Uncovered: BBC accused of exploiting young workers
(Originally published in the Big Issue)
Hazel Blears, The Labour MP for Salford and leading campaigner against unpaid internships, says she is “very concerned” with the BBC’s practice of running thousands of unpaid work experience schemes every year.
Mrs Blears, who introduced a 10 minute rule bill in December in an
attempt to outlaw the advertising of unpaid internships, said young people from
poorer backgrounds could be at a disadvantage despite the corporation’s partial
move to Salford in 2011.
Hazel Blears, The Labour MP for Salford and leading campaigner against unpaid internships, says she is “very concerned” with the BBC’s practice of running thousands of unpaid work experience schemes every year.
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“I want to make sure that local young people who are not from
privileged backgrounds get a chance to get a job at the BBC, and if the route
in is through unpaid work then that makes it even more difficult for people
without money, so I’m very concerned about it.”
In 2011 a Freedom of Information request revealed that 6,283 people had
worked for the Corporation for free since 2007. The BBC jobs website is
currently advertising 83 unpaid work placements lasting up to four weeks, and
boasts that the corporation “provides more than 1,700 work experience
opportunities every year.”
Although the BBC’s official policy states that work experience must not
be used as a substitute for paid employment, several former interns claim they
did real work whilst completing their schemes, and some online placement
specifications suggest successful candidates may be relied upon to perform real
work.
One former intern said
he was declared bankrupt after graduating as a journalist and taking a
financial risk in an attempt to seek employment at the BBC. Before running into
financial difficulty he completed several unpaid placements and work shadowing
schemes, during which he claims the BBC regularly breached its work experience
policy.
"I
produced stories, reported live, read bulletins out, produced packages, spoke
to guests. Anything that's part and parcel of being a journalist."
Another graduate who
completed a one month placement at the BBC in 2012 said: "I was working with the breakfast team
so would have to arrive at 7am, I would work through the day's papers and news
websites and look for any good stories, which I would then develop into an idea
to pitch at the morning meeting...My manager at the station told me that he was
very impressed with my work and that I was ready for a paid role there - but that
there simply were no jobs to be offered."
A typical advert for an unpaid, four week placement in June with the
BBC Information and Archives department in Salford, asks for candidates with “a
willingness to perform routine tasks”:
“Typical duties may include
asset logging, locating material in storage, research enquiries and using a
variety of databases including Excel and Word.”
Libby Page from the campaign
group Intern Aware said: “Despite the good policy we have heard bad
examples and it is crucial that the BBC operates within good practice in order
to ensure fair access and recruitment. As a public institution the BBC has a
particularly great responsibility to ensure best practice when it comes to
their work experience programme."
A
spokesperson for the BBC said: “The BBC has a clear work experience
policy and like most responsible employers, we offer short-term work experience
placements. For longer term positions we recruit on merit.
“Work experience placements must not be used as a substitute
for paid employment and individuals are under no obligation to work.
“We cannot comment on individual experiences however, if
someone was unhappy with their time at the BBC or has a specific complaint, we
would urge them to contact us directly.”
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