The BBC is consulting on new terms and conditions for its staff that would be disproportionately damaging for women, according to trade unions.
The row over the impact of proposed changes to the corporation’s employment policies adds to continuing controversy after the revelation of a significant gender pay gap among its highest paid on-screen figures.
On Wednesday, the BBC published the salaries of its 96 best paid stars with their names for the first time, revealing that two thirds were men.
The top seven highest earners were men and the five best-paid male broadcasters were paid between them three times as much as the top five women.
Kirsty Wark, a presenter of Newsnight, told James Purnell, the corporation’s director of radio and education, that “something’s got to give”. Emily Maitlis, another Newsnight presenter, was revealed as earning less than the £150,000 threshold salary that would have put her name on the list, a state of affairs her agent branded “beyond madness”. Speaking at a TechUK event, Maitlis quipped: “You’re an industry doing so well, soon you’ll be able to afford a BBC man.”
Advertisement
And Lord Hall, the director-general, was forced to confirm that the new Doctor Who star, Jodie Whittaker, will be paid the same as Peter Capaldi, the outgoing Time Lord. Capaldi was paid between £200,000 and £249,999 in the last financial year while he was playing the character.
The BBC faced fresh questions over its pay policy last night after it admitted that some stars were still being paid through personal service companies, which can be used to reduce tax bills.
Managers had pledged five years ago to move all of its stars on to the books but yesterday confirmed that some of its listed highest earners were still being paid through companies. Jeremy Vine, Claudia Winkleman and Huw Edwards are among those with such companies but the BBC would not say who was paid through them. There is no suggestion any of the companies were used to avoid paying all tax that was due.
A BBC document setting out proposed changes to its employment policies was obtained by The Times yesterday, revealing plans that were criticised by Labour and trade unions for exacerbating gender inequality. The corporation plans to alter its redundancy terms so that part-time employees who used to work full-time receive lower pay-offs than they do at present.
A source at the National Union of Journalists said the proposal was discriminatory because women were more likely than men to move to part-time contracts as a result of having to care for children or elderly relatives. A proposal to remove the concept of protected days off from shift workers also raised concern. The change is likely to affect staff who need to plan around family commitments, who more commonly tend to be women.
Advertisement
Unite also called on the BBC to drop the proposed amendments to the redundancy policy. Sarah Champion, the shadow women and equalities minister, said: “If the BBC genuinely wants to address the gender pay gap within the organisation it needs to tackle the underlying issues that create it. The changes the BBC are proposing to terms and conditions are likely to exacerbate the inequality, not remove it.”
A BBC spokesman said: “These new proposals are not finalised but the proposed change to redundancy payments would bring us in line with most other organisations. In practice, the process of agreeing in advance the days off to cater for family events would remain the same. We are currently talking to our employees and listening to their feedback.”