Equality regulator launches probe into BBC over equal pay scandal
The BBC will face a formal investigation by the equality regulator following complaints female employees were not paid as much as men for the same work.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) today said it has opened a probe into the broadcaster’s historical policy and pay practices and will look at formal and informal pay complaints raised since January 2016.
Read more: MPs slam BBC over response to equal pay report
The EHRC said it has been in discussions with the BBC about staff pay for the last year and has reviewed a large amount of information handed over voluntarily by the corporation.
The regulator said it suspected some women at the organisation have not received equal pay for equal work. The probe will seek to establish if there has been unlawful pay discrimination and whether grievances have been adequately resolved.
EHRC chief executive Rebecca Hilsenrath said: “Paying men and women the same salary for the same job has been a legal requirement for almost 50 years.
“Every organisation should know we are fully committed to ensuring employers comply with equal pay law. Employers today should be doing as much as they can do to ensure all their staff enjoy a working environment that allows them to achieve their full potential.”
The controversy over equal pay at the BBC flared up last year after China editor Carrie Gracie resigned in protest at alleged pay discrimination.
Female members of staff set up a group called BBC Women to lobby for reform of remuneration, while several leading male presenters – including Huw Edwards, John Humphrys and Jon Sopel – agreed to take pay cuts.
Earlier this year the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Committee slammed the BBC for not acknowledging it had a problem with pay discrimination.
DCMS Committee chair Damian Collins MP today said: “I am pleased that the Equality and Human Rights Commission will now be investigating the matter of equal pay at the BBC.”
But he added the Committee is concerned there are outstanding grievance cases “with no clear end date in sight for their resolution”.
Read more: BBC ‘risks irrelevance’ unless it can catch up to Netflix
“Given the public focus on this important issue we understand why the Equality and Human Rights Commission is looking for assurance on equal pay and we welcome it,” the BBC said in a statement.
“We are confident that the BBC can provide that assurance and indeed go beyond and demonstrate our commitment to be a model for others to follow in this area as a result of our reform programme, although of course we will learn any lessons from the EHRC’s work as we continue to deliver change,” it added.
The EHRC hopes to complete its investigation by the end of the year.