The Independent Theatre Council (ITC) and creative union BECTU have reached an agreement establishing minimum payment terms for freelance producers operating in the independent theatre market. It is hoped that the agreement will go on to establish a new standard contract for self-employed producers throughout the theatre industry.
The agreement sets a minimum daily rate of pay (£150), as well as recommending a higher £250-a-day base rate that it states companies should offer if engaging publicly funded works.
Charlotte Jones, CEO of the ITC, said that discussions over the deal had started prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones added that the huge impact of the pandemic on the freelance sector had made the agreement even more important.
Jones said: “We were coming across quite a few situations where producers were needing support. We found quite a few independent producers are members of ITC, and while we can give plenty of advice when they are having problems managing a company or a show they are doing, when it comes to their own terms and conditions and their treatment by a company they are on their own. So, we wanted to make sure they are covered in both areas of their role really.”
Jones said that the higher base rate was “an attempt to nudge up conditions in publicly funded work” and added that the agreement would also set out job expectations for freelance producers. According to Jones, unclear job expectations can be a cause of working relationships breaking down.
Kevin Carson, Negotiations Officer at BECTU, said the agreement was an “important first step to provide a framework for engaging and protecting independent freelance producers”. He added: “Now we need companies and producers to use it and feed back to ITC and BECTU on how well it serves that purpose and where it can be improved.”
“Freelance producers work in vastly different ways depending on what functions companies need them for, so we hope the flexibility of this agreement allows for that. This agreement also helps our producer members to know what is expected of them from the start and how to manage change when projects need to adapt.”
