Another chance to see Rod Stewart

The BBC unions have been invited to pay talks with the Director General, Lord Hall, on Friday at 9am, in a bid to avert the strike planned for next Wednesday, which coincides with the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. 

Interestingly, only yesterday, senior non-executive director Dame Fiona Reynolds revealed to MPs that she'd been pressing management for regular reporting of a "Key Performance Indicator" on staff engagement with the changes ahead. She might try this...

Topped up

And lo, Lord Hall fronted up with an improved pay offer at yesterday's meeting with the BBC unions. Not quite double your money, but a £650 minimum increase for all staff paid below £50k a year and £500 for all staff on more than £50k.

Previously on the table - 1%, or a minimum of £390 for staff on less than £50k and a freeze for all above. Plus 1% on continuing allowances, grade floors and ceilings, and the higher rate of London Weighting (£4,288) extended to people earning less than £30k.  That's been lifted to £35k in new offer.

Union calculators have been in action, and say the new deal means 70% of staff would get a below-inflation pay rise for the sixth year in a row.  Ballots on industrial action/inaction are underway.

The unions are also calling for strike action at BBC Worldwide, where a consultative ballot which closed this week overwhelmingly rejected Tim Davie's 1.3% offer.

• 0900 Thursday update: Management calculators say that almost a quarter of staff - the lowest paid - will get at least 2.4% (the current level of the Retail Price Index of inflation) under the revised deal. 

Minted

Some odds and ends from yesterday's expenses and salaries updates at the BBC. Bob Shennan earns an extra £21,524 in his newly-acquired role as Director of Music. There are no details yet for the parallel appointment of Jonty Claypole as Director of Arts.

Salaries have been revealed for two of News boss James Harding's new team - Managing Editor, Keith Blackmore, brought from The Times, is on £160k. Jonathan Munro, who came from noisy neighbours ITN, is on £165k as Head of Newsgathering.

Jonathan Peachy makes the senior management list as boss of online personalisation programme myBBC, on £200k.

Christine Langan, Head of BBC Films, has had a £28k boost, bringing her package to £204,800.

In travel news, the direction is up for Taxi King Bal Samra. £1563.77 on the sandys (McNab=cab), compared with £1337.62 the previous quarter.

Inclusive

BBC Trust minutes are back on top form - as transparent as a breeze block. The record of the March meeting notes agreement on the DG's objectives for 2014/5 - without printing them; the BBC's objectives for 2014/5, without printing them; the BBC's budget for 2014/5 and the Trust's budget for 2014/5 - without any detail or direction of travel whatsoever.

Only one bit of fun for me: the meeting approved the addition of Tim Davie, now CEO of BBC Worldwide, back onto the main Executive Board. One sage (or maybe more) noted that this might affect certain relativities. The BBC is committed to yearly publication of the ratio between median pay of the Exectuive Board and the median pay of the BBC overall. The current ratio is 9 to 1, "which is expected to reduce over time".

Tim Davie's last published salary was £349k - we have yet to discover his deal at Worldwide. But this minute suggests it might have gone up quite a bit.

"It was agreed that two executive director pay multiples would be published in the BBC Annual Report and Accounts, one which would include the CEO, BBC Worldwide and one which would not."

Company man

Those with an interest BBC presenter deals are poring over this element of Jeremy Paxman's Newsnight resignation announcement - "This was a decision I reached - and informed the BBC of - last July. I shall work out the remainder of my contract and will not seek another."

Is it possible that Dame Margaret Hodge became the last straw for Paxo ?  It was Ma Hodge who roasted BBC CFO Zarin Patel in July 2012, saying she had heard from one long-term presenter who had been employed by the BBC for more than 20 years, who said he had to go "off books into a service company" or face a "substantial pay cut".

"He was told he would not be employed unless he did that and when he asked for that to be put in writing that was refused to him," she said.

One Jeremy Paxman had, spookily, gone public with a very similar story in March 2012, saying, after 20 years presenting Newsnight, the "BBC required me to form a company if I wanted to continue....  They claimed they had been told to do so by HMRC.”  So, Out In The Dark Ltd was formed in May 2009.

Ma Hodge said paying presenters through personal service companies, when the BBC was their only employer, was "immoral". The BBC responded by promising an investigation, and, by November 2012, working with Deloitte, produced a report, reviewing 804 "talent" deals. Deloitte was then asked to work on a new test, to determine who should be on staff terms and conditions, which was finally unveiled in November last year, to be used in all new hirings and contract renewals.

So, with his contract up in June, it may well be that the test showed Jezzer should transfer back to staff, presumably on Band 11, but paid way above the roof, and look forward to appraisals, leave application forms, compulsory training, and all that...

Over the top

Not sure if this BBC pay revelation will set the Fleet Street dovecotes fluttering. An FoI answer reveals that on "worker" grades, from 2-10, the average BBC salary in 2012/3 was £36,936, and the median salary £34,902.

What may interest BBC readers more is that just over 12% of the 17,000 odd staff on these grades receive more than the published roof of the relevant pay scale. The explanation ? "These individuals are long serving members of staff or those that who possess a skillset that commands a higher market premium."

Formula

My myriad HR readers will enjoy this one. "Opportunity in Adversity", a presentation by the new BBC HR Director Valerie Hughes-D'Aeth from two years ago about her current employers, Amey. Eagle-eyes will notice "outsourced disciplinary/grievance support"; HR cost per employee reduced by 20%; and "temporary labour outsourced" (Not what Margaret Hodge ordered).

Management bonuses are linked to "wellness", staff retention and staff satisfaction (70% target). That would pretty much guarantee the bonus pot would lie untouched in the current BBC - if it's ever brought back.  

Key note speaker - Valerie Hughes-D'Aeth - Opportunity in Adversity - PPMA Seminar April 2012 from PPMA - Public Sector People Managers' Association

Gelato

There may be a continuing cull of senior managers at the BBC, no bonuses, and an ending of perks - but there's no longer (for some) a freeze on salaries.

In the latest online updates, many salaries were "adjusted" in August and November 2013; and at least two in February (presumably when the Executive was mulling over closing BBC3 as a linear channel). Mark Freeland, Head of Comedy, saw his package go up from £220,400 to £234,800; Sarah Jones, Group Legal Council rose from £212,800 to £227,800.

Some others have been on the same deal since 2009, including Ken MacQuarrie, running Scotland, and David Jordan at Editorial Policy. Alan Yentob's been on the same salary deal since 2008, though we are not privy to his presenter and pension income.

Of course, there are those who can probably bear a freeze. Peter Salmon, Director North, has been on £387,900 since 2009 - and, by my calculations (apart from "talent") is the third most highly-paid member of staff.

No names

It pays to be a senior manager in BBC Television. Auntie has quietly updated figures for senior managers' pay by division in the past month.

Television has 89 bosses (beyond those who have both their names and salaries disclosed), sharing £12.7m a year - an average of £142k.

BBC North follows in second place, with 18 managers sharing £2.5m - average £138k. Next Anne Bulford's Finance and Business - 68 managers, £9.3m, average £137k. Then comes James Purnell's Strategy and Digital - 41 managers with a pot of £5.5m, average £134k, including one person above £150k. The HR department has 25 execs on a total of £3.3m, with an average of £132k.

Back to output, and there are 25 managers at Radio, sharing £3.2m, average £128k. They do boast one unnamed manager on a package above the magic £150k.

Data for BBC Nations and Regions hasn't yet appeared. So bringing up the rear is the News Group. Plenty of senior manager jobs there - 106, sharing £10.4m, making an average of £98k, with one on a package above £150k.

More than the PM

The Sunday Times has done some spadework on a BBC Trust minute from December, which read...

Members noted that, while good progress had been made in meeting the target reductions in the senior manager headcount and pay bill, more work was needed in reducing the number of senior managers who earn more than £150,000 pa.

And which we highlighted here a couple of weeks ago.

The Sunday Times claims 82 staff declared on the BBC website are paid more than £150k. Sadly the BBC doesn't keep the pages up to date - by my reckoning there are 74 still in play with packages that break the barrier. The problem is that you can easily be paid more than £150k at the BBC without being on the declared list - even more so since the switch of "talent" to staff jobs, in response to old Ma Hodge and the PAC. And there's other growth, I'm guessing, with some of James Harding's recent signings in News, and Anne Bulford's creation of a Chief Finance Officer, when we thought she was doing the job.

The ST also points out that a number of managers have benefited from pay rises, particularly in November 2013, when there's supposed to be a freeze. The BBC argues that extra pay is only given for additional responsibilities; why not declare them, in the rubric that goes with each management page ?

My trawl did reveal one oddity. Director of Radio Helen Boaden's total package appears to be bigger than the DG's. I know it was her birthday recently, but really...?

Non-disclosure

As probably the only person in the world to contemplate a Ph.D. in Yentob Studies at the Open University, I feel certain readers would expect me to provide a textual analysis of the great man's latest bon mots, as expressed to Tara Conlan, of The Guardian.

Alan Yentob is having his picture taken on a staircase overlooking the vast BBC newsroom at New Broadcasting House and telling me about the flooding at his house in Somerset when we are interrupted by annoyed news staff. The building has been open for more than a year, and the Creative Director, who's done programmes on snappers as varied as Don McCullin and Vivian Maier, hasn't noticed the signs about photography, in particular flash photography ?

"I always felt that Tony should've been the director general. Yes, I did talk to [Lord Patten] about it and I did speak to Tony."  There's much more along these lines in the piece, reinforcing a view about Yentob's continued employment expressed by a shrewd observer - "He knows where the bodies are buried".

"Known as the BBC's "Mr Fixit", he has the experience to defend it in troubled times..."  The nickname could come from Tara's own research, but it's possible it was Alan's suggestion. It's not how he was known in my 34 years in the organisation. In an effort to keep this blog suitable for work, I will not comment further.

"I know from my colleagues that they like working with me and there's no hierarchical feel with me". Half of this isn't surprising - only one person works for him. According to an FoI response in November last year, "Mr Yentob reports directly to the Director General, Tony Hall, and has one direct report which is his Personal Assistant."

Why has he carried on when he might have retired? "I love that whole egalitarian thing about the BBC. It's a bonding mechanism for Britain. It's like the NHS, it gets into trouble quite a lot and it has to explain itself and it has bits which need to be fixed."   And with a wave of his whole egalitarian hand, Alan pottered back to his London home on the tenth-most-expensive street in the UK, before checking on his Somerset house, and heading to the Marrakech Biennale. BBC salaries are paid on the 15th of the month, as are BBC pensions. One isn't allowed to know when Mr Yentob receives his presenter payments, or how much they are.

[The BBC] "can't compete with its hands tied behind its back and being told: 'You can't pay the talent this and you've got to disclose everything you do' ."

The Cameron Line

Here's a minute on from the most recent set from the BBC Trust which may be of interest to people who like making Freedom of Information enquiries. It's on the topic of Executive Renumeration.

Members noted that, while good progress had been made in meeting the target reductions in the senior manager headcount and pay bill, more work was needed in reducing the number of senior managers who earn more than £150,000 pa.

The Prime Minister's declared salary is £142,500 pa.

Trend

At the end of a week in which I was personally praised for my knowledge of BBC grades by a long-serving BBC HR commissar, another Freedom of Information factoid.

The number of "Senior Manager" graded staff (Bands 1 and 2) has fallen to 408 - a drop of seven since the last reported 415.  The number of staff at Band 11, just below Senior Manager, has increased to 748, up fourteen since the last reported 734.

Pay slips

Monday sometimes leaves me feeling a bit picky - so let's pick over some BBC salary stuff.

The last pay round saw BBC staff on less than £60k get either £800 or 1%, whichever was the greater.  ITV staff are currently balloting on an offer of £1,000 or 2.75% whichever is the greater, again for staff on less than £60k.

In July 2011, the BBC Executive set a target that senior managers should number 1% of the staff population by 2015. In October, DG Tony Hall said he would reduce senior managers from 450 to 415 by 2015. The latest figure on full-time equivalent employees at the BBC is 18,644 - making 1%, by my calculations, 186.

The BBC's Executive Board total salary (not full packages) in 2011/2 was £2.573m, shared between 10 staff members. The Executive Board's current salaries total £2.460m, shared between 7 members - three posts moved off the Board, for an annual saving of £113k. Yet three of the posts moved "off" still exist, with Peter Salmon, Director North, on £375k, Ralph Rivera, Future Media, on £295k, and Phil Almond, Marketing, on £210k.

Predictable

The BBC has once again wussed out of removal of a pay supplement from The Ark - the Unpredictability Allowance, given to around 8,000 staff, most of them journalists, many of whom can tell you exactly which days they will be free to play golf in autumn this year.

This is the fifth back-track - now, apparently, instead of a gutsy collective management move to this "necessary reform", Lord Hall is waiting til the appointment of a new HR Director, to see what he or she thinks.

The unions get very het up about this one, on the principle that there must be demonstrable reward for a disrupted lifestyle. But actually, for most current employees, the solution on the table, consolidation into pensionable pay is a better financial deal - especially given the amount the BBC is lobbing into the fund over the next four years.   1700 update: A cascade of contacts point out that the current offer only consolidates UPA into non-pensionable pay.

Master and Commander

Less than a week to go before BBC News boss James Harding gives the first W.T.Stead Memorial Lecture at the British Library. For £8 (£6 to me, cos I'm over 60)... James Harding surveys journalism today. We now have more ways than ever before to access the news, but how does this affect the way that news is produced, communicated and consumed? With experience in both print and broadcast journalism, Harding reflects upon the place of news in a changing media landscape. 

No idea if he's taking questions. There are some. James' declared management board costs the best part of £2m a year in salary packages - without adding the wages of Business Managers, Special Assistants and PAs. At least two salaries are undeclared, apparently because they're paid for by Global News. And salaries of newer arrivals, like Keith Blackmore, as Managing Editor, and Jonathan Munro, as Newsgathering boss, are not included. Staff will be interested in the direction of travel, as I believe they say...

Muffin top

The drive to reduce the number of "senior managers" in the BBC is creating a new bulge in layers below. The "SM" grades ("2" used to mean company car, "1" used to mean company car with free petrol) have been cut by 195 posts so far, but it looks like many of their functions are being transferred to a new management cadre at Band 11, with a significant number of those being paid more than than the salary roof. Indeed, the average salary for Band 11s is above the salary roof, which surely renders the roof either leaky or meaningless.

 
So let's take stock of the situation. In 2010, there were 610 staff graded SM1 or SM2. There are now 415. In 2010, there were 638 staff graded Band 11. There are now 734.  Take, if you will, the three grades together, and the wider management population maybe cheaper, but it has only been cut by 99 posts.

On his arrival as BBC Chairman, Lord Patten complained there were more senior leaders at the BBC than in the Chinese communist party. He set a target for senior management to be no more than 1% of the workforce by 2015.  Take SM posts only, and we currently stand at 2.1%. Take SM and Band 11 posts, and it's 5.9%. Either way, there's a night or two of long knives coming in 2014.

Report and retort

The Times seems to have got hold of a copy of the Public Accounts Committee report on BBC severance pay. It quotes committee chair Margaret Hodge as saying "There was evidently a failure at the highest level of the BBC to challenge payments to senior managers and what appears to have been a culture of cronyism that allowed for the liberal use of licence payers' money".

Apparently the report also claims that senior figures at the corporation may have lied when giving evidence to the committee - but, one presumes, they haven't worked out who, or surely they would have taken action?

The paper has a response from former DG Mark Thompson: "Despite some inflammatory language in the report, there is absolute no evidence of any wrongdoing by anyone at the BBC in relation to these severance payments".

• We note the story comes from The Times new Media Editor, Alex Spence, who today gets some stick from Media Monkey in The Guardian. Calm down, readers, calm down. 

No job like it

A short sharp series of raspberries was heard from Broadcasting House yesterday, as the BBC answered an FOI enquiry asking some reasonable questions about the employment of laughing Al Yentob. Below, my edited version of the Q&As, which started by seeking...

Q. A copy of the job description and objectives set for Mr Alan Yentob as Creative Director
A. I can confirm that there is no job description for Mr Yentob’s role, due to the fact that [because ?] this is [a ?] highly specialised and bespoke role that is unique to Mr Yentob. The post of Creative Director is not a contracted full-time role. The objectives set for Mr Yentob, and the terms of employments [sic] are considered to be personal information and we are therefore withholding this information under section 40(2) (personal information) of the Act.
[Oh, dear HR department, how is possible to evaluate a salary without a job description ? How did we arrive at a rather specific-looking package of £183,300 ?]

Q. The terms of employment and/or any other information showing whether the role is full time or part time including confirmation of contractual hours and leave allowance.
A. See answer above

Q. An organogram of the Creative Director's office and direct reports
A. Mr Yentob reports directly to the Director General, Tony Hall, and has one direct report which is his Personal Assistant.

Q. A copy of Mr Yentob's work diary/schedule for the past 12 months
[An internal BBC review has found that the enquiry response is late; the reviewer expects an answer within four weeks. There is precedent for releasing PDFs of BBC diaries, though heavily redacted. There are other ways of working out what Mr Yentob is doing, as the BBC's most-papped staff member. Last week he was in New York; this week he was giving an award to Sir Terence Conran at the Sanderson Hotel; this weekend he's in Hampstead in conversation with Kevin Spacey]

Q. Information that clarifies of whether the Creative Director role entitles Mr Yentob to commission his own programmes (ie those he presents, features in or produces) or whether these programmes are subject to the exact same competitive commissioning process as other in house or indie programme makers have to go through. A note of these appointments in the requested diary details would be helpful.
A. Information regarding the Commissioning process of programmes is out of scope of the Act....  I can confirm that Mr Yentob does not commission his own programmes.

Up the workers

There'll be more than the usual twitchiness from on-air talent as they open BBC envelopes from next week. 13,000 currently have "off-payroll" contracts - and as those contracts come to an end, the letters will reveal whether or not the BBC has deemed they should be on staff (with all the pay freezes, iffy pensions, and public scrutiny that now implies).

Apparently the test assesses the creative input you bring to your role - presumably if you choose your own clothers and write the odd intro without supervision, you can remain a free spirit; but if you just read out stuff and do as you're told, you're sufficiently un-creative (dull/drone-like) to be a full member of staff. How uplifting for those already fully indentured to Auntie.

In a similar exercise, what's called "off-air talent" - 16,000 production freelancers - are being assessed, with the expectation that over 3,000 could end up as staff - thus putting the BBC headcount back close to 20,000.