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BBC announces pay deal that is ‘fair to licence fee payers and staff’

It comes after two years of minimal pay increases.

Alex Green
Wednesday 11 May 2022 11:26 BST
(Ian West/PA)
(Ian West/PA) (PA Wire)

The BBC has struck a pay deal that will see the majority of employees given a 4.2% pay rise in August followed by 1% later in the year.

Last year’s annual pay increase was 1% and in 2020 there was a pay freeze across the BBC due to the impact of the pandemic.

The broadcaster said the 2022/23 increase sits below the current 7% rate of inflation.

We want our staff to thrive, produce their best work and feel valued for their output

BBC director-general Tim Davie

Senior leaders at the corporation will not receive an automatic increase, and their pay is subject to a different process.

The BBC said the announcement is about “providing a fair deal to licence fee payers and to staff” and that it was made possible by “cutting staff numbers and saving costs”.

Last year, the number of employees fell by more than 1,200 – 6% of the total workforce – while senior leader numbers were down by more than 5%.

BBC director-general Tim Davie said: “The BBC is the home of creative excellence and world-beating impartial journalism. We want our staff to thrive, produce their best work and feel valued for their output.

“Last year the number of employees fell by over 1,200. The BBC is smaller but we also need to attract and retain world-class talent, within a reformed, modern and efficient organisation that provides great value to audiences.”

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has recently said the BBC’s funding model is “completely outdated” and decisions on any changes will be made “well ahead” of its charter renewal in 2027.

The corporation is currently engaged in conversations on how to fund its services as the licence fee faces an uncertain future.

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