# BBC salary scales



## Fullyplumped (Mar 20, 2009)

Does anyone know anything about salary grades at the BBC? 

I've seen a job advertised at "Grade 9" which looks interesting, but it doesn't say how much that is in cash money. The BBC website has nothing to say about pay scales and I can't find anything on the internet, even on BECTU's website.

Any help would be most welcome.


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## Orang Utan (Mar 20, 2009)

what's the job?


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## Fullyplumped (Mar 20, 2009)

Digital Switchover Help Scheme Regional Manager, Scotland


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## Fullyplumped (Mar 20, 2009)

Found it. Anyone know why they treat it as such a secret?


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## Dandred (Mar 20, 2009)

Andrew Wong gets pretty good money!

We went to school together.  

He earns more than I could imagine!


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## Orang Utan (Mar 20, 2009)

what kinds of jobs do people in grades 5 & 6 do?


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## Zorra (Mar 21, 2009)

Maybe because the grades are so huge that they are a bit meaningless...


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## Orang Utan (Mar 21, 2009)

It seems that two people doing the same job can have a huge difference in pay


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## Onslow (Mar 27, 2009)

Orang Utan said:


> It seems that two people doing the same job can have a huge difference in pay




I would have thought that were you are placed within a scale depends on experience, whilst you move up an increment each year you're there etc.


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## Orang Utan (Mar 27, 2009)

yeah - I think that's how they do it. I don't think that's always fair.


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## Scrus (Mar 27, 2009)

It's not fair, definitely, for example I applied for a media job in the BBC, and I took hours over the application letter and form and I really hate filling in those types of application forms, and they don't even send you a letter telling you that you aren't even going to be considered.


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## _float_ (Mar 27, 2009)

Fullyplumped said:


> Anyone know why they treat it as such a secret?


Maybe because the BBC, while it wants everyone else to be open and transparent, and it styles itself as a fearless public-service seeker after the truth, it is in fact so smug and superior (as an organisation, not necesarily individually) that it doesn't apply these same principles to itself?

Just a theory. Maybe there is another reason.


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## trabuquera (Mar 28, 2009)

... because they're busy cheese-paring and chiselling every possible penny out of the lower ranks in order to pay for huge bonuses for top 'talent' and managers, and having very wide salary bands with a lot of discretion makes it easier to divide & rule...

... or (more management-friendly explanation): the range of jobs within the BBc is so huge that it is extremely difficult to rate them by 'seniority' or who should be getting what. How do you realistically compare and put  a price on the work done by a war correspondent, a bureau head, a tech development genius or a much-loved local radio host? A lot of stuff comes into play  (working hours, unsociable shifts, level of legal/public responsibility, creativity, name recognition and a million other things) which it's genuinely hard to measure. So it's more easily administered to have very wide bands and negotiate (red: screw down) the employee on a more personal basis. So as to provide some illusion of 'career progression' and security, there is a graded wage structure and some allowance for earning more with experience, but not having to guarantee it - or reveal pay scales within the office - means management still have a carrot and a stick to wave.


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## Fuzzy (Mar 28, 2009)

Scrus said:


> It's not fair, definitely, for example I applied for a media job in the BBC, and I took hours over the application letter and form and I really hate filling in those types of application forms, and they don't even send you a letter telling you that you aren't even going to be considered.



probably because several current BBC employees applied for the same job. once you're in its easy to stay in and move around but getting in in the first place is the hard part.


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## London_Calling (Mar 28, 2009)

I think they average 400-500 applications per post at the mo. Insanely popular employer at the best of times.


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## nino_savatte (Mar 31, 2009)

BBC salary grades used to mirror those in the civil service. I don't know if this is still the case.


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