Media organisation the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has agreed to align median pay for off-air journalists who work at its BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring businesses with employee counterparts who are based at BBC Network News.
The pay increase, which will be backdated to 1 August 2017, will apply to BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring staff who work in off-air journalist roles at pay grades two to 11 in the UK. The pay rises will be awarded in line with the BBC’s annual pay settlements, as well as in conjunction with the pay proposals that are currently being consulted on in the organisation’s terms and conditions review.
The BBC confirmed the pay increase after results from its World Service pay review, conducted by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), found differences in pay between off-air editorial employees working at BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring compared to those working at BBC Network News.
The review cited historic and economic reasons for the pay differences. For example, historically, the BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring have operated separately to BBC News, and were funded by the UK government rather than via licence fees. PWC’s review further noted that staff employed in the BBC Network News division operate in a different market environment from BBC World Service and BBC Monitoring employees. This provides BBC Network News staff a wider range of career opportunities both inside and outside of the BBC, creating different labour markets.
The World Service pay review is distinct from the BBC’s ongoing equal pay audit and gender pay report. Additionally, the BBC will address presenter and on-air employee pay as part of a separate on-air pay review.
James Harding, director of BBC News and Current Affairs, said: “We want a BBC where people move around and between our newsrooms. We believe a wider range of voices at work across BBC News will ensure we reach more stories and keep connected to everyone. To help make this happen, we have decided to align median pay.”
