Saturday 23 April 2022

Deadline: BBC Faces Fresh Gender Pay Row: Union And BBC Women Network Challenging “Managerial Discretion Over Salaries”

Story from Deadline:

The BBC is facing a fresh gender pay row, with its plans to allow managers to sign off discretionary salary increases for staff.

The Times reports that the Corporation is facing challenges over these plans from both unions and its well-established BBC Women employee network – amid concern that female employees could significantly lose out.

Previous gaps in pay between male and female staff were highlighted when a number of female presenters went public with salary disputes. Newswatch presenter Samira Ahmed won her case at a 2020 employment tribunal, which ruled her work was equal to that of a more highly-paid male presenter. Former China editor Carrie Gracie also won a settlement for underpaid work.

It is feared that managerial discretion, if re-introduced after salaries were standardised back in 2015, could undo all the work by these groups to make the pay system fairer across the Corporation.

The Times confirms that no plans have been finalised. A BBC spokesperson said: “We are committed to fair and equal pay for all staff, we have a range of checks and balances in place to manage this and this will continue to be the case.”

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