Fixed But Fair: BECTU Launch FTC Charter

Key principles have now been set out in response to the recent survey which revealed that the BBC's management of fixed term contracts can be poor.
In response, BECTU now plans to strengthen its support for BBC staff and hopes the BBC will adopt their new charter guidelines to improve its management of staff on fixed term contracts.
The survey revealed that when it came to ending a fixed term contract (FTC), BBC management can often be unclear, inconsistent and artificial. BECTU's Fixed But Fair Charter has called on the BBC to deliver clarity and consistency in its treatment of staff who are employed on a short-term basis. Such treatment can mean that staff are denied employment rights, lose income unnecessarily or experience stress because they are worried about the effect of questioning their treatment.
The union's Charter calls for better communication, a clear statement of reasons when the BBC proposes not to renew a contract, guidance on an employee's rights under the Fixed Term Workers regulations, an end to the practice which forces staff to take a break between contracts, fair warning of the non-renewal of a FTC, and written reasons when a dismissal takes place together with the right of appeal.
The union also wants better disclosure of staff's contractual entitlements and fair treatment in respect of training.
In several respects the principles set out in the Charter represent the BBC's existing policy, however recent experience indicates that some aspects of policy are either misunderstood or not observed in some quarters.
Anna Murray, National Official commented: "Our aim in publishing the Charter is to give fixed term contract staff the support they deserve. Fixed term staff have a number of rights not all of which they are aware of.
"We hope that through our efforts, fixed term staff will feel more confident and that more managers will act on their obligations to this group rather than treating them as more easy to dispense with because of their nature of their contract."
(BMcN/BMcC)