BBC ‘forced’ me to work on day my baby was due
A TELEVISION news presenter cried as she revealed that the BBC had asked her to work on the day her first child was due to be born.
Joanna Gosling, who has worked for the broadcaster for 20 years, also told a tribunal that bosses tried to cut her pay after she took maternity leave.
Miss Gosling, 47, hit out at the BBC’s ‘two-tier system’ that sees some stars given benefits while others – like herself – have no job security. She did not receive maternity pay and could not afford more than three months off at a time following the births of her three children.
She has also never received sick pay, holiday pay or pension contributions.
‘My periods of time off for the birth of each of my three children were 12 weeks, nine weeks and 13 weeks because I could not afford to take longer off unpaid’, she told the High Court.
Speaking about when she was pregnant with her first child, she said: ‘Shortly before I was due to stop working, I got a call from the rota person saying that they had been unable to find cover for me on my due date and would I do the shift.’
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Miss Gosling agreed to come into work because she felt ‘ vulnerable’ in not having a permanent post.
Six years later, when she was expecting her third child, her bosses emailed her saying they wanted to give her a new contract with a lower salary when she returned.
‘It felt highly stressful to be in a situation where taking time off to have a baby was being used as a reason to void a contract. I took unpaid time off, and even this was used as a lever against me to try to force a pay cut’, she said.
‘I have always felt there was a two-tier system for those working at the BBC, whereby some were looked after with full staff benefits and others had no status or security.’
Miss Gosling, who was mar-
‘I had no status or security’
ried to Sir Craig Oliver – David Cameron’s spin doctor – for almost 20 years, is appealing against an HMRC tax bill alongside David Eades and Tim Wilcox.
Between them the bill totals more than £900,000.
HMRC is cracking down on individuals paid via personal service companies.
The three journalists claim they were forced to do so by the BBC.
Miss Gosling said she was told to either set up the company or take a 30 per cent pay cut. And although the presenter now has a contract, she says she is paid significantly less than male colleagues.
She was on £106,847, while some men on the same shows were getting £150,000.
The case continues.