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British Telecom offers staff holidays for pay cut

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-07-04 20:30

LONDON: British Telecom, seeking to slash costs in the face of Britain's worst recession in years, is offering employees a year at home in return for a 75-percent pay cut, the telecoms operator said Saturday.

The British Telecom tower is seen reflected in rain drops on a telephone booth in Birmingham, central England February 10, 2009. [Agencies]

Staff have also been offered a one-off payment of 1,000 pounds if they agree to go part-time, a BT spokesman said.

In addition, parents are being given the option of no longer having to work during school holidays in return for less pay.

Related readings:  Future of Britain's communications giants remain uncertain

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

BT said in May that it was cutting 15,000 jobs after slashing an identical number of positions in 2008-09 and sustaining a net loss of 83 million pounds in the year to March.

Its latest move comes after British Airways convinced some of its staff to work for free.