Category Archives: Wellbeing

Why people risk insecure work

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

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

Bectu Assistant Editors Toolkit published

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

Four day week trial

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

HSE guidance on work-related violence

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

Freelancers and their parental rights

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

Health and Safety research resources.

We are looking at doing some comparisons between different industries on the physical stress that applies to particular types of work (and ultimately, perhaps, with the industries covered by Bectu in comparison with other countries). One resource Karl Raw from … Continue reading

Posted in Health & Safety, Long hours, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bectu mental health hub

This webpage on the Bectu site includes links to our campaign to give workers the right to switch off from work along with guidance on managing mental health and stress at work, along with some of the union’s work on … Continue reading

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Health & Safety, Illness and disability, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bectu ‘Live to Work’ campaign launched

Bectu has launched the Live to Work campaign aimed at improving terms and conditions in the UK TV drama industry. You can visit the campaign page here and join the network (open to members and non-members), download images to use … Continue reading

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Film & TV industry policy, Freelance working, High End TV data, Long hours, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, TV Drama Agreement, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Fatigue in the TV and film industy

There’s a useful summary of this issue on the IOSH magazine website here. It’s got a lot of the kind of thing you’d expect (including a quote from our own Spencer MacDonald). And this: “Research says that when an employee … Continue reading

Posted in Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, High End TV data, Long hours, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing, Work-life balance, Workplaces | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Bectu Mental Health and Welbeing Policy published

This was an idea that came from Bectu members during the pandemic. We did a load of online sessions discussing different aspects of the question “what is wrong with ‘the freelance deal’?” and there was a repeated refrain saying “our … Continue reading

Posted in Feature film data, Film & TV industry data, Film & TV industry policy, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Health & Safety, High End TV data, Long hours, Management, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Looking Glass ’21 report

The Film and TV Charity have published their Looking Glass ’21 report. This is a follow-up from their research in 2019 into working conditions in the film and TV industry, and how these impact workers based on responses from more … Continue reading

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

What do employers need to do to retain talent?

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

HSE ‘Working Minds’ campaign launch

The UK Health and Safety Executive has launched a campaign website called ‘Working Minds‘ designed to provoke “….a culture change across Britain’s workplaces where recognising and responding to the signs of stress becomes as routine as managing workplace safety.” “Work-related … Continue reading

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

BEIS consultation on flexible working

The BEIS is currently consulting on flexible working – “Making Flexible Working the Default” – here [pdf]. “This consultation includes a set of proposals which are built around the principle that working arrangements are best decided through a constructive, open-minded … Continue reading

Posted in Employment Contracts, Gender equality, Gender representation, Health & Safety, Long hours, Productivity, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Natasha’s Law – UK Food Labelling Resource

You will probably have noticed the fact that there has been a change in legislation relating to the responsibilities caterers face on food labelling, specifically relating to allergies. The new food labelling legislation in the UK such as the UK … Continue reading

Posted in Illness and disability, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Rust – Armoury in the spotlight

I’ve avoided posting things that speculate about the incident that led to the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of “Rust” because waiting for the outcome of official inquiries is usually the right thing to do in circumstances … Continue reading

Posted in Long hours, Safe working practices, Wellbeing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Updated version of theatre ’10 Principles’ supported by Bectu

Today, with Bectu’s support, SOLT and UK Theatre have released an updated version of their 10 Principles for creating safe and inclusive working spaces in the theatre industry, to help tackle bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Bectu have joined a number … Continue reading

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Bullying and Harassment, Equality, Health & Safety, Mental Health, Safe working standards, Sexual harassment, Theatre and Live Events data, Wellbeing, Work-life balance, Workplace conflict | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Surprising-yet-unsurprising news about people thinking of leaving their jobs

The most surprising-yet-unsurprising nugget here is that “…the majority of those considering quitting had been offered no incentives to stay by their employers.” 📰📰NEW STUDY: How to Solve the Labour Market Crisis by Raising Standards Labour shortages are a principal … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Employment, Inflation, Long hours, Low pay, Mental Health, Pay & inflation, The working environment, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bectu engagement with external Health & Safety structures

Our Health and Safety Committee has been inactive since the start of the pandemic (though this will change shortly) and Prospect have their NEC Health and Safety committee that continues under the stout stewardship of Chris Warburton. In the meantime, … Continue reading

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Coronavirus, EU & Brexit, Film & TV industry data, Health & Safety, Long hours, Management, Mental Health, Occupational Health, Remote working, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, The working environment, Theatre and Live Events data, Trades Unions, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

General sense of wellbeing fell during the pandemic

The latest in a type of report that is best filed under “probably interesting in the long run, but hopelessly distorted by the pandemic” is the latest report from the ONS on levels of wellbeing and happiness in the UK … Continue reading

Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Wellbeing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Comprehensive European figures on women’s representation in TV drama

Women still under-represented in the #TVfiction industry in Europe🚺Find out more in our report ➡ https://t.co/hjdMgTDNP4 #womeninfilm #diversitymatters #womendirectors #genderequity pic.twitter.com/hqMu7fHIw6 — Europ AV Observatory (@EuAvObservatory) October 20, 2021 The key insights contained in the report are that, beyond obvious … Continue reading

Posted in Diversity of representation, Equality, Film & TV industry data, Gender equality, Gender representation, High End TV data, Management, Skills & capacity, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

BBC Studios Appoints Tom Fussell as CEO

As reported in Variety. “Fussell will oversee BBC Studio’s “ambitious” plans for global expansion, its focus on employee engagement and wellbeing as well as diversity, inclusion and sustainability.”

Posted in BBC, Diversity of representation, Environment & Sustainability, Wellbeing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Shift-working and disrupted patterns of rest – a research round-up

Thanks to Siobhan Wray, an Associate Professor in Organisational Behaviour at Lincoln University for a useful roundup of research resources on this, including…. A systematic review of shift work and nurses’ health: This – ‘Working Time Society consensus statements: Evidence-based … Continue reading

Posted in Film & TV industry policy, Long hours, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Eva Wiseman in The Observer

I thought I’d posted this earlier in the week but it seems I missed it. There’s a very good round-up of the many issues facing people working in film and TV from Eva Wiseman in The Observer. It draws heavily upon … Continue reading

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Bullying and Harassment, Equality, Freelance working, Health & Safety, Long hours, Major Motion Picture Agreement, Management, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Trades Unions, TV Drama Agreement, Wellbeing, Work-life balance, Workplace conflict | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Highway Code updated – new penalties for being too tired to drive

Every UK driver could face ‘unlimited fines’ under new sleeping law. (Manchester Evening News) This should be of interest to all Bectu members working in production, as well as being useful evidence in support of the campaign we are running … Continue reading

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Long hours, Major Motion Picture Agreement, Safe working practices, Trades Unions, TV Drama Agreement, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

IATSE go back into talks with AMPTP following overwhelming strike mandate

Following the overwhelming support given to a strike ballot, and a slew of pressure from Californian and New York politicos, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) are now headed back into talks with The Alliance of Motion Picture … Continue reading

Posted in Film & TV industry policy, Health & Safety, Long hours, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Safe working standards, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bectu’s new virtual ‘bullying and harassment hub’ launched.

📣 Bectu's new virtual bullying and harassment hub launched 📣 It has new resources and the latest guidance and news on bullying and harssment at work. Explore it now 📲 💻 ⤵️ https://t.co/DQcK69SC3w — Bectu (@bectu) October 5, 2021

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Long hours, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Workplace conflict | Leave a comment

Positive working environment “will lead to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line.”

Those bug-eyed Marxist fanatics over at the Harvard Business Review are making the case against aggressive management practices again: “…a large and growing body of research on positive organizational psychology demonstrates that not only is a cut-throat environment harmful to … Continue reading

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Employment, Employment Law and Rights, Long hours, Mental Health, Productivity, Wellbeing, Workplace conflict, Workplaces | Leave a comment

Women more likely to leave the Theatre sector post-pandemic

A survey [pdf], earlier this year, by Parents and Carers in the Performing Arts (PIPA) highlights a survey it did of members, which showed that 43% of parents or carers were considering abandoning their career because of the pandemic. The … Continue reading

Posted in Coronavirus, Disability equality, Equality, Family rights, Gender equality, Theatre and Live Events data, Wellbeing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Long hours working in film and TV – landmark article

I’ve just stumbled on a 2012 article by Gavin Polone that I read while writing the Eyes Half Shut report – one that (for reasons that escape me – probably an oversight) I didn’t reference at the time. The Unglamorous, … Continue reading

Posted in Health & Safety, Long hours, Management, Wellbeing, Work-life balance, Workplace conflict | Tagged , | Leave a comment

£1.2m annual Netflix training ‘war chest’ and other scripted TV training developments

As referenced in the Guardian article a few days ago, here’s more detail on this Netflix training budget, from Broadcast [£]. Quoting ex-Production Guild chief Alison Small (now working directly for ‘Grow Creative UK’ / Netflix) on training: “If we … Continue reading

Posted in Film & TV industry data, High End TV data, Management, Skills & capacity, SVoD, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Locked Down and Locked Out – impact of Covid pandemic on mothers working in UK TV sector

49% of respondents said they had been unable to accept work due to childcare related issues. Read the #LockedDownAndLockedOut report now on the impact of the pandemic on mothers in UK TV: https://t.co/37JAX9Djjz pic.twitter.com/JYKKUwZdK4 — Bectu (@bectu) September 9, 2021 … Continue reading

Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Equality, Film & TV industry policy, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gender equality, Health & Safety, Long hours, Management, Mental Health, Remote working, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Benefits of collective bargaining – more paid holiday

From an ETUC (European TUC) press release: “Workers who benefit from collective bargaining enjoy up to two weeks extra paid holiday per year, an analysis of EU data for the ETUC has found as millions prepare to return to work … Continue reading

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Long hours, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Scotland to trial four-day week

….but without a loss of pay. More on the BBC website.

Posted in Employment Law and Rights, Long hours, Mental Health, Productivity, Wellbeing | Tagged , | Leave a comment