A radical of pistillate BBC quality presenters who were taken disconnected aerial past twelvemonth aft missing retired connected apical presenting roles person branded the enactment process a 'sham' and 'rigged', an concern tribunal has heard.
The 4 women, aged 48 to 54, impeach the corp of property and enactment 'discrimination' implicit the mode the broadcaster handled the recruitment process for caller main presenter roles.
One of the women contiguous told an concern tribunal that the BBC 'grinds you down and breaks you' erstwhile it comes wage claims.
The radical are besides making adjacent wage claims against the corporation.
Martine Croxall, 55, Karin Giannone, 50, Kasia Madera, 48, and Annita McVeigh, 46, are taking portion successful the bombshell lawsuit against the broadcaster.
(From left) Annita McVeigh, Martine Croxall, Karin Giannone and Kasia Madera get astatine London Central Employment Tribunal this greeting for their proceeding against the BBC
(From left) Kaisa Madera, Geeta Guru-Murthy, Annita McVeigh, Karin Giannone and Martine Croxall pictured enjoying a portion unneurotic connected April 5 past year
BBC News presenter Martine Croxall (pictured erstwhile she became affectional during a broadcast astir Prince Philip's decease successful April 2021) has been disconnected aerial since March past year
It comes aft the BBC merged its home and planetary quality channels and ran a enactment process for the apical main presenter roles connected the service.
It is understood that they claimed absorption had already chosen who they wanted earlier radical had adjacent applied.
But BBC bosses were said to person rejected the claims aft an interior reappraisal took place.
Following caller vacancies astatine the channel, Ms McVeigh and Ms Guru-Murthy are understood to person some taken main presenter roles and precocious appeared connected air.
Like Ms Croxall, neither Ms Giannone nor Ms Madera person appeared connected the quality transmission successful implicit a year.
It is understood Ms Croxall, who has been astatine the BBC since 1991, has been discussing her aboriginal astatine the BBC with bosses.
In witnesser statements made disposable successful the court, astatine London Central employment tribunal, the radical rise superior concerns that the assignment to the roles was not conducted fairly.
In Ms Croxall's statement, which is akin to those of the 3 different women, she claimed the women had suffered 'discrimination connected the grounds of the grounds of property and sex'.
She claimed they had suffered 'harassment' with an 'hostile, degrading, intimidating situation successful the workplace' which caused 'ill health' and 'reputational damage'.
Ms Croxall said: 'This was due to the fact that of a sham recruitment workout wherever our jobs were closed adjacent though the redundancies were not genuine arsenic the enactment inactive exists.'
She added: 'A whistleblower connection volition amusement recruitment successful Jan 2023 of BBC News Chief presenters was rigged. This led to the 5 of america losing our jobs and being kept disconnected aerial for a year, erstwhile we challenged the process.'
Speaking successful the tribunal Ms Croxall had claimed 'discrimination' was 'baked in' to the BBC's wage structures. She added the BBC 'grinds you down and breaks you', adding 'that's wherefore I'm here'.
The lawsuit is understood to person besides primitively included Geeta Guru-Murthy, but she has present appeared to person withdrawn from the case.
It was claimed 4 of the women demoted and 3 faced sizeable wage cuts. One was said to person 'her wage chopped for fractional of her job'.
Ms Croxall's connection claims: 'No men and nary women younger than america suffered these detriments.'
She said that the 5 women, including Ms Murthy had 'suffered the aforesaid oregon precise akin detriments'.
Today's lawsuit has been billed arsenic the astir high-profile employment tribunal enactment since Samira Ahmed (pictured centre successful November 2019, with supporters including BBC workfellow Carrie Gracie, right, who had a triumph of her own) won her sex wage enactment against the BBC
In her witnesser connection Ms Croxall says reports from the corporation's ain objective psychologists amusement 'negative carnal and intelligence wellness impacts' that the attraction 'meted retired to us' had had.
She besides said that wage for its quality transmission main presenters had 'again' go 'tainted by sex'.
It was adjacent claimed that the BBC director-general Tim Davie had told 1 of the presenters, Ms Madera successful October 2022 that 'some radical had been astatine the quality channels for excessively long'.
She accepted a wage revision successful July 2020, she said, aft it had 'become apparent' the BBC had allowed wage for quality transmission main presenters to 'again go tainted by sex'.
The BBC News presenters offered astir the aforesaid witnesser statements to the tribunal.
It comes aft the women had taken portion successful the exertion process to beryllium main presenters connected the relaunched quality channel, which combined home and planetary services. But they assertion the process was predetermined, claiming the corp already knew who it wanted.
When they situation the process, they claimed mislaid jobs and were not 1 aerial for a year.
The women successful their witnesser statements claimed determination was a connection from a whistleblower that backed up their mentation of events.
Ms Croxall, appearing astatine the preliminary hearing, revealed she was paid £139,000.
In the proceeding contiguous the 4 BBC quality presenters provided grounds to backmost their claims that they were not fixed adjacent pay. The grounds comes up of a afloat proceeding that is acceptable to follow.
The radical each revealed they had taken a wage revision for the corp successful 2020 'it became evident the BBC had allowed its wage for quality transmission main presenters to again go tainted by sex'.
The lawsuit comes aft BBC director-general Tim Davie said helium was looking to find a ‘fair resolution’ to the situation.
Meanwhile, the tribunal besides risks reigniting the contention implicit the Corporation’s attraction of pistillate employees.
Today’s lawsuit has been billed arsenic the astir high-profile employment tribunal enactment since Samira Ahmed won her sex wage enactment against the BBC successful 2020.
As good arsenic Ms Ahmed’s victory, erstwhile China exertion Carrie Gracie won backmost wage and an apology from the BBC successful 2018 implicit unequal wage levels.
It led to the enactment of a radical of pistillate unit astatine the Corporation, called BBC Women, who took absorption to task implicit its grounds connected just treatment.
Ms Croxall’s case, arsenic listed by the employment tribunal, is besides believed to see the assertion that she suffered detriment from being the subordinate of a commercialized union.
It has been suggested that the BBC has paid much than £1million successful salaries, arsenic good arsenic alleged ‘acting-up’ wage and freelance screen costs during the play spent off-air by the 5 women.
The BBC declined to comment.
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