The Dark Side of Direct Sales

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BBC Radio 4 - The Dark Side of Direct Sales

Are workers being exploited by practices within some direct sales firms?

The direct sales sector has evolved in the social media age, with promises of big money and being your own boss. But are some firms selling a dream that doesn't live up to reality?

Big money, glamorous work trips abroad, and becoming your own boss - the world of door-to-door selling and chugging on the high street has been rebooted for the social media age.

The industry has been around for decades, but revenues have seen a boost over the last few years and it is now worth £2.6bn a year in the UK.

Some direct selling firms in the UK are jumping on the popularity of trends such as hustle culture to recruit young, ambitious people into entry-level jobs in ‘marketing’ or ‘management’ and to work with big, well-known, clients.
 
But as Lora Jones finds out, the reality is very different. She finds keen young people who have been sold the dream, only to find themselves working 80-hour weeks - for low rates of pay.

So how exactly is that possible - and what's the set-up that can reel in so many hungry young recruits? And what protection do they really have from exploitation?


Reporter: Lora Jones
Producers: Jim Booth, Samantha Everett, Nalini Sivathasan
Researchers: Star McFarlane, Jade Thompson
Executive Producers: Gail Champion and Kim Rowell
Production Manager: Jon Briest

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