Author Archives: Paul Evans

Why people risk insecure work

Posted on July 18, 2023 by Paul Evans

An interesting report from The Work Foundation (via Lancaster University) has just landed. Published in partnership with Unison, it looks at the choices and experiences of those in insecure work, and the kinds of interventions that could support them into … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Productivity, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing | Tagged , | Comments Off on Why people risk insecure work

Freelancers and the welfare system

Posted on July 14, 2023 by Paul Evans

This site has carried plenty of posts about freelancing and employment status, tax status, their pension status, and it probably needs a bit more on the generality of freelancing. We often debate whether ‘freelancer’ is even a thing. It doesn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Equipment and kit, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Management, Personal Service Companies, Productivity, Skills & capacity, Tax, Universal Credit, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Freelancers and the welfare system

Sleep depravation and driving – blood test under development

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Paul Evans

The RAC is reporting a claim that is being made about the availability of a blood-based test that checks for tiredness in drivers who have been involved in accidents, and quoting Professor Shantha Rajaratnam, also of Monash University (in Queensland, … Continue reading →

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Film and TV drama healthcheck (plus a footnote about distribution ‘windows’ and cinemas).

Posted on July 12, 2023 by Paul Evans

It’s been a bad few weeks for cinemas in the UK with Empire Cinemas putting a number of their companies into administration – closing six of its 14 cinemas (Bishops Stortford, Catterick Garrison, Sunderland, Swindon, Walthamstow, Wigan) and a further … Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema exhibition, Economics, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Low budget features, SVoD | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Film and TV drama healthcheck (plus a footnote about distribution ‘windows’ and cinemas).

Meal expenses – update

Posted on June 28, 2023 by Paul Evans

It’s a couple of years since I posted here about meal expenses, so a small update is probably due – particularly given the inflationary leap that we’ve seen over the past couple of years. Prior to 2016, HMRC had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Freelance working, Tax | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Meal expenses – update

Bank Rate rises. Inflation rate stubborn.

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Paul Evans

As widely expected, The Bank of England has increased rates to 5% from 4.5%. This is the 13th increase in a row, and it is a response to Inflation Rates that are remaining stubbornly high. The recently-announced May 2023 RPI … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing costs, Inflation, Productivity | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Flexible working, and work-from-home update

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Paul Evans

The question of flexible and ‘WFH’ employment has become a vexed one in recent years. Anecdotal claims about how WFH damages work-life balance with people voluntariliy working longer hours have been quite widespread (along with other downsides). Other surveys have … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Family rights, Long hours, Management, Productivity, The working environment | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bectu Assistant Editors Toolkit published

Posted on May 5, 2023 by Paul Evans

Bectu’s Post Production & Facilities Branch have published an Assistant Editor’s Toolkit, a new professional resource to support Editorial Trainees and Assistant Editors’ career development in the cutting room.It includes a Skills Guide – a comprehensive document to keep track … Continue reading →

Posted in Film & TV industry data, Freelance working, Health & Safety, Long hours, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Skills & capacity, Trades Unions, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Improved guidance on managing health and safety and controlling risk

Posted on May 3, 2023 by Paul Evans

HSE has improved its online guidance on managing health and safety and controlling risks for businesses. There are no changes to legal requirements, but the new design and structure will help you quickly find and understand what your business must … Continue reading →

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Martyn’s Law

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Paul Evans

Under new legislation, venues will be expected to take some responsibility to consider the threat from terrorism and implement appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures. Known as ‘Martyn’s Law’ it will place a requirement on those responsible for certain venues to … Continue reading →

Posted in Health & Safety, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Theatre and Live Events data | Tagged | Leave a comment

Useful resources for working abroad

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Paul Evans

Post-Brexit, working abroad has become a minefield for some workers. A small fraction of the kind of questions people are asking include… do I need a visa? how long can I work in a particular country? what happens if I … Continue reading →

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The Broadcast Indie Survey 2023

Posted on April 17, 2023 by Paul Evans

The Broadcast Indie Survey 2023 is out [£] and I’ve given it a quick scan. Here are the highlights: Fragile confidence I you had to sum up the industry’s future outlook based on Broadcast Magazine’s 2023 Indie Survey in one … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Employment, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Low budget productions, Post-production, Public Service Broadcasting, Skills & capacity, UK studios | Tagged , | Leave a comment

How to make flexible working work within the film and television industry

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Paul Evans

In 2022 Timewise and BECTU Vision came together to explore how flexible working could work on scripted productions, funded by Screen Scotland. You can read the report and findings by clicking here and download the PDF here. The report highlighted that … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Long hours | Tagged , | Leave a comment

TUC report on Long CoViD

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Paul Evans

The TUC have published a report on Long CoViD – here. It covers issues like the financial impacts on workers, issues that they have with their employers, and how it is (and could be) addressed in employment situations.

Posted in Coronavirus, Employment Law and Rights, Illness and disability | Tagged | Leave a comment

March Budget 2023 with added inflation catch-up.

Posted on March 22, 2023 by Paul Evans

Firstly, everything that was said in last week’s budget needs to be placed in some context. It seems that British economic analysts seem to have completely lost the ability to forecast inflation – a problem that may make a nonsense … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Inflation, Pay & inflation, Personal Service Companies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Unexpected rise in self-assessed tax receipts

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Paul Evans

Public sector finances are looking unexpectedly rosy following better-than-expected tax receipts. As the FT reports… “Jeremy Hunt has received an unexpected £30bn windfall in the public finances ahead of his March Budget, giving the chancellor scope to provide extra support … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, IR35, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

Four day week trial

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Paul Evans

The BBC are reporting on a UK-wide six-month trial, testing the costs and benefits of a four-day week on full pay, across a wide range of different firms. The trial was conducted between June and December 2022, organised by 4 … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Freelance working, Long hours, Management, Productivity, Wellbeing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Theatre audience behaviour research

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Paul Evans

Following news coverage about poor audience behaviours, Bectu is doing some research on this issue with a survey. Bectu theatre reps are urged to download and share this leaflet to promote the survey.

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‘Don’t discuss your pay’ clauses

Posted on February 10, 2023 by Paul Evans

Have an employer told you that you can’t discuss your pay with anyone? Or that you cannot show anyone your offer of work, or contact? Many contracts in the entertainment industry contain clauses that aim to keep the information regarding … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Equality, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Gender pay, Wages and Pay-rates | Tagged | Leave a comment

The state of the UK film and TV economy

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Paul Evans

I occasionally get asked for updates on the general state of the UK film and TV sector, and I can usually reply offering a few links which general readers may find useful. My first, and most current link would be … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture policy, Economics, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Low budget features, Quotas, Regulation, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax incentives, TV Advertising, UK studios | Tagged , | Leave a comment

“Emotional Tax” of being on guard against racial bias

Posted on January 30, 2023 by Paul Evans

Bectu works in sectors of the economy that are all suffering skills shortages which are, in turn, exacerbated by retention problems. With this in mind, this research is particularly interesting. Summarising it, the LSE blog says… “Being on high alert … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Diversity of representation, Gender representation, Management, Race equality, Skills & capacity, Workplace conflict | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The “freelancers can’t be safety reps” thing that people keep saying.

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Paul Evans

For some years, I’ve been told that “freelancers can’t be safety reps”. I knew it was shorthand for a more detailed explanation, but I finally got around to finding out what it meant in practice. I asked Chris Warburton, Prospect’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Trades Unions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Theatre skills shortages at a ‘tipping point’

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Paul Evans

The Stage recently picked up on Bectu’s research around skills shortages in theatre [£], in which they quoted us saying that, unless long and unsocial working hours were addressed, the skills shortage in the industry would reach a “tipping point”. … Continue reading →

Posted in Long hours, Mental Health, Theatre and Live Events data, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What health records relating to employees can an employer hold?

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Paul Evans

In 2022 the ICO launched a consultation on the Employment Practices Code. This Code provides guidance on the use of data in various aspects of work including recruitment, employment records, monitoring, and information about workers’ health. Since then, the ICO … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Illness and disability, Management, Personal data | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Two freelance tax developments to note

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Paul Evans

There are two interesting tax developments for freelancers in the past few weeks. One – to Making Tax Digital – is very concrete and obvious, and the other – to IR35 – is a bit more subtle. Bectu members affected … Continue reading →

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Inflation update and the fall in real wages

Posted on December 14, 2022 by Paul Evans

The November inflation figures have just been published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). CPI is now running at 10.7% with RPI also down slightly at 14%. All the forecasts have been suggesting that it will level off at … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Low pay, Pay & inflation | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

HSE annual statistical report

Posted on November 28, 2022 by Paul Evans

The TUC have forwarded the annual statistical report [pdf] from the The Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The standout figures that they (the TUC) have highlighted are… The rate of work-related illness is up overall, an all-time high – 1.8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Health & Safety | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill – unions concerns

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

I’m sure that you’ve picked up some commentary about “The Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill”, which was introduced to Parliament on 22 September 2022. This is a key element of the UK Government’s post-Brexit agenda and affects a … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Equality, EU & Brexit, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Gender pay, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Illness and disability, Long hours, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

HSE guidance on work-related violence

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) defines work-related violence as: Any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work This can include verbal abuse or threats as well as physical attacks. These … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Health & Safety, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing, Workplace conflict | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The use of weaponry on film sets

Posted on November 3, 2022 by Paul Evans

Bectu has been providing assistance to the HSE in the review of Etis 20 – the most recent version of this guidance was produced in 2017 and can be seen here [pdf]. There’s nothing to report on the developments yet, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film & TV industry policy, Health & Safety, Regulation, Safe working practices, Safe working standards | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Getting your own film exhibited

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Paul Evans

This is a useful bookmark for anyone who has made a film and wants it distributed. The Independent Cinema Office is a charity designed for people who are looking to establish small cinemas, or exhibit low-budget self-produced films,

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Government response to Employment Status Review

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Paul Evans

The government has now responded to the results of their 2018 consultation on Employment Statuses. (The full response can be seen in this document – pdf). The Tl;dr version of it is (paraphrasing very liberally) “people who don’t like the … Continue reading →

Posted in CJRS & SEISS, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Tax | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Freelancers and their parental rights

Posted on October 27, 2022 by Paul Evans

I’ve had a request to write a briefing on UK parental rights for freelancers on my to-do list for a while, so I was very pleased to discover the website of Maternity Action which seems to answer most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Family rights, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

IR35 is back (it never went away). What reforms are needed?

Posted on October 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

I had planned to post this a few weeks ago, but then Kwasi Kwarteng’s Growth Plan scuppered all of that with its oddly-framed decision to “scrap IR35”. However, we can carry on as usual now that Jeremy Hunt has reversed … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment intermediaries, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, ESM4118, Gig economy workers, IR35, Loan arrangements, Productivity, Tax | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘The Growth Plan’ seems to be on it’s knees. What does this mean for Bectu freelance members?

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Paul Evans

Update: I’m not deleting this post because I think deleting posts is usually a mistake. But I will say that most of what it contained on the 14th October 2022 was irrelevant three days later as the BBC’s Faisal Islam … Continue reading →

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