BBC bans staff from changing light bulbs

BBC bans staff from changing light bulbs

BBC bans staff from changing light bulbs

By ANI
Monday March 26, 05:38 PM
London, Mar.26 (ANI): Believe it or not, no BBC staff member is allowed to change a light bulb at the Beeb headquarters. The corporation's stringent health and safety regulations apparently ban the average employee from performing the simple task himself or herself. It prefers to hire a safety-accredited workman for 10 pounds a visit. A staff member in the BBC's in-house magazine, Ariel, brought the ludicrous process to light, reports the Daily Mail. "I called up to ask for a new light bulb for my desk lamp and was told this would cost ?10," said Louise Wordsworth, a learning project manager. "On telling them, I'd buy and replace the bulb myself (bought for the bargain price of ?1 for two bulbs) I was told that it was against health and safety regulations." The corporation has faced criticism for its complicated internal-market system, first introduced in the 1990s by former BBC Director General John Birt. Under the system, internal jobs such as changing a light bulb or fixing a computer are outsourced to separate departments-which then issue invoices accordingly. In 2005 it was revealed that the outsourced property management firm Land Securities Trillium charged the BBC an astonishing 2,500 pounds to erect nine shelves. According to furious BBC staff members, the same firm charged 1,000 pounds to erect a sign and 5,500 pounds to install an air conditioning unit worth just 2,000 pounds. The corporation's own facilities management company, plus two outside contractors, spent thousands of pounds of licence-fee payers' money on the task. It is thought to have cost 1,100 pounds every time one of the contractors conducted an assessment of the problem. The profligate spending comes despite the BBC receiving a lower than expected licence-fee settlement this year. In February it was announced that the licence fee would go up by four pounds, which is less than the rate of inflation. The corporation is already in the process of making some 4,000 redundancies. It is expected that the effective cut in its income will mean that it has to make more. (ANI)