Even where no agreement covers the sector or type of production you are working on, you will need to agree some terms. Whether terms are presented by the engager or yourself, there maybe some negotiation before you reach agreement. In any event, you should get it in writing. As the saying goes, “A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”. Bectu has produced a sample deal memo and guide to it’s use.
If you want to check whether a production company is a PACT member and should therefore abide by the agreements currently in place, you can see this here: Directory of PACT Members
Feature Films
The PACT/BECTU Agreement for Major Motion Pictures with budgets of £30m+ came into effect on 2nd April 2018.
We are currently seeking input for future negotiations on this agreement. If you work in this area, please fill in the survey here: MMPA Survey
The text of the agreement & some guidance notes can be found here:
- Click here for PACT-Bectu agreed terms applicable to major motion pictures
- A comparison of changes due on 5th April 2021.
- Major Motion Picture Agreement – Camera Branch Notes
- Important: Open letter from BECTU’s Spencer MacDonald about the MMPA
- ‘Fraturday’ Working
TV Drama
UPDATE December 2022: New TV drama agreement
Click here for TV drama agreement.
On 12 December Bectu shared the results of the ballot on Pact’s new TV drama agreement proposal. 59.7% voted Accept. 40.3% voted Reject. Therefore the new agreement will be in place from 1 January 2023.
Bectu recognises the ballot result reflects some strong opinions from across the membership and it is imperative that as the new agreement comes into force in 2023 members feel confident that they can raise concerns. If you are being engaged on the new terms and have any questions about how it is being applied, please email tvdrama@bectu.org.uk.
The union’s focus has been and remains firmly on improving work life balance and changing the long hours culture. We hope the new agreement will provide a basis from which to move forward and we welcome the commitment from Pact to participate in an industry stakeholder working group to address these important issues.
To help you understand changes to the TV Agreement, Bectu Officials, Spencer Macdonald and Paula Lamont will be hosting two live webinars. During the sessions they will run through changes to the agreement and how they might impact your terms of engagement. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.
Do your bit to support the union – tell us about upcoming productions
Up to date information on upcoming productions is essential for effective union organising and monitoring the new agreement. We would like to know what productions are shooting in 2023 where they’re shooting, and when. It should only take a few minutes to fill out the survey.
Please complete the upcoming productions survey here.
Time sheet and invoicing platform survey
We have been consulting with Entertainment Partners on how they can improve the process of filling out timesheets and submitting invoices, now they would like to hear from you. By giving feedback you can help streamline the payroll platform and make invoicing easier for everyone.
You can fill out the timesheet survey here.
How to ask a question or raise an issue with the new TV agreement
The 2023 agreement has a number of changes which may affect your work pattern and terms. If you are concerned about your deal memo or how the agreement is being implemented we would like to hear from you.
Please use this link to submit your contact details and a brief outline of your query and an official will get back to you.
By using the form, you will help us to identify repeat or collective issues that we can then seek to resolve with Pact.
If you have any further questions, please email tvdrama@bectu.org.uk.
UPDATE 21 August 2022:
19 August 2022:
A bit of history… The PACT/BECTU TV Drama Agreement came into effect on 1st December 2017. It was agreed by both sides that the agreement would be regularly reviewed. BECTU had lots of feedback about the agreement from its members and wanted to update the agreement. Concerns included long working hours, unpaid prep and wrap time, loopholes in the agreement and unreasonable unpaid travel time and expenses. Unfortunately PACT did not engage fully during negotiations or seem to understand crew members’ concerns. BECTU therefore held a vote on whether to withdraw from the 2017 TV drama agreement. The vote was unanimous and 6 months notice was given.
On 11 July Pact sent a revised proposal (a list of bullet points) with a request for BECTU to ballot. Before reps had an opportunity to consider and share the offer with members Pact released the details to industry media that same afternoon.
On 14 July the BECTU negotiating committee met and after lengthy consideration decided Pact’s offer did not adequately address crew members’ welfare or concerns.
Broadly BECTU’s concerns were:
- Many of the improvements only apply to shooting hours/days, devaluing work done outside filming hours.
- The proposal has loopholes allowing productions to schedule around penalties.
- The offer does not adequately address the current long hours and wellbeing crisis members are facing.
- Prep and wrap has been widely exploited, particularly in TV Drama, and the current wording does not safeguard against this continuing.
The ballot on whether to accept Pact’s revised T&Cs closed on Sunday 31 July at 11:59pm. Members voted to rejects Pact’s offer. The current agreement will cease to be in effect on September 1st, 2022.
Deadline News article Variety news article 1 August 2022
We recommend you ask for the following terms for productions starting after 1st September if no collective agreement is reached.
Negotiating
If you are a member, there is a fantastic 2h Masterclass with Sara Putt on how to negotiate. You can find this by logging in to the Member’s Area on the BECTU Website, under Resources and then Webinars https://members.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/webinars
Archive:
- PACT/BECTU TV Drama Agreement – full text
- CAMERA BRANCH GUIDE to the Agreement – a handy phone-sized guide to download & keep for reference – iPhone users, we suggest saving it in ‘Books’. As the guide is designed to be viewed on a smartphone, the text will look huge on a laptop, so there’s an A4 leaflet version if you prefer here)
- Important note from the Branch about Prep & Wrap
- BECTU’s original ‘launch’ notes for the Agreement
Click here for a sample Deal Memo
Advertising & Branded Content
If you are working on any project designed specifically to promote a company or product, you should ask for commercial rates. Remember that traditional media has lost advertising revenue to the internet in recent years, so statements that “it’s just for the internet” do not mean the content is less effective or earns less revenue. Below are the APA terms. These are issued unilaterally by the APA, not agreed with Bectu, but are what you can expect to apply.
Low & No-Budget Production
Although no agreements exist to cover this sector of production, the Camera Branch is keen to make sure crew know their rights & aren’t subject to abuse. An action plan for this sector is under development, you can contribute to the consultation by downloading the document here. In the meantime there is a useful resource [archived link here] for information about your rights at work and a handy phone-sized Fact Card here.
Members considering work in the Low/No-Budget (or any other) sector are advised to check BECTU’s ‘Ask First’ list before accepting an engagement (BECTU log-in required).
Please also go to the Get Involved page & contact the Branch if you have specific queries – we’re here to help.
BBC in-house Drama
BECTU and the BBC have agreed terms for series and serials. For productions or co-productions made by an independant production company, refer to the PACT/Bectu TV drama agreement below. Agreement is not finalised on continuing drama productions, but the BBC have agreed to work to the draft terms as they stand.
Factual
We are developing a questionnaire to examine terms and conditions for this sector.
THE CAMERA BRANCH 