After gaining a BA and PhD in Mathematics (Trinity College, Cambridge) Dr Hayes held post in Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University and Leicester University, followed by an association as trainer and contributing editor with Wolfram Research Inc, the developers of the software Mathematica. Over the last ten years he has devoted much of his time to matters related to religion,science and society. He currently holds the positions of, Director and Immediate Past President of Leicester Secular Society, Trustee of the British Humanist Association, Trustee of the Sea of Faith Network and Humanist Representative on Leicester Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education. He is a Life Member of the National Secular Society. He was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2010, and is currently Chaplain to the Lord Mayor of Leicester.

Dr Hayes and his wife Bessie, a retired educational psychologist, (married in 1957) have three children and five grandchildren.