BT boss gives salary to health workers, lifts pay for key staff

LONDON: The head of Britain’s biggest telecoms firm BT said he would donate his salary to health workers for at least six months and award a pay rise to his frontline staff who are maintaining broadband networks during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Philip Jansen, one of Britain’s richest executives from his time overseeing the flotation of payments processor Worldpay, also said the company would not make any job cuts related to the health crisis and maintain all pay for at least three months.

Companies across Britain, big and small, have been forced to turn to the government to pay their staff as the pandemic cuts through vast swathes of the economy. BT said it would not need the scheme and would pay all staff for at least three months.