Disgrace

Damian and Da Boys of the DCMS Select Committee have given the BBC a good kicking over both equal pay and the sorry saga of Personal Service Companies. Here are some highlights from their 38-page report.

"The BBC must act urgently to restore confidence in its grievance processes. In order to do this, the corporation must commit to upholding the independence of the process, by placing independent managers in charge of grievances. They should act swiftly to speed up the complaints process by appointing full-time hearing managers. The BBC should state publicly how many grievance cases are still awaiting resolution, and how many of these are claims regarding a lack of equal pay, rather than waiting for FOI requests or Committee inquiries. The BBC should also commit to have completed the
grievance process for all existing cases, including making any financial settlements that may be owed, within the next six months."

"The imposition of personal service companies falls short of the standards that we expect from any responsible employer and especially from the BBC. The corporation should be held to high standards due to its prominence in public life and its public funding. Yet the BBC’s 2007–2012 policy of engaging presenters via PSCs has caused “life-altering” financial and emotional consequences for many presenters. The imposition was for purposes that suited the BBC, but not necessarily the interests of its employees. As a direct result of the corporation’s actions, many presenters are facing
liabilities of hundreds of thousands of pounds in unpaid income tax and national insurance contributions. We have seen strong evidence that the BBC made presenters feel that a PSC was a mandatory condition of work. This is a disgrace."

Remember, this move to PSCs was a decision that was made by no-one in particular, according to the BBC's own search of its records, and never reached the Board.

"The BBC has failed to act on both equal pay and PSCs, launching remedial measures only after receiving both media and public pressure. The corporation has continually relied on individuals who work for them to come forward and bring these issues to their attention. In the future the BBC must operate proactively, rather than waiting for media pressure to push them into action. The BBC must improve internal communications and ensure that its HR service is sufficiently well-resourced that it is available to everyone, so that it can help presenters to raise these kinds of issues."