| Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton has a URAC Gold Pass, and swi... Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton has a URAC Gold Pass, and swims regularly at the URAC pool |
URAC membership pure gold for V-C
1 Apr 2008 | Nick Hartgerink
Whenever Vice-Chancellor Professor Gerard Sutton gets the chance, he slips down to the University Recreation and Aquatic Centre (URAC) for a lunch-time swim.
“It’s a great way to relax and keep fit,” he says. “We are very fortunate to have such a great facility here on campus.”
And plenty of Professor Sutton’s colleagues agree, with around 200 UOW staff participating in the University’s salary sacrifice program for URAC membership. This enables staff to pay for their membership from pre-tax income – effectively giving them a significant discount.
Professor Sutton has a URAC Gold Pass, which entitles holders to unlimited use of the 50m Olympic pool and health club facilities and to attend group exercise classes such as pilates and yoga free of charge.
The Gold Pass costs $495, and URAC Executive Director Paul Manning says this equates to significant savings in real terms under the pre-tax salary sacrifice program.
URAC also offers a $110 annual membership through the salary sacrifice program, which entitles holders to at least 50% off the commercial rates for all URAC facilities. There are also special memberships to cater for people on short-term sabbatical visits to UOW.
Manning said the salary sacrifice program was popular with staff, who mainly use the facilities before and after work, and during their lunch breaks.
“We have three definite peak periods. People are waiting to get in when we open at 6.30am, we get busy again between 11.30am and 2pm and then again from five to 8pm for people who drop in after work,” he said.
“URAC has the best pool in the district and the best health club/gymnasium. But what really sets us apart is that our facilities are both in the same location, and that is obviously a huge advantage for people who are based at the University.
“There is no comparable facility in the district, and being able to salary sacrifice from pre-tax income effectively gives people a discount of between 30 and 45%,” Mr Manning said.
Details on URAC membership are available from URAC, the UOW website or from the Personnel Department.
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