Letter from BBC: BBC Resources Ltd Pay Settlement April 2003/4
17 February 2003
We met on Friday 14th February 2003 to continue discussions on the BBC Resources Ltd 2003/04 pay settlement and I am writing to confirm the position reached between ourselves in response to the BECTU/Amicus joint pay claim. We agreed a final pay offer for staff other than those on individual bought-out contracts (SM, SPS, SFS), on condition that you would be able to recommend acceptance of this final position. The details are as follows:
- A standard increase of 2.9% with effect from 1st April 2003.
- All associated allowances will also increase by 2.9% from 1st April 2003. This means that London Weighting would increase to £2,988 p.a.
- For staff on Days conditions, UPA1 would increase to £2,126 pa and UPA2 to £4,252 p.a. For staff on Hours conditions for whom UPA is paid as a percentage of salary, their allowance will rise in line with their salary increase. Night payments will increase to £6.72 for hours between midnight and 04.00 and £14.15 for hours between 04.00 - 06.00.
- The salary range ceilings and floors would also be increased by the standard increase (2.9%) from 1st April 2003. Protected Continuing Allowances, protected roofs for increments and Christmas Day and New Year's Day payments would also increase in line with the standard increase.
- The introduction of a preferential London Weighting rate for those staff in London on salaries of £22,000 p.a. or less of £3,335 p.a. with effect from 1st April 2003. We will therefore have two rates of London Weighting as follows:
- Staff on salaries of £22,001 p.a. or more : £2,988 p.a.
- Staff on salaries of £22,000 p.a. or less: £3,335 p.a.
- The introduction of a minimum salary, excluding London Weighting, of £11,834 p.a.
Trainees
- As a result of the proposals above, trainees in London will join BBC Resources on a salary of £15,169 p.a. including London Weighting. This salary is inclusive of all compensation for long day working and irregular and unpredictable working patterns. Any current trainees within their first year of joining will have their salary increased to this level with effect from 1st April 2003.
- We will also introduce a minimum salary for operational trainees at the start of their second year of training of £16,500 p.a. This % increase reflects the effect of the preferential level of London Weighting but is also offered in recognition that trainees in their second year may be working long days more frequently. This salary is inclusive of all compensation for long day working and irregular and unpredictable working patterns. Any current trainees within their second year of joining will have their salary increased to this level with effect from 1st April 2003.
- We will apply night payments and Christmas and Boxing day payments to trainees on the same basis as other operational staff.
- Scheduling practices associated with UPA 2 conditions will also apply to trainees including protected days off, 11 hour breaks, voluntarism for working more than 12 hours.
Redeployment
In response to your claim, we are prepared to extend until 31st March 2005, the arrangement agreed within the ACAS Agreement (1998) whereby, in situations where selection criteria are applied, people facing compulsory redundancy have five months, from the date on which they receive notification of their selection for redundancy to seek retraining and redeployment opportunities.
As outlined during our discussions, we anticipate that the 2.9% increase combined with improvements for the lower paid will cost around 3.2% of paybill. During the financial year 2003/04, there are significant budget issues around the level of income that can be expected across the year; the level of price increases we can assume - especially in price sensitive businesses such as Outside Broadcasts and Post Production. There will also be increases in direct employment costs with employers pension contribution increasing by 0.5% and employers national insurance rising by 1%. Therefore we will need to find ways of paying for this increase by keeping all expenditure under control, particularly relating to training and employment costs. At the same time, we will need to maintain existing contracts and generate new revenue.
We believe that this offer delivers a pay settlement that responds to the issues we discussed concerning the cost of living for staff on lower salaries, especially in London. At the same time, we believe this is a fair and reasonable award for all our staff , particularly set against the current economic climate our businesses operate within.
In conclusion, you confirmed that you would be in a position to recommend acceptance of this offer to your members during the forthcoming consultative ballot.
Once again I would like to thank you for your positive and constructive approach to our pay discussions.
This letter has also been sent to the Amicus.
Rachel Currie
BBC Resources HR Director
Letter from BECTU to all members in Resources Ltd: Resources Ltd pay offer 2003
26 February 2003
Following a second meeting with Resources on Friday 14th February I am
writing to set out the details of the final offer on pay for 2003. Enclosed
with this letter is a ballot paper and envelope; please take the time to
vote as it is important that we know your views. BECTU is recommending that
you vote "YES" in the ballot for the reasons outlined below. According to
our records you are an employee of BBC Resources Limited. If you are not,
please disregard this letter and email lmiles@bectu.org.uk with your name,
staff number and details so that we can bring our records up to date.
The offer
BBC Resources Limited is proposing an across the board increase of 2.9% for
the next twelve months, to be paid from April 1st 2003. This would apply to
all staff on Days and Hours contracts. Those on buyout or SFS contracts will
be unaffected and should not have been sent ballot papers. There are also a
number of staff who are being TUPE-transferred back to the BBC on April 1st,
and they have been written to separately.
The standard increase will be applied to night hours, which will rise from
£6.53 to £6.72 per hours between 00.00 and 04.00 and from £13.75 to £14.15
between 04.00 and 06.00. For Days staff on UPA1 the payment will rise to
£2,126 from £2,066 and UPA2 will rise to £4,254 from £4,133. The floors and
roofs of the pay bands will increase by 2.9%, as will protected continuing
allowances, protected roofs for increments and Christmas Day and Boxing Day
payments.
As a result of BECTU seeking to improve low pay, Resources has accepted that
the new minimum salary payable will be £11,834 (not including London
Weighting), which effectively means that Band 1 of the salary scales has
been abolished. In order to bring Resources in line with the rest of the
BBC, London Weighting has been increased, with a new higher level of £3,335
(up from £2,900) for those staff on £22,000 and below, while those on
£22,001 and above will get £2,988.
Trainees
One of our big concerns was the treatment of Trainees and their low rates of
pay. As a result of the pressure applied by BECTU the company has agreed to
increase the starting salary of Trainees from £14,500 to £15,169 (up 4.61%),
and in year two this will rise to £16,500 from £15,500 (up 6.45%). If this
deal is accepted these new salary levels will be applied to all Trainees
from April 1st, regardless of where they are in their first two years. On
conditions of service, the company accepted that Trainees should have the
protection of the Conditions of Service Guidelines, but they would not agree
to pay them an Unpredictability Allowance or additional payments for
volunteering to work more than 12 hours. However, their protected days off
will be guaranteed in future, with 8 days per month for UPA 1 and 4 days per
month for UPA 2. Despite our best efforts, the company would not agree to
pay the UPA to the Trainees instead offering the higher pay rise (details
above), but we made it clear that this was an issue that we would return to
in the future.
Redeployment
Resources also conceded that the ACAS Agreement from 1998 should be extended
to 31st March 2005, which will mean that in the event of any redundancies,
where staff are selected for redundancy they will have five months on the
payroll to try and be retrained or re-deployed.
Vote to accept
The company originally offered 2.2% and this final offer of 2.9% is at the
current rate of inflation, which has been static for the last two months.
For those on salaries below £22,000 the increase will be worth more than
2.9% because of the lump sum increase in LW; the lower the salary, the
higher the percentage increase. This is in line with our commitment to
helping the lower paid. The offer also contains very significant
improvements for the Trainees, which was a matter of some concern when
formulating the claim. In deciding to recommend acceptance your negotiators
were clear that the employer was making a final offer, which means that
Resources Limited are not prepared to concede any more through negotiation.
So it is our view that to improve on the offer would require industrial
action. In consequence I enclose a ballot paper which I would ask you to
complete and return to me in the envelope provided, not later than 12 noon
on Friday 14th March. If this offer is rejected, the next letter you receive
from me will be a ballot for industrial action, and you will need to vote
"YES" in that ballot and be prepared to take action to improve the offer.
If you have received this letter and you are on a buyout or SFS contract, or
are transferring back into the BBC on April 1st or do not work for Resources
Ltd, please email lmiles@bectu.org.uk with your name and staff number,
telling us so we can amend our records.
BECTU believes that taken all together this is a pay deal
that you should accept, and we urge you to
VOTE YES
Luke Crawley
Supervisory Official
