BBC BOSSES have been accused of exploiting needy jobseekers after they were caught asking potential employees to graft for free – despite having a longstanding policy against unpaid trial shifts.

Details of the broadcaster’s hypocrisy came to light after SNP MP Stewart McDonald appeared on the Victoria Derbyshire show back in March to discuss his bid to introduce legislation to ban unpaid trial shifts.

Shortly after the show aired Private Eye magazine revealed that a freelance journalist asking Derbyshire’s producers for work had been told to first undertake a 10-hour, voluntary, trial shift.

This was then confirmed to McDonald by the show’s deputy editor.

In a letter to Hall, he said: “The fact that public service broadcaster is contributing to this culture of unpaid work, having done a lot to highlight the issue is extremely disappointing and worrying.”

The Glasgow South MP called on the corporation to pay the journalists for the work they do, “particularly given the top-20 highest earners at the BBC receive upwards of £250,000 to £1.75m themselves”.

After that initial letter, McDonald then discovered that the BBC World Service was also asking freelancers to first prove themselves for free before securing paid work.

Two months later, and only after the Sunday National contacted the BBC about the story, did BBC director general Lord Hall reply to McDonald.

The National:

Apologies: BBC chief Lord Hall

In his response, Hall apologised for the delay, and confirmed that the BBC’s policy is “not to use unpaid trial periods or shadow shifts as part of our permanent or freelance recruitment processes”.

He added: “However as you have identified, two of our production areas have offered supernumerary shadowing positions in order for freelancers to build their understanding of the BBC.”

Hall said he had taken steps to ensure that the corporation’s HR team had followed up with “these areas to confirm that this not within BBC policy and that such freelance shifts should always be paid”.

McDonald told the Sunday National: “After waiting months for a response to my letters, the Director General of the BBC has finally come back to me and reinforced the BBC’s policy that all freelance work shifts will receive fair pay. But, it is deeply disappointing that a public service broadcaster has contributed to the culture of unpaid work – this is extremely irresponsible and sends out all the wrong messages to up and coming journalists seeking work.

“It is vital that freelancers are given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, and it is appalling that they have had to work for hours on end with no pay. I am pleased that the BBC have reinforced their policy to ensure freelancers get the pay they deserve, which is the very least people would expect from a big organisation like the BBC.

“Whilst I am pleased that this has turned around and been corrected, this openly exploitative practice should never have happened in the first place. Anyone who does a fair day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay – and it shouldn’t take an MP’s intervention to reinforce that.”

A spokeswoman for the BBC said: “For all roles the BBC’s policy is not to use unpaid trial periods as part of our recruitment processes. We have followed up with these production areas in question and all our team leaders across BBC News, to remind them of this policy. The BBC is committed to maintaining the very highest standards and leads the way in providing high quality paid opportunities for freelancers and young people aiming to get their foot on the career ladder.”

McDonald’s bid to end the shifts failed after Tory MPs used archaic parliamentary procedure to “talk it out” in the Commons.