Samira Ahmed wins equal pay case against BBC

Samira Ahmed has won an employment tribunal against the BBC over an equal pay dispute.

Ahmed claims that she was paid £465 per episode for hosting the show ‘Newswatch’, compared with Jeremy Vine’s £3,000 per episode for ‘Points of View’. The judgement said the BBC failed to prove the pay was not because of gender discrimination.

Ahmed said, “No woman wants to have to take action against their own employer. I’m now looking forward to continuing to do my job, to report on stories and not being one.”

A BBC spokesperson said, “Samira Ahmed is an excellent journalist and presenter and we regret that this case ever had to go to tribunal.

“We’re committed to equality and equal pay. Where we’ve found equal pay cases in the past, we’ve put them right. However, for us, this case was never about one person, but the way different types of programmes across the media industry attract different levels of pay.

“We have always believed that the pay of Samira and Jeremy Vine was not determined by their gender. Presenters – female as well as male – had always been paid more on Points of View than Newswatch.

“We’ll need to consider this judgment carefully. We know tribunals are never a pleasant experience for anyone involved. We want to work together with Samira to move on in a positive way.”