Post by Teddy Bear on Feb 9, 2015 16:59:00 GMT
At the BBC, any staff are entitled to claim up to a 20% bonus if they are asked to come in early or stay late. Between 2009 and 2014 this has cost £187,395,824 from the licence fee.
Most of us are used to this being part of the job whenever our bosses have needed our presence 'above and beyond', although most would have an agreement to be paid overtime.
I case you're wondering how other broadcasters manage this element, ITV and Sky, do not give workers flexibility bonuses, but then, they have to operate in the real world.
Most of us are used to this being part of the job whenever our bosses have needed our presence 'above and beyond', although most would have an agreement to be paid overtime.
I case you're wondering how other broadcasters manage this element, ITV and Sky, do not give workers flexibility bonuses, but then, they have to operate in the real world.
A former BBC producer said staff will on average receive around £5,000 a year in the bonuses.
'There isn't a commercial organisation in the world that would dream of offering backhand bonuses to staff who are already being handsomely paid simply to set an alarm clock,' he told the Daily Express.
The producer, who was not named, said many BBC workers who take on anti-social hours are employed on a freelance basis, so are not entitled to the extra pay.
He added: 'To give this payment to staff in case they work inconvenient hours is disgusting and an abuse of the licence fee.'
'There isn't a commercial organisation in the world that would dream of offering backhand bonuses to staff who are already being handsomely paid simply to set an alarm clock,' he told the Daily Express.
The producer, who was not named, said many BBC workers who take on anti-social hours are employed on a freelance basis, so are not entitled to the extra pay.
He added: 'To give this payment to staff in case they work inconvenient hours is disgusting and an abuse of the licence fee.'
BBC pays staff to get up early: Workers can claim 'unpredictability allowance' if their shifts don't follow a set pattern
By Lucy Crossley for MailOnline
BBC staff can claim an 'unpredictability allowance' if their shifts do not follow a set pattern and they can be called in early or stay late, it has been revealed.
Workers receive the extra payments, as much as 20 per cent of their salary, if they work unpredictable and unsocial hours, including weekends, evenings and early mornings.
A request made under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed that unpredictability allowance payments, made to those workers whose hours can be changed at short notice, have totalled £187,395,824, between 2009 and 2014.
There have been 90,384 payments to staff, although this would include workers who have received the allowance on more than one occasion.
Additionally, staff who work between midnight and 6am can claim night pay, with the total paid between between 2009 and 2014 standing at £41,707,581.
In the last year the unpredictability and flexibility allowances, coupled with night pay, has cost the corporation - which is funded through the licence fee - £36million with 13,267 workers entitled to the money.
A former BBC producer said staff will on average receive around £5,000 a year in the bonuses.
'There isn't a commercial organisation in the world that would dream of offering backhand bonuses to staff who are already being handsomely paid simply to set an alarm clock,' he told the Daily Express.
The producer, who was not named, said many BBC workers who take on anti-social hours are employed on a freelance basis, so are not entitled to the extra pay.
He added: 'To give this payment to staff in case they work inconvenient hours is disgusting and an abuse of the licence fee.'
Staff can take home an extra ten percent of their salary as a bonus if they are informed of their hours of work two weeks in advance.
If they are normally told of their shift patterns seven days in advance they are entitled to 20 per cent of their salary.
These staff members are expected to have some degree of flexibility when it comes to their working hours, with shift patterns subject to change depending on the operational needs of the BBC.
Workers could be called in on the day, or have their hours changed, if there is a need for them to work.
The majority of these staff are believed to work in the corporations News division, due to its round-the-clock output.
Other broadcasters, such as ITV and Sky, do not give workers flexibility bonuses.
A BBC spokesman told MailOnline: 'It’s impossible to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week without employing people to work through the nights.
'Like most organisations we reflect this in our pay structure – however we’re always looking to make savings and unpredictability allowance has come down by £4 million since 2010. In that same period pay restraint, combined with headcount reductions, has to date saved the BBC £150m per year.'
The spokesman added that almost 1,000 fewer staff claimed the unpredictability allowance in 2014 than in 2009.
A report published last year revealed that the BBC needs to find an extra £400 million a year by 2017, and could have to cut content in order to make savings.
The broadcaster is saving an extra £1.1billion a year more than it was seven years ago, with £35 million cut from the £229million-a-year talent budget paid to the BBC's top stars.
There are also plans to make youth channel BBC Three online only - a move expected to save around £100million a year.
In recent years, the BBC has repeatedly come under fire for wasting money. The controversial IT project known as the Digital Media Initiative was axed by Director General Lord Hall at a cost of £100 million to the licence fee payer.
And the corporation was castigated by MPs after a report by the National Audit Office discovered it had handed out £369million in severance payments to its staff over eight years.
Lord Hall has stated that future severance payments will be capped at a maximum of £150,000.
- Staff are entitled to extra money if they work unpredictable shift patterns
- They receive the bonuses if they are called in early or work hours change
- Payments have totalled more than £187 million between 2009 and 2014
- 90,384 payments have been made to BBC staff during that time
- In the last year 13,267 workers have taken a share of £36 million
- This figure includes extra money paid to night workers
By Lucy Crossley for MailOnline
BBC staff can claim an 'unpredictability allowance' if their shifts do not follow a set pattern and they can be called in early or stay late, it has been revealed.
Workers receive the extra payments, as much as 20 per cent of their salary, if they work unpredictable and unsocial hours, including weekends, evenings and early mornings.
A request made under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed that unpredictability allowance payments, made to those workers whose hours can be changed at short notice, have totalled £187,395,824, between 2009 and 2014.
There have been 90,384 payments to staff, although this would include workers who have received the allowance on more than one occasion.
Additionally, staff who work between midnight and 6am can claim night pay, with the total paid between between 2009 and 2014 standing at £41,707,581.
In the last year the unpredictability and flexibility allowances, coupled with night pay, has cost the corporation - which is funded through the licence fee - £36million with 13,267 workers entitled to the money.
A former BBC producer said staff will on average receive around £5,000 a year in the bonuses.
'There isn't a commercial organisation in the world that would dream of offering backhand bonuses to staff who are already being handsomely paid simply to set an alarm clock,' he told the Daily Express.
The producer, who was not named, said many BBC workers who take on anti-social hours are employed on a freelance basis, so are not entitled to the extra pay.
He added: 'To give this payment to staff in case they work inconvenient hours is disgusting and an abuse of the licence fee.'
Staff can take home an extra ten percent of their salary as a bonus if they are informed of their hours of work two weeks in advance.
If they are normally told of their shift patterns seven days in advance they are entitled to 20 per cent of their salary.
These staff members are expected to have some degree of flexibility when it comes to their working hours, with shift patterns subject to change depending on the operational needs of the BBC.
Workers could be called in on the day, or have their hours changed, if there is a need for them to work.
The majority of these staff are believed to work in the corporations News division, due to its round-the-clock output.
Other broadcasters, such as ITV and Sky, do not give workers flexibility bonuses.
A BBC spokesman told MailOnline: 'It’s impossible to broadcast 24 hours a day, seven days a week without employing people to work through the nights.
'Like most organisations we reflect this in our pay structure – however we’re always looking to make savings and unpredictability allowance has come down by £4 million since 2010. In that same period pay restraint, combined with headcount reductions, has to date saved the BBC £150m per year.'
The spokesman added that almost 1,000 fewer staff claimed the unpredictability allowance in 2014 than in 2009.
A report published last year revealed that the BBC needs to find an extra £400 million a year by 2017, and could have to cut content in order to make savings.
The broadcaster is saving an extra £1.1billion a year more than it was seven years ago, with £35 million cut from the £229million-a-year talent budget paid to the BBC's top stars.
There are also plans to make youth channel BBC Three online only - a move expected to save around £100million a year.
In recent years, the BBC has repeatedly come under fire for wasting money. The controversial IT project known as the Digital Media Initiative was axed by Director General Lord Hall at a cost of £100 million to the licence fee payer.
And the corporation was castigated by MPs after a report by the National Audit Office discovered it had handed out £369million in severance payments to its staff over eight years.
Lord Hall has stated that future severance payments will be capped at a maximum of £150,000.