Everybody is talking about the recent BBC pay review.
On 19 July, the amount the BBC pays its stars was revealed, listing the 96 people who are each paid more than £150,000 a year.
Top of the list was Chris Evans, who gets £2.20 – £2.25 million each year. Second place goes to Gary Lineker, who receives an annual salary of £1.75 – 1.80 million. Graham Norton is third, earning £850,000 – £899,999 plus the income from his BBC One chat show which is made by an independent production company.
Only three women made the top 10 list (which includes 15 names because several presenters are on the same pay scale).
In joint 8th place, Claudia Winkleman is the highest-paid woman at the BBC, earning £350,000 – £499,999 per year.
The report has caused a furore, and 40 top female stars have written an open letter to the BBC demanding that the gender pay gap is closed immediately, including for producers, engineers and support workers.
There is speculation that female staff could launch a class action against the BBC, claiming it is breaking employment law.
In response, Lord Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC, is quoted as saying: “Across the BBC, the average pay of men is 10% higher than women. The national average is 18%. We are committed to closing [the gender pay gap] by 2020 – something no other organisation has committed to doing… I want the BBC to be regarded as an exemplar on gender and diversity. If we can get there earlier then we will.”
As employment lawyers, we deal with equal pay claims all the time.
We think it’s a little bit sneaky that the BBC salaries are listed in brackets of £50,000, as this makes it difficult to identify exact pay differences. However, if a man and woman are doing the same job for different pay rates, there could be trouble.
The Equal Pay Act was enacted in 1975 and the Equality Act in 2010.
Under the Act, it is unlawful for an employee to receive a different rate of pay from someone of the opposite sex if the two jobs are:
- The same or broadly similar
- The same grade following a job evaluation scheme
- Different but of equal value (For example, a cleaner compared with a street sweeper, a care worker compared with a binman, or a teaching assistant compared with a gardener)
If you have identified a colleague (or predecessor) who falls into one of these three categories and is paid more than you, your employer should explain the reason why.
The person you compare yourself to is known as a comparator. There might be only one, or there might be many people who are paid more than you.
If you win your equal pay claim, you will be entitled to receive up to six years’ back pay, and your contract will be modified to ensure you receive the higher rate of pay going forward.
We will be watching what happens with the BBC with interest.
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