Category Archives: Economics

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

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).

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

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

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

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

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 →

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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 →

Posted in Economics, IR35, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Tax | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Living Wage Foundation brings its annual announcement forward

Posted on October 12, 2022 by Paul Evans

As reported here in the summer, The Living Wage Foundation has brought forward their announcement of the annual Living Wage/London Living Wage increase. The new figures are £10.90 (90p increase)/£11.95 (£1 increase) respectively – the largest ever annual increase (last … Continue reading →

Posted in Inflation, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Earnings growth – private sector workers outpace the public sector

Posted on October 11, 2022 by Paul Evans

Incomes Data Services (IDS) are reporting…. “Average earnings growth was 6.8% in the private sector in the year to August, contrasting with a growth rate of 2.2% in the public sector (excluding financial services)…” One would think this is encouraging … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Inflation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Inflation update – August 2022 figures

Posted on September 15, 2022 by Paul Evans

A pleasant surprise came with the August 2022 inflation figures. CPI was down the 9.9% with the annual RPI inflation rate staying level at 12.3%. CPIH is also slightly down at 8.6%. Most forecasters were expecting further increases. Last month, … Continue reading →

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July inflation figures. There’s no good news here…

Posted on August 17, 2022 by Paul Evans

By now you will probably have seen this morning’s announcements about July’s inflation rates. CPI has reached 10.1% (RPI = 12.3% and CPIH = 8.8%). The Bank of England is predicting that it could go as high as 13% thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing costs, Inflation, Low pay, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Inflation update

Posted on July 21, 2022 by Paul Evans

None of this should be much of a surprise now. June’s figures are out and the figures are 11.8% (RPI), 9.4% (CPI), and 8.2% (CPIH). Remember, all wages that don’t keep pace with inflation result in short-term falls in standards … Continue reading →

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TUC update on insecure work

Posted on July 11, 2022 by Paul Evans

The TUC have published a report on the economy’s increased reliance upon insecure work (there are 500,000+ more insecure workers now than there were in 2016), calling for “Government inaction has left 3.7 million people in insecure work. Despite the … Continue reading →

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UK economic outlook – forecasts downgraded – what this means for freelancers

Posted on June 9, 2022 by Paul Evans

Unless someone tells me otherwise, it seems that the biggest issue for many freelancers arising from the cost-of-living crisis is the question of rising fuel costs – and this is likely to hit workers in film and TV particularly hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Film & TV industry data, Freelance working, Inflation, Pay & inflation, Tax, Wages and Pay-rates | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Living Wage Foundation response to the cost of living crisis

Posted on June 6, 2022 by Paul Evans

As the cost of living soars at rates not seen for more than thirty years, the Living Wage Foundation has announced plans to bring its annual announcement forward from November to late September. The previous figure was announced in mid-November … Continue reading →

Posted in Inflation, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

April inflation figures – again, worse than expected

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Paul Evans

Even by the standards of the past 18 months where all forecasts have been shown to be over-optimistic, the leap in CPI inflation between March and April from 7% up to 9% is a startling one. Here’s the ONS summary … Continue reading →

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Professionally Made, Professionally Paid – Equity campaign

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Paul Evans

Just a quick bookmark for an excellent bit of campaigns literature from Bectu’s sister union Equity – Professionally Made, Professionally Paid – an important part of the steps unions are taking to promote a professional attitude to the arts against … Continue reading →

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How inflation is affecting individual households

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

Further to the previous post on the cost of living, Bectu reps may wish to circulate this Office for National Statistics (ONS) page on how to calculate your personal cost-of-living changes.

Posted in Economics, Housing costs, Inflation, Low pay, Minimum wage rates, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Getting the current cost-of-living crisis in perspective

Posted on March 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

How can we understand the current cost of living crisis in perspective when talking to Bectu members about their wages? One way would be to look at it over a few years. In the past few days, coincidentally, I’ve had … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Freelance working, Inflation, Low pay, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates, Wealth inequality, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Sunak’s spring statement 2022 – initial details

Posted on March 23, 2022 by Paul Evans

Firstly, with inflation up again at 6.2% from 5.5%, the growth forecasts are fairly conservative at the moment and “we don’t really know how the situation in Ukraine will affect all of this” runs like a subtext to all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Freelance working, Inflation, Low pay, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Productivity, Tax | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Inflation – latest

Posted on March 10, 2022 by Paul Evans

Not a detailed post but a useful snapshot. The latest KPMG forecast for UK inflation has it peaking at more than 10% later this year (due to energy price spikes)… pic.twitter.com/7RvQ49MVi3 — Ben Chu (@BenChu_) March 9, 2022  

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January’s inflation figures

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Paul Evans

Today’s UK inflation figures show cost-of-living increases that reach the highest rate for over 30 years. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that the consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation increased to 5.5% in January from 5.4% a … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Inflation, Pay & inflation, Wages and Pay-rates | Tagged | Leave a comment

Inflation update (spoiler alert: it’s not good news)

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Paul Evans

Towards the end of last year, economic forecasters could safely have been described as ‘alarmed’ by inflation figures. I don’t post on this every month (the last real mention was here) and I was briefing members towards the end of … Continue reading →

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BFI Screen Business report details the scale of the UK production boom

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

Anyone who has any doubts about the size and scale of the UK production boom can have a look at the latest BFI Screen Business report (if the annual Pact Census most recently published in September wasn’t convincing enough!). The … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Economics, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, High End TV data, Public Service Broadcasting, Quotas, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Tax incentives, UK studios | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

What do employers need to do to retain talent?

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Paul Evans

It’s something of a recurring theme from the Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), but all of the research (including their own work with Autonomy and Survation – [pdf]) point to a need to pay people better, treat them with … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Employment Law and Rights, Long hours, Low pay, Management, Mental Health, Productivity, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Working terms in Swedish productions

Posted on November 29, 2021 by Paul Evans

It’s always worth looking at how other countries do work hours in the film and TV industry, and it is a commonplace view that the Swedish drama sector manages a high quality of production on working hours that also give … Continue reading →

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Employment Law and Rights, EU & Brexit, Factual & Entertainment sector data, Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Health & Safety, High End TV data, Long hours, Major Motion Picture Agreement, Productivity, SVoD, Tax incentives, Trades Unions, TV Drama Agreement, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Relph Report (2002) on low budget films

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Paul Evans

In 2022, our Copyright Committee will be looking at issues relating to ‘residuals’ – giving workers ‘points’ in films that they work on. Just going through the archives, I’ve found The Relph Report from 2002 [pdf] that talked about how … Continue reading →

Posted in Copyright & Intellectual Property, Economics, Low budget features, Low pay | Leave a comment

“… the self-employed remain something of an inconvenient afterthought”

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a useful post here from Paul Johnson of the Institute of Fiscal Studies highlighting a number of factors that leads to the conclusion that our ecoomy and employment / tax / benefits framework has been designed around an economy … Continue reading →

Posted in CJRS & SEISS, Coronavirus, Economics, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, Management, Personal Service Companies, Productivity, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Why ‘the freelance deal’ is a big deal – and not just for the workers concerned.

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Paul Evans

There’s a long read on this site about the ‘contingent production army’ that manages large parts of the entertainment industry. Thinking about this issue, and processing it has allowed me to get a clearer idea of what our grievances are … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Disability equality, Employment, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Equality, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, IR35, Long hours, Management, Mental Health, National Insurance Contributions (NICs), Occupational Health, Personal Service Companies, Productivity, Race equality, Tax, Theatre and Live Events data | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment