point of view of the University's needs. What is so great about you that you would be the exception here; the person who comes at the mid-level or high-level on the scale? What sets you apart from the other applicants they will get, that shows that you are much closer to a Grade 8 hire? If you can answer these questions soundly, then you have a reasonable case for seeking a higher offer. If not, it is probably best not to do that.
My personal experience: In academia I came in at the bottom of the pay scale. However, I have personally applied for a position (outside of academia) where I made it clear at the interview that I would consider an offer at the top of the available salary scale. This was a case where I was applying for a position for which I had very high qualifications and experience, and I was already working in another job that paid more. I had a nice interview with the hiring panel, and I explained to them that I was interested in their work, but that even at the top of the pay scale they were offering, it would be a small pay-cut for me relative to my existing position. I told them I would be willing to consider an offer at the top of their pay scale, since I liked the sound of the work they were doing. Two days later I got an offer at the top of the pay scale (a small pay cut, but a move I was happy with) and I was working there within a week.