Post by Teddy Bear on Apr 28, 2013 15:24:51 GMT
And they have the gall and hypocrisy to criticise pay-offs to bankers. The head of BBC Worldwide, John Smith has elected to take his £800,000 payout now rather than wait until September when he might have only received £150,000. This is the same man who oversaw the purchase of the Lonely Planet guide for £130million in 2007, and it's recent sale for £51.5million, at a loss of nearly £80million.
Shows clearly the inept foul greedy hypocritical mindset prevalent at the BBC, made only worse by the foul greedy hypocritical politicians who let them get away with it.
Shows clearly the inept foul greedy hypocritical mindset prevalent at the BBC, made only worse by the foul greedy hypocritical politicians who let them get away with it.
BBC boss secures £800,000 payout
A former BBC chief executive has secured an £800,000 payout before the new director general Lord Hall can impose a £150,000 cap on severance payments, it has emerged.
John Smith, who headed up BBC Worldwide, will receive a year's notice of £447,000 as well as profit-related bonus payments of up to £386,000 in an agreement with the corporation, together with £4 million in his pension pot.
The final value of the bonus Smith, 55, will receive is being worked out, based on the audited profits of BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, and will have to be agreed by a remuneration committee attended by Lord Hall.
Lord Hall told MPs last week that he wanted to introduce a £150,000 cap on redundancy and severance payments because the BBC could not be "deaf to concerns" about the size of staff payouts.
He said the "financial settlements of the past cannot be justified in the future", in an apparent reference to the £450,000 lump sum given by Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, to George Entwistle to step down quickly as director general last November.
Smith, who joined Burberry as chief operating officer last month, is understood to have become embroiled in an internal power struggle after Entwistle took over.
A BBC source told the Sunday Times that the corporation had paid his year's notice because Smith's successor was ready to take over, saying: "John made the decision to step down from BBC Worldwide.
“However, he was entitled to any outstanding notice and bonus entitlement owed under his contract."
Smith oversaw the widely-criticised deal for Lonely Planet, the guide book company, for £130 million, which was sold last month for £51.5 million.
But his overall record was praised by Mark Thompson, the former director general, who said that under his leadership revenue doubled at the BBC's commercial arm and profits grew fourfold.
His 12-month notice period was twice that given to Lord Hall, who warned last week that the £150,000 cap would come into force only in September, and that it would not apply to senior staff leaving before then.
The board of BBC Worldwide has yet to discuss when to introduce the cap, but is also expected to do so in September.
However, the disclosure of Smith's large payout will again draw unwelcome attention to the rewards on offer at the corporation.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that since 2010, 194 executives have received £100,000 payoffs and the corporation spent £6 million on payments of more than £300,000 to 14 executives.
Caroline Thomson, the former chief operating officer, was given £670,000 even though she was willing to work her notice. Mark Thompson was paid two months' gardening leave of £102,100, despite offering to delay his exit.
Sharon Bayley, director of marketing, was given nearly £400,000 in 2010 and Mark Byford, deputy director general, got £949,000 in 2011.
Smith joined the BBC in 1989 and served as finance director and chief operating officer before moving to BBC Worldwide in July 2004, becoming a non-executive director of Burberry in 2009.
Staff at the BBC's commercial arm have traditionally enjoyed higher pay than in the rest of the corporation on the grounds that the bill is not met directly by the licence fee, said the Sunday Times.
Smith's pension pot was £3.8 million at the end of March 2012, an annual value of £208,000, but it is likely to be worth more than £4 million now.
A former BBC chief executive has secured an £800,000 payout before the new director general Lord Hall can impose a £150,000 cap on severance payments, it has emerged.
John Smith, who headed up BBC Worldwide, will receive a year's notice of £447,000 as well as profit-related bonus payments of up to £386,000 in an agreement with the corporation, together with £4 million in his pension pot.
The final value of the bonus Smith, 55, will receive is being worked out, based on the audited profits of BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, and will have to be agreed by a remuneration committee attended by Lord Hall.
Lord Hall told MPs last week that he wanted to introduce a £150,000 cap on redundancy and severance payments because the BBC could not be "deaf to concerns" about the size of staff payouts.
He said the "financial settlements of the past cannot be justified in the future", in an apparent reference to the £450,000 lump sum given by Lord Patten, chairman of the BBC Trust, to George Entwistle to step down quickly as director general last November.
Smith, who joined Burberry as chief operating officer last month, is understood to have become embroiled in an internal power struggle after Entwistle took over.
A BBC source told the Sunday Times that the corporation had paid his year's notice because Smith's successor was ready to take over, saying: "John made the decision to step down from BBC Worldwide.
“However, he was entitled to any outstanding notice and bonus entitlement owed under his contract."
Smith oversaw the widely-criticised deal for Lonely Planet, the guide book company, for £130 million, which was sold last month for £51.5 million.
But his overall record was praised by Mark Thompson, the former director general, who said that under his leadership revenue doubled at the BBC's commercial arm and profits grew fourfold.
His 12-month notice period was twice that given to Lord Hall, who warned last week that the £150,000 cap would come into force only in September, and that it would not apply to senior staff leaving before then.
The board of BBC Worldwide has yet to discuss when to introduce the cap, but is also expected to do so in September.
However, the disclosure of Smith's large payout will again draw unwelcome attention to the rewards on offer at the corporation.
Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that since 2010, 194 executives have received £100,000 payoffs and the corporation spent £6 million on payments of more than £300,000 to 14 executives.
Caroline Thomson, the former chief operating officer, was given £670,000 even though she was willing to work her notice. Mark Thompson was paid two months' gardening leave of £102,100, despite offering to delay his exit.
Sharon Bayley, director of marketing, was given nearly £400,000 in 2010 and Mark Byford, deputy director general, got £949,000 in 2011.
Smith joined the BBC in 1989 and served as finance director and chief operating officer before moving to BBC Worldwide in July 2004, becoming a non-executive director of Burberry in 2009.
Staff at the BBC's commercial arm have traditionally enjoyed higher pay than in the rest of the corporation on the grounds that the bill is not met directly by the licence fee, said the Sunday Times.
Smith's pension pot was £3.8 million at the end of March 2012, an annual value of £208,000, but it is likely to be worth more than £4 million now.
