BECTU urges creative industries to adopt new Living Wage Hours programme with contractors

Philippa Childs welcomes the Living Wage Foundation’s new programme, Living Hours, which provide workers with guaranteed shift patterns and a minimum number of hours.

Speaking on the annoucement, Head of BECTU Philippa Childs said: “BECTU welcomes the living wage hours programme and urges all employers in the creative industries and broadcasters to adopt its principles with contractors.”

“We also recognise that freelancers in our industries have increasingly complex relationships with engagers and as this initiative develops we’d be keen to ensure further policies that fit their short term work patterns.”

The scheme will require organisations to pay the real Living Wage and commit to provide workers with at least four weeks’ notice of shifts, a contract that accurately reflects hours worked, and a contract with a guaranteed minimum of 16 hours a week. Organisations that agree to these measures will be accredited as Living Hours employers alongside their Living Wage accreditation.

Recent research by the Living Wage Foundation found over 5 million (5.1m) workers earn less than the real Living Wage and are in a form of insecure work, 2 million of which are parents. It also revealed that Wales, the North East and the West Midlands have the highest rates of low paid, insecure work, with Scotland, the South East and London the lowest.

ENDS

For more information, contact Katy Davies on [email protected] ot call 020 7346 0906.