Four female BBC presenters cannot pursue complaints over gender pay discrimination as part of their lawsuit against the British broadcaster, a court has ruled.During a preliminary hearing on Thursday, a London Central Employment Tribunal judge said Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera, and Annita McVeigh‘s equal pay complaints will not be heard as part of a full tribunal.The four presenters are suing the BBC, alleging that they were forced off air for a year and harassed as a result of a “rigged” recruitment process, according to witness statements submitted to the court. This central claim will still move forward to a full tribunal.The claimants raised related concerns about equal pay, with Croxall telling the tribunal on Wednesday that “discrimination is baked into BBC pay structures.” She added that the corporation “grinds you down” and “breaks you” during equal pay disputes.The BBC said it was pleased that the women’s equal pay complaints will not be included in the full tribunal. “We are pleased with the result and that the tribunal has accepted our position. We will not be commenting further at this stage,” a spokesperson said.In a joint statement, Croxall, Giannone, Madera, and McVeigh said: “We are pleased the tribunal has agreed our four discrimination claims should be heard together, claims the BBC’s lawyers tried to split, which would have necessitated eight hearings at great additional expense to the licence fee payer.“We remain committed to seeking equal pay despite the BBC’s lawyers relying on a novel argument to prevent our claims progressing. We await the judge’s written ruling, to which we will give further consideration.”
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