Four female journalists denied equal pay claim

FOUR senior female BBC journalists who have launched legal action against the broadcaster claiming a job application process was “rigged” will not be able to bring a claim for equal pay, an employment tribunal has ruled.

Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera and Annita McVeigh launched an employment tribunal against the BBC, alleging they were snubbed over chief presenter roles following the merger of the BBC’s News and World News channels.

The journalists, who are all aged 49 to 55, had included a claim for equal pay as part of their legal challenge to the BBC, but this was dismissed at a preliminary hearing at the Central London Employment Tribunal.

Yesterday, employment tribunal judge Sarah Goodman concluded that the women, who had previously reached settlements with the BBC, could not bring new equal pay claims.

Lawyers for the BBC had described the situation as being like “seeking a second bite of the cherry on the same set of facts”.

The women believe they have not been paid equally compared with their male counterparts since February 2020.

All the journalists are expected to give evidence during their full employment tribunal against the BBC, which was set for three weeks from March 17 next year.

Ms Croxall and Ms McVeigh, who are both 55, plus Ms Madera, 49, allege discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, being a union member and wages.

Ms Giannone, 50, alleges discrimination based on age, sex and wages.

They were also given the go-ahead to have their cases heard jointly.

The BBC is resisting the women’s legal claim in which they allege they lost their jobs and were kept off air for a year when they challenged the process.

The women alleged they have been left to suffer victimisation, harassment and reputational damage.

In a joint statement after the hearing, the four journalists 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.”

After the preliminary hearing, which laid out the groundwork for a full tribunal, a BBC spokesman said: “We are pleased with the result and that the tribunal has accepted our position. We will not be commenting further at this stage.”

It is believed that the BBC’s position is that it has complied with equal pay legislation.

It is also understood the BBC is confident it applied a rigorous and fair recruitment process, and that all managers conducted that process properly.

In their similar witness statements, the women say: “Four of us have been demoted, three are facing a sizeable pay cut, with a fourth having had her pay cut for half of her job.

“No men and no women younger than us suffered these detriments.”