Vicky Gray via email
[FOI #8738 email]
24 March 2009
Dear Ms Gray,
Freedom of Information request – RFI20090384
Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (“the Act”) received on 3rd March
2009. Please find below information in response to each part of your request.
1. ‘I would like to know how many employees of the BBC have been absent from work due to
either, stress, anxiety, depression any combination of those ailments between 1st August
2004 and 31st July 2008.’
The BBC is committed to protecting the health, safety and welfare of our staff and we recognise that stress
is an important issue. Please find attached a copy of the BBC’s Policy on Work-Related Stress. While this
policy only covers work-related stress we do deal sympathetically with staff whose domestic circumstances
or state of health make it difficult for them to cope temporarily with the pressure of work.
Please find below a table with the total number of staff absent from work due to either, stress, anxiety,
depression or any combination of these ailments between 1st August 2004 and 31st July 2008. I have also
included the number of instances this represents as some staff may have been absent on more than one
occasion during this time.
Number of Staff
Number of
Absent
Instances
1st Aug 04 - 31st Jul 08
954
1571
Please note, the above information relates to all sickness absences recorded as stress-related which could
include those staff absent for personal as well as work-related reasons.
Please note, as our commercial subsidiaries (BBC Resources Ltd, UKTV, BBC World and BBC Worldwide
Ltd) are not subject to the Act – under section 6(1) (b)(ii) – the information for their personnel is not
included in the figures quoted above.
2. ‘Please also confirm how many complaints of bullying have been made by employees of the
BBC against managers or colleagues during the same period 1st August 2004 and 31st July
2008.’
The case management team was established on 1st April 2006, so we have been able to provide figures, only
from this date. The figure is based on formal cases which were lodged under the BBC’s Policy and Guide
to Dealing with Harassment (which is attached).
There were 49 cases formally lodged under the policy during the period 1st April 2006 and 31st July 2008.
10 of these cases were, however, withdrawn or cancelled before a formal investigation took place.
Please note, as our commercial subsidiaries (BBC Resources Ltd, UKTV, BBC World and BBC Worldwide
Ltd) are not subject to the Act – under section 6(1) (b)(ii) – the information for their personnel is not
included in the figures quoted above.
3. ‘Please confirm how many employees have claimed constructive dismissal within the same
period 1st August 2004 and 31st July 2008.’
The records for these cases only go back as far as April 2005.
From 1st April 2005 to 31st July 2008 there were 37 claims for constructive dismissal. This figure relates to
only BBC Staff on a permanent or fixed-term contract.
Please note, as our commercial subsidiaries (BBC Resources Ltd, UKTV, BBC World and BBC Worldwide
Ltd) are not subject to the Act – under section 6(1) (b)(ii) – the information for their personnel is not
included in the figures quoted above.
4. ‘Please confirm how many claims have been filed against the BBC at the Employment
Tribunal within the same period 1st August 2004 and 31st July 2008.’
The records for these cases only go back as far as April 2005.
From 1st April 2005 to 31st July 2008 there were 69 claims filed against the BBC brought to the
Employment Tribunal. This figure relates to all claims and may include people from outside the BBC and
people employed on casual or freelance contracts. Also, please note, this figure may also include staff in
our commercial subsidiaries.
5. ‘
Please confirm how many people actually work for the BBC. This will include agency and
contract staff.’
The BBC currently employs 23,854 members of staff. This figure relates only to BBC staff who are
employed on a permanent or fixed term contract and is correct as at 28th February 2009. We do not have
a central record of agency or contract staff, therefore we are unable to provide this information. However,
we do hold information on workers engaged on ‘casual’ temporary contracts: on average we employ
around 1,600 individuals per month on a casual basis.
Please note, as our commercial subsidiaries (BBC Resources Ltd, UKTV, BBC World and BBC Worldwide
Ltd) are not subject to the Act – under section 6(1) (b)(ii) – the information for their personnel is not
included in the figures quoted above.
I hope this response satisfies your request.
Appeal Rights
If you are not satisfied with this response you have the right to an internal review by a BBC senior
manager. Please contact us at the above address, explaining what you would like us to review and including
your reference number: If you are not satisfied with the internal review, you can appeal to the Information
Commissioner. The contact details are: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane,
Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF, telephone 01625 545 700 or see http://www.ico.gov.uk/
Yours sincerely
Mary Geoghegan
BBC People
