THE BBC has been accused of “bribing” staff to move up to its new Manchester hub by

letting them keep generous London allowances, at a cost to the licence-fee payer of

nearly £40m.

In addition to receiving generous relocation packages, staff moving to the new MediaCityUK development at Salford Quays, Greater Manchester, in 2011 will keep add-ons to their pay worth up to £4,080 a year for the rest of their BBC careers.

The arrangement may create animosity between programme makers, as employees recruited in Manchester will take home thousands of pounds a year less than their peers who previously worked in the capital.

Jeremy Hunt, the shadow culture secretary, said: “For the BBC to be using licence-fee payers’ money in this way beggars belief. Money should be spent on producing great programmes, not bribing people who want to stay in London to move to Salford.”

Five BBC departments with 2,500 jobs are due to move to MediaCityUK in 2011. BBC Sport, the corporation’s children’s division and Radio 5 Live are among those bound for Salford in a move intended to help the BBC become less centred on London.

Although the BBC owns

Television Centre in west London, it will rent the three office blocks and studios at

Salford Quays from Peel

Holdings, a private company.

A document leaked earlier this year disclosed that the corporation had budgeted to spend £170m on rent at the Manchester site until 2030.

The BBC told The Sunday Times the arrangement with Peel represented “great value”, but declined to make the terms of the contract public.

The BBC confirmed this weekend that staff relocating to Manchester would retain their London weightings until retirement, but added that this part of their pay would not be included when annual pay rises were awarded.

“It would be unreasonable to expect staff to take a reduction in earnings as part of this process,” said a spokesman.

The BBC said it was “common practice” for employers to allow staff to retain their London weighting when asked to move outside the capital.

However, this claim was disputed by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which advises thousands of employers on how to reward staff. Charles Cotton, the institute’s adviser for reward and performance, said it was “bizarre” for staff to continue receiving an allowance to compensate them for living in London when they had moved nearly 200 miles from the capital — particularly when they are also receiving a

relocation allowance. “This sounds like having your cake and eating it,” said Cotton.

So far, 427 BBC staff have agreed to move from London to the MediaCityUK development. The London weightings of BBC staff range from £3,537 to £4,080, with more generous London allowances for staff on lower salaries.

Assuming that the average age of the BBC staff relocating is 35, and taking the minimum London weighting of £3,537, the decision to allow staff to keep these payments may ultimately cost the BBC about £37.8m.

Matthew Elliott, chief

executive of the Taxpayers’ Alliance, said: “One of the key reasons for the BBC’s move to

Salford was to save money, so it’s absurd that relocated staff are keeping their London weightings. Three years ago, Mark Thompson, the director-general of the BBC, said the relocation would be ‘very cost-effective’.”

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