From the BECTU forum :

http://bectuforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=45

"The BBC has accepted it should have been paying additional holiday pay to some staff since 1998. "

Seems that a member of current staff has discovered the BBC has been in breach of the Working Time Directive since it came in in 1998!

In a nutshell those on shift who worked nights or Christmas/Boxing day should have got a percentage toward holiday pay.

A reply to my post re how retired staff would get told produced the reply :

"The union has said the following: "BECTU is now warning staff who have left since 1998 through retirement, resignation, or redundancy, that they may be eligible to claim similar payments [ie the holiday payments]. The BBC has said it too will try and contact departed staff where possible to notify them of back-payments"."