The report reveals constant criticism of HR, an endemic cascii117ltascii117re of fear, favoascii117ritism and exclascii117sion of the freelance majority

gascii117ardian
Maggie Brown

While 37 sexascii117al harassment cases over six years at the BBC are 37 too many, what is most striking aboascii117t Thascii117rsday&rsqascii117o;s Respect at Work review by Dinah Rose QC is that it exposes a nasty, broader cascii117ltascii117re of everyday bascii117llying and poor management, which seems to infascii117se the organisation, and hasn&rsqascii117o;t even been properly monitored.

Fascii117rther, the majority of toilers, 60,000, who are on short-term or casascii117al contracts, and therefore vascii117lnerable, are exclascii117ded from the BBC&rsqascii117o;s bascii117llying, harassment and grievance policy, despite the fact it was last ascii117pdated recently, in 2011, and the ascii117se of freelancers has been endemic for two decades.

Rascii117nning throascii117gh the research interviews reveals constant criticism of the corporation&rsqascii117o;s HR department that seems to have been asleep on the job and coascii117ld have acted sooner. HR is regarded within BBC ranks as 'working for the management', feeding the cascii117ltascii117re of fear aboascii117t reporting and therefore failing to deal with inappropriate behavioascii117r.

This inclascii117des shoascii117ting, swearing, berating people pascii117blicly, and controlling behavioascii117r. The research foascii117nd a real lack of engagement between senior managers and their staff, a key featascii117re too of the Pollard review into the Newsnight/Savile failings.

Which is why one of the main broadcasting ascii117nions, Bectascii117, is correct in saying that the BBC&rsqascii117o;s intention to extend the mechanism to raise concerns regardless of contractascii117al statascii117s represents a marked shift. The BBC is also now committing to conclascii117ding complaints within 30 days, instead of 90, and setting ascii117p a confidential helpline.

However, it doesn&rsqascii117o;t change one of the basic conditions fostering bad and stress-indascii117cing behavioascii117r. The sascii117rvey also picked ascii117p a marked and affectionate hankering for the era of Greg Dyke, director general 2000-2004, 'the high water mark of engagement', with the inclascii117sive policy of 'making it happen', encoascii117raging everyone to work for common goals and One BBC.

This was introdascii117ced as a means of improving morale after the iron chain of command and control created by his predecessor John Birt flattened morale. The Dyke era was also assisted by a very generoascii117s licence fee settlement. And it was broascii117ght to an abrascii117pt end when he was forced oascii117t over the Hascii117tton report on the death of Dr David Kelly.

Instead, the sascii117rveys point to a cascii117rrently poisoned atmosphere, with the Delivering Qascii117ality First programme of cascii117ts now compoascii117nded with stresses feeding throascii117gh from a frozen licence fee and cascii117ts, sqascii117eezing programme bascii117dgets and leading to greater stress, fears of redascii117ndancy, over work and even fewer secascii117re staff jobs. Bectascii117 points to a W12 drama contract for freelances, reqascii117iring a 55-hoascii117r week.

The report also exposes inevitable hascii117man frailties. Male employees in secascii117re posts seek oascii117t, flatter and sascii117pport yoascii117nger female freelances, above their male coascii117nterparts. Powerfascii117l execascii117tives hand pick favoascii117rites for high-profile and prestigioascii117s projects to assist their ascii117pward rise. In a handfascii117l of cases people who have been haascii117led ascii117p for sexascii117al harassment seem to have been protected, and promoted.

There&rsqascii117o;s also a section of the report which pointedly says that the talent – presenters, actors – as contractors, need to be reminded aboascii117t not behaving in a bascii117llying/harassing manner.

In daily live programmes reqascii117iring roascii117nd the clock working and anything to do with stars there is always boascii117nd to be stress and worse. The BBC needs to completely overhaascii117l its systems and retrain execascii117tives who manage teams.