Our mission
Define and uphold safe and fair working conditions for freelancers to enable them to build sustainable, long-term careers. The aim is to set clear and consistent standards that protect freelancers’ wellbeing, respect their rights, and support a healthier and more resilient TV industry.
“Being part of the working conditions group has been really encouraging. It’s great to see freelancers voices shaping real change, from fairer hours to safer, more respectful working environments. I’m proud to contribute and see the industry taking steps towards more consistent, sustainable working conditions.”
Our approach to date
We have identified five core areas that are a priority for us to work on:
We have identified five core areas that will help us set clear and consistent standards that protect freelancers wellbeing, respect their rights, and support a healthier and more resilient TV industry.
- Working hours and overtime
- Work-life boundaries and availability
- Industry culture and bullying
- Enforcement of basic rights
- Standardisation and accountability
This has led to the following work being done currently:
- Digital contact / work-life balance guidelines (to be published Q1), which can be the basis for production companies and indies to set boundaries for out-of-hours contact for production teams.
- Commissioner-indie-freelancer impacts to look at the relationship between commissioning execs and indies and the impacts felt by freelancers from decisions made at broadcaster level.
- Round table meetings with independent production companies to ensure we are engaging with the people and the companies responsible for hiring freelancers to ensure best practice across the whole AfF project.
The above is just a starting point, and we have more to report as the year progresses.
Ongoing work and next steps
1. Developing digital contact / work-life balance guidelines (to be published Q1)
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- These recommendations will help production companies set boundaries for out-of-hours contact for production teams.
2. Studying commissioner-indie-freelancer impacts
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- Clarifying how decisions made at commissioning level filter down to impact freelancers
3. Round table meetings with independent production companies
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- Engaging meaningfully with the people and companies who hire freelancers to ensure best practice across the whole AfF project.
By the end of the year we hope to have not only delivered guidelines and resources, but also got buy-in from across the industry to noticeably change working conditions on productions.