Martine Croxall and three other female BBC news presenters have begun legal action against the broadcaster over claims the job application process for senior presenter roles was “rigged.”
Ms. Croxall, Karin Giannone, Kasia Madera, and Annita McVeigh appeared for a preliminary hearing at Central London Employment Tribunal on Wednesday to launch action against the BBC, claiming they experienced sex and age discrimination in the recruitment process following the reorganisation of the broadcaster’s two news channels.
The four women, aged 48 to 55, said in their witness statements that they had suffered harassment, reputational damage, “discrimination on the grounds of age and sex victimisation for union rep activities,” and “victimisation for carrying out protected acts (bringing equal pay claims).”
The group accuse the broadcaster of creating “a hostile, degrading, intimidating environment in the workplace, causing us to suffer ill-health and reputational damage.”
‘Demoted’
A merger of BBC News Channel and BBC World News was announced in July 2022, which saw a reorganisation of roles across the new entity, called BBC News.The women applied for new roles as BBC News chief presenters, but all lost out to other applicants, including to Matthew Amroliwala.
The tribunal claim alleges that a manager had told union representatives that the new, lower-paid roles were intended to be professional development opportunities for staff with less experience.
The four journalists described themselves as being “set up to fail in the jobs process” and that less experienced staff were covering presenter shifts that they could have done. The women also alleged that cuts left the news channel understaffed.
“Four of us have been demoted, three are facing a sizeable pay cut, with a fourth having had her pay cut for half of her job,” the women said in their statements.
They added, “No men and no women younger than us suffered these detriments.”
Kept Off Air Against Their Will
The women said that they were kept off air against their will for a year. Their absence had prompted press and social media speculation about their futures with the broadcaster.They said that the stress of the “bogus” process, the media speculation, and the uncertainty over their careers had affected their health and caused distress.
The BBC denies the claims, insisting its recruitment process is “rigorous and fair.”
A decision has not yet been made on whether Ms. Croxall, Ms. Giannone, Ms. Madera, and Ms. McVeigh can make a claim on equal pay.
Gender Pay Disputes
The tribunal led by the four senior news presenters follows other gender pay disputes between the BBC and its employees.In 2020, “Newswatch” host Samira Ahmed won in her challenge against the BBC, where she argued that she should have been paid the same as Jeremy Vine, who was the presenter for “Points Of View.” The broadcaster had argued that Ms. Ahmed and Mr. Vine we not paid the same because they were not doing similar work.
That same year, broadcaster Sarah Montague, who hosted BBC Radio 4’s flagship current affairs show the “Today” programme for 18 years, won £400,000 in a settlement and an apology from the BBC after complaining about unequal pay and treatment.
In 2021, the broadcaster disclosed it had spent more than £1 million on legal fees challenging race discrimination and equal pay cases which had been brought by employees.
