The BBC allocated over £775,000 of licence fee revenue last year to compensate hundreds of employees for time spent on trade union activities during working hours. The expenditure, covering 'facility time' payments, comes as the broadcaster grapples with falling licence fee income and questions about its long-term funding sustainability.
Figures for 2024-25 indicate that 316 BBC employees received a total of £775,701 for performing union duties. Two staff members dedicated 100% of their paid hours to union business, while eight others spent more than half their working time on such activities. The remaining 306 employees used up to half their working hours for union matters.
This disclosure has intensified criticism regarding the BBC's spending priorities, particularly as licence fee income has dropped by more than £1 billion in real terms over the past decade. Approximately half a million households stopped paying the licence fee in the last financial year, with the annual cost now at £180.
Campaigners have voiced concerns that such expenditures are unjustifiable at a time when many households face economic pressures. "It is extraordinary that licence-fee payers have spent more than £775,000 funding hundreds of BBC employees to carry out trade union business, including two who apparently spent 100 per cent of their working hours on union duties," said Rebecca Ryan, campaign director of Defund the BBC. "Meanwhile, more than half a million households a year are walking away from the licence fee."
New director-general Matt Brittin, who recently took the helm, is reportedly considering significant changes to the funding model, including a potential mandatory household levy to replace the current licence fee system. The BBC has stated that providing paid time off for union duties is a legal obligation and a necessary part of consulting with recognised trade unions. A BBC spokesman noted that the broadcaster spends "considerably less" on facility time compared to other public sector organisations.
The BBC's total spending on facility time was higher than the £752,682 recorded in the 2023-24 period. The corporation has also faced criticism for recent promotional content, including a four-minute film highlighting the BBC's contributions, which some viewers and critics deemed self-congratulatory amidst financial challenges.
Separately, BBC chairman Samir Shah indicated that the broadcaster plans to factor in external earnings when negotiating salaries for its presenters. This comes as several high-profile presenters have supplemented their BBC salaries with lucrative outside engagements. The latest pay disclosures revealed that some of the BBC's best-known presenters earned packages exceeding £400,000 in 2025-26.
The BBC's expenditure on union facility time is part of a broader trend across the UK public sector, where nearly £90 million was spent on similar arrangements in the same year. This total covered over 20,300 public sector employees undertaking union duties. Local government bodies accounted for the largest portion of this spending, with £29.4 million, followed by education and NHS organisations.