BBC faces back pay claim by women
Equal pay fight spreads beyond famous TV faces
WOMEN calling for equal money at the BBC could be in line for millions in back pay after top female stars wrote to chief Tony Hall.
THE BBC could be forced to shell out millions more in the gender pay-gap row if women fighting for equal pay win the case for it to be backdated.
Sport presenters Clare Balding and Gabby Logan and One Show host Alex Jones are among 40 of the Beeb’s top female stars who signed a letter to boss Tony Hall demanding the disparity must end “now”.
But staff at the broadcaster told the Mirror the scale of the complaints and the amount of money being asked for goes far beyond the high-profile names.
A TV source said: “Staff at the BBC far and wide are looking at their pay and asking if it’s fair.
“A wide number of female staff believe they’ve been underpaid for many years and some are questioning if they cannot only get a pay rise, but have that pay backdated.
“Some feel they have been doing a job for a number of years for less money than a male colleague.
“There are going to be legal wranglings on this for some time and it’s not going to be cheap for the BBC.” Gerry Morrissey, head of broadcasting union Bectu, said: “Hundreds of BBC staff have contacted the union regarding gender pay.
“It’s a live issue and the current pay grading does not offer transparency to demonstrate whether people are being paid the same or someone is paid less. We are working with the BBC on this issue.”
The BBC has promised to address the gender pay gap after a list of its 96 best-paid stars revealed men were earning more than women in similar jobs.
It has already begun discussions with some women including Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis about improved deals.
However, it is understood that in many cases the corporation will say people’s jobs differ and pay is also based on years of experience and hours worked, making it hard to equate any two jobs. This may make it harder for staff to make claims.
After the list of those earning £150,000 or more was published last week, Lord Hall made a pledge to address the pay gap by a selfimposed deadline of 2020.
He said: “Work is already well under way across the organisation to help achieve this. When figures are published next year I am confident they will look very different.”