Pay presumptions

If Lord Hall is back from holiday this week, he might want to pop into the transformational HR department to glance through their in-tray.

Last month a Freedom of Information enquiry by The Times revealed that seven members of staff had received a pay increase as a result of a formal grievance procedure during the year to June. 22 cases were pending. Carrie Gracie said her grievance, rejected in 'nine pages of spin and error' was only resolved after meeting with the DG himself. The BBC's cumbersome grievance procedure seems designed to say 'no', being employed by staff when a local boss has already said 'no', and therefore already slightly weighted.

The figures, of course, do not reveal how many times the local boss has said 'yes'. Today's Times says that 1,100 have made an enquiry about their pay status. HR apparently operates a case management and triage system, already suggesting pressure and prioritisation. It can't surely be that HR, whilst talking authentically about getting pay right, is helping managers to drag their feet....