Category Archives: Management

Bectu Mental Health and Welbeing Policy published

Posted on February 24, 2022 by Paul Evans

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

Adrian Chiles on the value of good sound recordists

Posted on February 17, 2022 by Paul Evans

From here: “….the sound is monitored and adjusted remotely on a heavy, pricey mixer slung around someone’s neck. This is how it’s been done for decades. The unusual thing here was that we actually had a specialist sound recordist on … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment and kit, Management | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Looking Glass ’21 report

Posted on February 16, 2022 by Paul Evans

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?

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

“… 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

Bectu engagement with external Health & Safety structures

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Paul Evans

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

Comprehensive European figures on women’s representation in TV drama

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Paul Evans

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

Eva Wiseman in The Observer

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Paul Evans

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

Long hours working in film and TV – landmark article

Posted on September 17, 2021 by Paul Evans

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

Posted on September 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

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

Continuous working week, shift work, working from home… some links.

Posted on September 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

From the FT [£]: “The decline of the “9 to 5” has been under way for decades. In 2010-11, 20 per cent of employees in the US worked more than half their hours outside the standard hours of 6am to … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment, Family rights, Management, Productivity | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

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

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Paul Evans

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

Freelancers – ‘the canary in the coalmine’

Posted on September 9, 2021 by Paul Evans

From earlier this year, a useful roundup from The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (NESTA) of the policy issues governments need to bear in mind when thinking about creative freelancers. Their understanding of Creative Freelancers is as follows: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Management, Productivity | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Post-lockdown mental health concerns among theatre workers

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Paul Evans

From The Stage [£]: “Half of backstage workers are considering leaving their career and more than two thirds do not think that employers have put adequate mental health support in place for their post-Covid return to work, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Disability equality, Freelance working, Gig economy workers, Health & Safety, Illness and disability, Management, Mental Health, Theatre and Live Events data, Wellbeing, Workplace conflict | Tagged | Leave a comment

Post-pandemic working foregrounds poor management and outdated hierarchies

Posted on August 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

A couple of  pieces from the FT recently highlighting the spotlight that has fallen on the quality of management in the UK. The first one [£] takes ministers to task for their (possibly unfounded, or even downright wrong) complaints about … Continue reading →

Posted in Diversity of representation, Employment, Equality, Gender pay, Gender representation, Management, Productivity, Race equality | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Freelance Deal: 1. Employment Rights, Tax and Pensions

Posted on August 24, 2021 by Paul Evans

This is the first draft of the policy document that has been agreed by the Tax, Employment Rights and Pensions Working Group of London Production Division (LPD) on the 7th May 2020. It is a contribution to Bectu’s proposed ‘New … Continue reading →

Posted in Employment Contracts, Employment Law and Rights, Employment status, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Gig economy workers, IR35, Long hours, Management, Pensions, Personal Service Companies, Skills & capacity, Tax, Welfare and benefits, Wellbeing, Work-life balance | Tagged | Leave a comment

Iceland – shorter working week does not damage productivity

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Paul Evans

Forbes is reporting on a recent study (June 2021) of 2,500 workers in Iceland—more than 1% of the workforce—was conducted to see if shortened workdays lead to more productivity and a happier workforce. Autonomy’s summary of the results are that…. … Continue reading →

Posted in Long hours, Management, Remote working, Wellbeing, Work-life balance, Workplaces | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Call to arms: unions everywhere must resist this pt2

Posted on August 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

Very late on Friday post: Following on from the lanyards things a few weeks ago… I’m going to guess we’re all against this kind of facial recognition thing? Research has shown that meetings correlate with a decline in workplace happiness, … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Productivity | Tagged | Leave a comment

Remuneration committees establishing company cultures

Posted on August 5, 2021 by Paul Evans

The CIPD has published a report in association with The High Pay Centre, who are… “…an independent, non-partisan think tank focused on the causes and consequences of economic inequality, with a particular interest in top pay. We run a programme … Continue reading →

Posted in Freelance working, Management, Ownership & Control | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Handling difficult and divisive issues

Posted on July 27, 2021 by Paul Evans

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 , , | Leave a comment

Workers reject the idea of a four-day week on lower pay

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Paul Evans

A new report from The Social Market Foundation (SMF) entitled A question of time [PDF] explores the question of the four day week. The key findings (from the exec summary) are that… Most workers – 80% – would not favour … Continue reading →

Posted in Bectu Agreements, Freelance working, Freelancer rights, Long hours, Major Motion Picture Agreement, Management, Pay & inflation, Productivity, TV Drama Agreement, Wages and Pay-rates, Workplace conflict | Tagged , | Leave a comment

File of Four (BBC Radio 4) bullying survey details.

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Paul Evans

BBC bullying survey (as featured in the recent File on Four programme). This is a survey that was promoted by Bectu in June 2021. Details of the results are below (raw data is the property of the BBC and can … Continue reading →

Posted in BBC, Bullying and Harassment, Equality, Film & TV industry policy, Management, Mental Health, Safe working practices, Sexual harassment, Wellbeing, Whistleblowing, Workplace conflict | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What the Wilson era can teach us.

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Paul Evans

Welcome to an era when a stronger welfare state was seen as a pre-condition for economic dynamism. When a robust social infrastructure helped workers take risk. New piece by me on why Harold Wilson’s forgotten agenda is relevant to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Employment, Labour Party, Low pay, Management, Politics, Productivity, Welfare and benefits | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Working from home (WFH) and productivity

Posted on July 2, 2021 by Paul Evans

A useful summary, here. This largely looks at the question from the point of view of the economy as a whole. “The individual firms’ decision to shift their workers to WFH could result in aggregate productivity gains only if workers … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus, Management, Productivity, Remote working, Workplaces | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Rising demand for mental health support

Posted on June 6, 2021 by Paul Evans

According to a poll from Employee Benefits, demand for mental health support from employees has risen significantly during the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, according to the latest Employee Benefits poll. The research found that 80% of organisations had seen an increase … Continue reading →

Posted in Bullying and Harassment, Management, Mental Health | Tagged | Leave a comment

Procedural Utility

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Paul Evans

People don’t only take value from the wages, and the other standard rewards offered by employers. They also take value from the sense of control and having access to a process that allows them to affect an outcome. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Ownership & Control | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Remote working and productivity

Posted on May 14, 2021 by Paul Evans

Interesting post on Working From Home and productivity.

Posted in Coronavirus, Coronavirus, Management, Remote working, Workplaces | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Flat, non-coercive, non-heirarchical management

Posted on May 13, 2021 by Paul Evans

I asked a few friends if they could help me curate a good reading list for members who are considering establishing a co-operative employment business. I was looking for advice on creating flat, consensual, non-heirarchical, non-coercive management structures. Here are … Continue reading →

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Managers and risk-taking.

Posted on May 4, 2021 by Paul Evans

“Individuals with risk-taking-related genes are more likely to become managers.” Genetic correlations between people who are managers and certain behaviours.

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