Holiday pay windfalls sought

Following a recent BBC decision to pay holiday back pay BECTU are looking at similar claims across broadcasting.

The BBC have conceded that staff receiving night working payments and Extra Responsibility Rewards should have had these payments included in the calculation of holiday pay.

These payments where made following legal advice on the consequences of the introduction of the Working Time Directive in the UK.

The BBC are making significant back payments to thousands of staff, going back to 1998 when the Directive came into force.

BECTU have therefore written to a number of other employers across broadcasting, including ITV, Channel 4, ITN, Ulster TV, S4C, MTV and ntl, asking them to consider whether they need to make similar adjustments to the way holiday pay is calculated.

The union's Supervisory Official for the Independent Broadcasting Division, Sharon Elliott said: "We are trying to ensure that staff, and notably those at the sharpest end, working unsociable hours, public holidays and taking on additional responsibility, have not inadvertently been short changed in respect of their holiday pay entitlement under the Working Time Directive".

The union has so far received a number of responses from employers thanking us for raising the issue and promising to look closely at this matter.