A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Christa Ackroyd, a former BBC presenter who was paid through her own personal service company (PSC) and who left the BBC very abruptly five years ago. Ms. Ackroyd has since been given a £419,000 tax bill by HMRC because the tax man said that she should have been an employee of the BBC. 

Many current and former BBC journalists and presenters accuse the corporation of forcing them to use PSC's. This morning it was the turn of Liz Kershaw, Kirsty Lang, Paul Wise, and Stuart Linnell. 

When asked if the BBC had given them any option but to use a PSC in order to get paid, the committee was told no. Have a look at the clip below. 

Forcing many presenters and journalists to accept contracts against their will purely because the BBC wanted to avoid employer's national insurance, holiday pay, and sick pay, is behaviour normally associated with dodgy companies which are notoriously bad employers. It's not something that you would expect from the BBC. 

If those affected are, like Ms. Ackroyd, landed with huge tax bills, my guess is legal action will be taken to recoup the money. For the BBC to hang them out to dry wrong. It is disgraceful behaviour from a broadcaster that is not slow to expose the poor employment practices of other companies. 

Stones and glass houses spring to mind.