Gender Pay Gap at the BBC

The recent furore regarding the gender pay gap at the BBC has highlighted that, even in the biggest and most reputable organisations, there is still a way to go. It was notable that the best paid male BBC star earned 5 times what the best paid female star earned and that two thirds of the on-air high earners were men.

There has now been a review launched into the pay gap at the BBC. This specific situation is unique in that, as a publicly funded organisation, it has been complied to release this information. With the vast majority of employers the information is not for public consumption in the same way.

The pay gap at the BBC is suggested to be around 10%, as opposed to 18% for the UK as a whole.

The position under the law is that it will be discriminatory for male and female employees to not be paid the same for ‘like’ work. An Employer will have a defence to an equal pay claim if it can be shown that there are differences/factors such as market forces, administrative reasons, geographical differences or shift pattern arguments that can justify the difference in pay.

If you have any questions relating to Employment Law please contact our expert team - Vaishali Thakerar and Sejal Patel on 0116 212 1000 or Carrie-Ann Randall and Ashley Hunt on 01858 445 480.

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