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The Ostrich Group
Sunday 5 August 2012
Tuesday 19 June 2012
What is The Ostrich Group?
The Ostrich Group is an coalition that has come together to improve the conditions of arts workers in the UK. More specifically, The Ostrich Group has been formed to look at how to make paying artists within the publicly funded arts sector standard practice. We want to host an open and frank debate around this issue with the intention of shaping guidelines that all parties within the arts can agree upon so that they may then be implemented. We want to do this because there appears to be a consensus between Arts Council England and arts worker's Unions, like Equity, that artists should be paid and yet this is not happening as a matter of form. We want to understand why this is the case and what is holding things back. We also want to see if the existing policy is sufficient and whether there are gray areas in its implementation that require clarifying. If that is the case we want to arrive at workable solutions so that paying arts workers in publicly funded projects is considered a matter of course rather than it being relegated to being merely 'good practice' which is a way to say, it is a luxury that can increasingly be done without during times of shrinking budgets.
A good place to start then is with the 2011 policy document itself, available on the Arts Council's website:
www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/doc/how_to_pay_artists.doc
Information
Arts Council England is committed to ensuring proper
and fair payment to artists and those who work in the creative industries is in
recognition of their professional status, skills and experience. We require
that artists’ fees for projects funded by us should be in line with recognised
codes of practice set by the relevant lead bodies (some contact numbers are
given at the end of this sheet).
1 Grants
for the arts
Nationally recognised minimum rates are set by the
entertainment unions and the appropriate employers’ bodies. Entertainment union
members can access information about rates from their union. Where entertainment union rates exist,
we expect at least the minimum rate to be applied. There are at present no
national professional organisations for some sectors (including visual
artists).
3 Useful
Contacts
Contacts
A good place to start then is with the 2011 policy document itself, available on the Arts Council's website:
www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/doc/how_to_pay_artists.doc
I for one would like to know why adherence to these guidelines is not a necessary condition for ACE support. The term "should ensure" is not the same as "must ensure". Does anyone know why it was never made binding? During I'd also be interested in hearing about how things are outside of the Grants for the Arts scheme.
Information
Grants for the arts – how to pay artists
Arts Council England is committed to ensuring proper
and fair payment to artists and those who work in the creative industries is in
recognition of their professional status, skills and experience. We require
that artists’ fees for projects funded by us should be in line with recognised
codes of practice set by the relevant lead bodies (some contact numbers are
given at the end of this sheet).
Whilst we recognise that there is a great value in people having
access to work experience where it is offered and arranged properly and is a
mutually beneficial arrangement, but this should not be used as a means of
attempting to circumvent the Minimum Wage Regulations. We require organisations receiving
funding from Arts Council England to ensure that salaries, fees and subsistence
arrangements are as good as or better than those agreed by any relevant trade
unions and employers’ associations
Contents
1 Grants
for the arts
Applicants to Grants for the arts should make sure they can
provide proper and fair payments to artists they will be working with when
considering their budget. Applications for grants for touring should ensure
that, in addition to adequate fees, subsistence payments are in line with the
relevant trade union agreements.
We will not support applications from organisations that use artists’
time donated as in-kind support.
2 Daily rates
Nationally recognised minimum rates are set by the
entertainment unions and the appropriate employers’ bodies. Entertainment union
members can access information about rates from their union. Where entertainment union rates exist,
we expect at least the minimum rate to be applied. There are at present no
national professional organisations for some sectors (including visual
artists).
Following a ruling by the Office of Fair Trading on
competition law, we are not able to offer guidelines on rates of pay for
artists. We are exploring how we can offer some guidance on actual rates
without breaking the law and will update this information as soon as we can.
The National Minimum Wage Act (1998) and the National
Minimum Wage Regulations (1999) (as amended by the National Minimum Wage Regulations 1999 (Amendment)
Regulations 2001) place obligations on employers to pay their workers at least
the national minimum wage.
For more details:
visit the HM Revenue and Customs site at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/paye/payroll/day-to-day/nmw.htm
or the Department for Business Innovation and Skills
website at http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/employment-matters
DBIS also runs a Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917
2368
3 Useful
Contacts
a-n The
Artists Information Company – for visual artists
First Floor
7–15 Pink
Lane
Newcastle
upon Tyne NE1 5DW
Phone: 0191
241 8000
Fax: 0191
241 8001
Email: info@a-n.co.uk
Website: www.a-n.co.uk
BECTU – for
technical staff
373–377 Clapham Road
London SW9 9BT
Phone: 020 7346 0900
Fax: 020 7346 0901
Fax: 020 7346 0901
Email: info@bectu.org.uk
Website: www.bectu.org.uk
Equity – for actors,
singers and dancers
Guild House
Upper St Martins Lane
London WC2H 9EG
Phone: 020 7379 6000
Fax: 020 7379 7001
Email: info@equity.org.uk
Website: www.equity.org.uk
Independent Theatre Council – for theatre practitioners
12 The Leathermarket
Weston Street
London SE1 3ER
Weston Street
London SE1 3ER
Phone: 020 7403 1727
Fax: 020 7403 1745
Fax: 020 7403 1745
Email: admin@itc-arts.org
Website: www.itc-arts.org
Musicians’ Union –
for musicians
Has regional offices in
See website www.musiciansunion.org.uk
for contact details
For general industry enquiries
Phone: 020 7582 5566
Email: info@musiciansunion.org.uk
Writers’ Guild – for writers
40 Rosebery Avenue
London EC1R 4RX
Phone: 020 7833 0777
Email: erik@writersguild.org.uk
Website: www.writersguild.org.uk
Contacts
Arts Council England
Grants for the arts
The Hive, 49 Lever Street
Manchester M1 1FN
Phone: 0845 300 6200
Textphone: 020 7973 6564
Email: enquiries@artscouncil.org.uk
© Arts Council England June 2011
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