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Recent posts
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- Theatre skills shortages at a ‘tipping point’
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- Two freelance tax developments to note
- Inflation update and the fall in real wages
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- UK independent productions, the inflation punch-in-the-mouth, and the very European remedies.
- Inflation update – August 2022 figures
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Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Inflation update and the fall in real wages | Bectu Freelance Research on Earnings growth – private sector workers outpace the public sector
- Paul Evans on Applying for a Lorimer Letter (LP10)
- George on Applying for a Lorimer Letter (LP10)
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Monthly Archives: July 2021
UK Restart Scheme funds $2.6 in productions
U.K.’s Film and TV Production Restart Scheme Results in $2.6 Billion Worth of Productions https://t.co/TuOJyoHxx2 — Variety (@Variety) July 28, 2021
Mandatory vaccinations for film & TV workers?
Incoming: from Deadline: “Mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations on film and TV productions now will be allowed, on a restricted basis, under a new agreement reached Monday between Hollywood’s unions and the major companies. The new protocols, they said in a joint … Continue reading
Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Health & Safety
Tagged Mandatory vaccination, Vaccination
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Expenses and tax relating to travelling to work
Further to the detailed post about expenses for the self-employed, we often get asked about what the law on tax and earnings is for your travel to and from a place of work. If you are employed by a company, … Continue reading
Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Tax
Tagged Expenses, Travel expenses, Travel time
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New ‘Producers Union’ in the US
In the context of some very real fears about a further shift in the balance of power in the film industry, away from the people who make them and into the hands of highly consolidated corporations that have the cash-reserves … Continue reading
Pingdemic: Bar staff being told to delete NHS Covid-19 app
Via the BBC website.
5 Ways to Recognise Employee Burnout
From the Bectu website… ICYMI workers in the creative industries are highly susceptible to burnout due to precarious working and long hours culture. In a #ThursdayThoughts blog, Meghan Taylor from the Writers Guild shares '5 Ways to Recognise Employee Burnout' … Continue reading
Posted in Freelance working, Long hours, Mental Health, Productivity, Wellbeing
Tagged Eyes Half Shut, Long hours working
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How expenses work for the employed and self-employed
There’s a good rule of thumb that applies both to Employees and the Self Employed: You are expected to pay for a meal out of your own pocket if you are working from home, or if you are at a … Continue reading
National Insurance Contributions to rise?
This story is a few weeks old now, but today I’ve been reminded of just how much the balance between NIC and taxes changes the dynamics in those big decisions that people make when deciding to be a freelancer or … Continue reading
Payment on account – and the ‘request to pay less’
A few weeks ago, I posted about ‘payment on account‘. Just an update on this. Tom Railton has alerted me to The Telegraph’s reporting that “A million self-employed will be taxed on money they never earned. [£]” This is certainly … Continue reading
Additions to ESM4118
Industry lawyers Wiggin have been in touch to say that there have been a number of recent additions to HMRC’s “Appendix 1”, i.e. HMRC’s approved list of behind-the-camera roles which can normally be treated as self-employed – otherwise known as ESM4118. … Continue reading
Handling difficult and divisive issues
In recent months, a number of difficult and divisive issues have hit the headlines and have found some echoes in many workplaces. The More in Common ‘Dousing the Flames‘ report has (via focus group research) found a different story. “Rather … Continue reading
Posted in Equality, Management, Workplace conflict
Tagged Cultural diversity, Culture Wars, More in Common
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Crew shortages start to bite
MORNING READ 'Catastrophic’ shortage of production managers PMs being lured away mid-contract as the rush back into production causes severe demand/supply issueshttps://t.co/3jISTJvsdt pic.twitter.com/4DLHvMk6y4 — Broadcast (@Broadcastnow) July 27, 2021
French ‘health pass’ update
The FT are reporting [£] that France has established a ‘health pass’ scheme to restrict access to public places (restaurants, bars, etc). The fines are less draconian than were originally proposed and the timetable has been loosened a bit, but … Continue reading
Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Health & Safety, Workplaces
Tagged Coronavirus Passports, France, President Macron
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Labour proposes the creation of a single ‘worker’ status
New #ukemplaw bulletin – Labour announces policy to create a single status of ‘worker’ – https://t.co/naWdwwJ1AE — Daniel Barnett (@daniel_barnett) July 26, 2021 Keir Starmer outlines this on LabourList – here. The party has been briefing that the aim here … Continue reading
Karen Bradley and David Olusoga on Channel Four privatisation
Firstly, there’s this from Tory former Culture Secretary Karen Bradley(£) – here. “…as culture secretary in 2017, I conducted a review into this very issue. That review found that Channel 4 has a significant positive impact on life in the … Continue reading
British content projecting Britain
I’ll be posting more on this in the coming weeks, but there are some very big concerns circulating even in Conservative circles about the potential damage that the UK could sustain due to changes in the film and TV industry. … Continue reading
Posted in Animation & VFX, BBC, Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Culture policy, EU & Brexit, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax incentives, The Conservative Party, UK studios
Tagged Audiovisual Media Services, Channel 4, Channel 4 privatisation
3 Comments
High Frame Rate (HFR) – the future of cinema?
Legendary visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull sees High Frame Rate – 120fps or higher – as the future of cinema, and he thinks that he has found a way to make it look right – look ‘cinematic’. More here.
Useful correction on welfare entitlements for people who are self-isolating
At #PMQs, Boris Johnson suggested that everybody who's isolating due to Covid is entitled to the equivalent of living wage while they isolate. This isn't true. What they are entitled to 👇https://t.co/wsnSjvzqYg — Full Fact (@FullFact) July 22, 2021
Posted in CJRS & SEISS, Coronavirus, Freelance working, Welfare and benefits
Tagged Self-isolation
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BFI consultation on how it directs its lottery funding
The BFI are now starting to develop a new overarching 10-year National Lottery funding strategy setting out what they want to achieve as a distributor of funding over this period. It will be a successor to BFI2022 and run from … Continue reading
Media and Production Show 2022
A date for your diary. While it’s hard to predict anything that will happen in the next year or so, The Media and Production Show will be taking place on 11-12 May at London Olympia.
Long hours working and social isolation
From Simon Kupar in the FT [£]: “Commuting worsened the decay of civic life, observed political scientist Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, his 2000 classic about the US. Ever fewer Americans knew their neighbours, worked as a volunteer or went … Continue reading
Posted in Long hours, Wellbeing, Work-life balance
Tagged Bowling Alone, Eyes Half Shut, Robert Putnam, Social Capital
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Animation & VFX branch publish their first ratecard
If you get a moment have a look at the Animation & VFX Branch website. The branch has two significant developments recently. Firstly, the Ethical Animation and VFX Charter which forms the basis of their branch manifesto. And secondly, the … Continue reading
Posted in Pay & inflation
Tagged Animation and VFX Branch, Bectu branch activity, Ethical Charter
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Working hours v family
A nice working hours v family [pdf] Graphic idea from the SFX branch.
Posted in Freelance working, Long hours, Work-life balance
Tagged Eyes Half Shut, Long hours working
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What’s going on at Elstree then?
BREAKING: A battle for #management control of @ElstreeStudios has broken out between the studios’ managing director Roger Morris and Hertsmere Borough Council @HertsmereBC, which owns the studios. Meanwhile, Morris has apparently "disappeared". https://t.co/EPKVgXypCM — Broadcast Tech (@Broadcast_TECH) July 22, 2021
What’s going on with Netflix then?
From the FT [£]: “Subscription growth this year could never match the lockdown-driven surge of 2020. Netflix added 1.5m net new subscribers in the second quarter. While above its own low forecast, it failed to attract anything like the 10m … Continue reading
Posted in Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD
Tagged Amazon, Disney, MGM, Netflix
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Supervision Direction and Control (another IR35 post)
There are a few posts on this site about the CEST test, for determining who is included within IR35 (i.e. who is an employee and who isn’t), and it would be wrong to do anything but to acknowledge that HMRC … Continue reading
Working with children & young people, work experience, and chaperoning
Some general notes: Bectu offers a course on working regulations and policies designed to protect the child at work. This is a City & Guilds accredited course offering a practical guide to everyone working with children in the entertainment industry. … Continue reading
New duty to curb sexual harassment
The TUC is reporting that the government have committed to introduce a new duty on employers to protect all their staff from sexual harassment at work, and to protect workers harassed by clients or customers as well as colleagues As … Continue reading
Posted in Sexual harassment, Wellbeing, Workplace conflict
Tagged Sexual harassment, TUC
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The Creative Workforce Pledge
The Creative Workforce Pledge was a campaign to target candidates who were standing to be Metro Mayors in May 2021, to call on them to “stand up for the creative workforce, to nurture local talent and invest in culture for … Continue reading
Posted in Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Wellbeing
Tagged Creative Workforce Pledge
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“Gogglebox presents people like us and is made in Britain for Britain”
I knew I’d seen a good defence of Channel 4’s Public Service Broadcaster remit, but I couldn’t remember where until I visited the VLV website earlier and saw this [pdf] from Channel 4’s CEO Alex Mahon. “Online business cannot fill … Continue reading
Ofcom on industry’s diversity obligations
The broadcasters have an “existential” obligation to improve social class and geographical representation, according to Ofcom’s @dawes_melanie https://t.co/YVhtUXKi7K pic.twitter.com/M7egqNZJ84 — Broadcast (@Broadcastnow) July 19, 2021
Posted in Diversity of representation, Equality, Film & TV industry policy, Low pay, Regulation, Wealth inequality
Tagged Diversity, Ofcom
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Reputation management and censorship
Businesses are able to stifle fair comment on their practices – everything ranging from employment issues through to big global ethical matters. From Open Democracy: “Stronger leadership is needed in the UK to tackle both the safety of journalists and … Continue reading
Lord John Hendy QC – The Status of Workers Bill.
Lord Hendy’s bill The Status of Workers Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on the 26th May 2021. It is… “A Bill to make provision for the creation of a single status for workers by amending the meaning … Continue reading
Scottish government opposes Channel 4 sell-off
The Scottish government is opposing the sell-off of Channel 4. The broadcaster has spent more than £200m on Scottish commissions since 2007 In 2020 it spent £19m in Scotland Channel 4’s features and daytime team is based in Glasgow The … Continue reading