BT staff get free time for pay cuts

Telecoms giant BT faces a shareholder row over pay

BT employees have been offered the chance of long-term holidays if they agree to huge pay cuts, the company said.

One option available to staff is taking a year off with a 75% drop in salary, in return for receiving the remainder of their wages as an up-front payment, said a spokesman.

BT, the former state telecom company, is one of the UK's largest private employers with more than 100,000 staff.

But it has been hit by the economic downturn and posted a £1.3billion loss for the first three months of the year.

A BT spokesman confirmed that staff had also been offered a one-off payment of £1,000 if they agree to go part-time.

Parents will also have the opportunity to restrict their hours to school term times to allow them to spend time with their children, he said.

"BT is known for it's progressive human resources policies with flexible working", said a BT spokesman.

"Being one of the largest employers in the UK, I think this is an extremely progressive way of managing costs during a recessions, rather than making redundancies."