The BBC will have to publish the details of all employees who earn more than £150,000 a year in reforms laid out in the draft BBC royal charter and updated framework agreement.
The charter, which aims to ensure that the BBC is as open and transparent as possible, will require the broadcaster to publish a report from the remuneration committee that details how senior executive pay is determined, and the names of senior executives who earn more than £150,000 a year. The BBC will also be required to share the names of all other staff and talent who are paid over £150,000, set out in pay bands.
The draft charter builds on a government white paper, A BBC for the future: a broadcaster of distinction, which was published in May 2016. In the white paper, the proposed reforms included the disclosure of the names of employees, freelancers, and talent who earn above £450,000 a year.
The draft charter will now be subject to parliamentary debates across the UK, including in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales over the autumn.
The charter is expected to come into force on 1 January 2017. A period of transition will run until 3 April 2017.
Karen Bradley, culture secretary, said: “The BBC produces world class programming that is admired and respected by millions around the world. The BBC’s next charter will help it adapt to the changing digital world and continue to thrive into the future.
"We have made considerable progress since the publication of the white paper and resolved a number of important areas with the BBC, which go further in the key areas of transparency, fairness and securing the BBC’s independence."
Rona Fairhead, current chairman at the BBC Trust, said: “[The] charter is validation of what the public have told us they want; a strong, bold BBC, editorially independent, effectively governed and which places audiences at its heart.
“We don’t agree with the government on everything and are disappointed with the decision on the disclosure of presenters’ pay. We don’t believe this is in the long term interests of licence fee payers.”
