Congress motions

Motion

Motion title

Defending TPS in post-92 institutions

Session

2024-2025

Meeting link

HE Conference

Meeting date

25 May 2025

Status

Carried (as amended by HE20A.1 and HE20A.2)

Motion

HE20

Motion text

Conference notes the threats to access to TPS in post-92 HEIs, despite this
access previously being promised by government and enshrined in the TPS
scheme regulations. These threats include:
1. Threatened ‘fire and rehire’ via subsidiary companies to avoid offering TPS
(e.g. Coventry University)
2. Incentivising opt-out from TPS
3. Offering ‘low-cost’, defined contribution alternatives
4. HESC believes it is essential to ensure pension justice for casualised or low paid
workers, who may leave the TPS altogether, go into inferior schemes or receive
inaccurate contributions based how their working hours are calculated.
Conference further notes the negative impact of a fall in the number of active
TPS members.
Conference believes that TPS must remain the professional pensions scheme for
educators in post-92 HEIs.
Conference asks HEC to defend in the strongest possible terms the right of
members in post-92 HEIs to membership of TPS, including
a. Support for branches affected by these threats
b. Investigate the legality of alternative pension schemes offered to academic
staff (as introduced for example at Greenwich and Kingston Universities),
and whether they are legally consistent with TPS rules and the Further and
Higher Education Act 1992.
c. Raising the issue with employers and with the DfE
d. Pressing for government funding to meet increased employer contributions
(as has happened in Scotland)
e. Continuing to resist the use of subsidiary companies.
f. To call a TPS meeting for post 92s and to include serious discussion of low
paid and casualised participation and justice within the scheme. This benefits
the scheme as a whole and strengthens participation.

Proposing body

Higher education committee (HEC)

Amended

Yes

Allocated to

Higher education committee (HEC)

Notes