The Dark Side of Direct Sales
Seriously...13 Sep 2022

The Dark Side of Direct Sales

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

Episoder(484)

Conflict on Campus

Conflict on Campus

Examining how the Israel-Gaza war is affecting students here in the UK. Anwar Akhtar is a director at the Samosa Project, a media and arts charity working to create understanding across cultures. He h...

18 Jun 202429min

The Switch

The Switch

Three people from three different eras reveal what it's like to live with multiple personalities, or Dissociative Identity Disorder.A retired librarian who lived through the disorder's most controvers...

14 Jun 202428min

The Beaches

The Beaches

A top secret little-known mission that changed the outcome of World War II. Not Alan Turing's Enigma code-breaking mission but a daring foray, conducted behind enemy lines on the shores of Normandy. H...

7 Jun 202428min

Broken Politicians, Broken Politics

Broken Politicians, Broken Politics

Are British politicians at breaking point? In this new digital age with its high level of public scrutiny, the sheer amount of abuse, disdain and direct threat politicians get is causing their mental ...

4 Jun 202428min

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

Portugal’s Carnation Revolution

25th April 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of Portugal's 'Carnation Revolution', which overthrew the authoritarian dictatorship of the Estado Novo ('New State') which had governed Portugal since the ...

21 Mai 202428min

Night Train

Night Train

In literature and film, night trains are the setting for intrigue and romance, espionage and sudden death. And in real life too they’re places of possibility and the expectation of new adventures. Wri...

17 Mai 202457min

True Crime 1599

True Crime 1599

For the last decade, True Crime has become ubiquitous on television and podcasts. Yet despite its current popularity, it’s not a new phenomenon. In this programme, author Charles Nicholl take us back ...

14 Mai 202428min

Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy

Haiti - Descent Into Anarchy

With criminal gangs now controlling most of Haiti's capital and no function government, Mike Thomson explores what caused this spiralling descent to Anarchy in this predominately Christian, Caribbean ...

7 Mai 202428min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
konspirasjonspodden
aftenpodden-usa
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
popradet
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
alt-fortalt
grenselos
min-barneoppdragelse
wolfgang-wee-uncut
krisemoter
fladseth
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
rss-dannet-uten-piano
synnve-og-vanessa
rss-frekvens-med-anine-olsen
frokostshowet-pa-p5