Ray of light for FAA support artists as Bectu secures pay and allowances increases

Bectu has negotiated higher rates of pay and allowances for supporting artists returning to new productions after the COVID-19 lockdown.

The three-year pay agreement made with employer organisation PACT will provide a 2% increase in pay for 2020 and 2% subsequent increases in January 2021 and January 2022.

The increase in pay will apply earlier than usual, hopefully mitigating some loss of income experienced by supporting artists who have lost work during the coronavirus pandemic. The changes will not apply to productions that were already scheduled to film before the lockdown.

Night rates, non-performance calls, holiday pay and meal allowances will also increase, along with supplementary fees – after many years of stagnation – and the first ever annual increase for those in categories C, D and E, covering special skills and performance requirements.

Negotiations official Emily Collin said: “We are very pleased with these improvements, which apply to some of the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers in our industry.

“We are hopeful that when returning to work after lockdown, these increases will help our members mitigate the loss in income which many have suffered during the pandemic. Our support artists add great value to the final product with their time and talent often under harsh conditions and we are pleased that these new rates reflect their work.

“We wish to thank members and especially the members of the Film Artistes Association (FAA) committee who put so much effort and time into these negotiations.”

The pay talks were separated from negotiations on terms and conditions in order to avoid delays and current terms will continue as in the 2017 agreement until further talks take place.

The changes will apply to all PACT employer productions within 40 miles of Charing Cross and are also recommended for agencies and non-PACT productions in the capital.

More information

In addition to the 2% pay increase for 2020 to 2022:

• Night rate will be increased to time and a half (previously paid at time and a quarter).
• Holiday pay, overtime, meal break penalties and shift call rates (all based on the basic daily rate) will rise by 2% for 2020 to 2022.
• Holiday Pay at 10.77% will now be added to overtime rates, including meal break penalties, for the first time,
• Holiday pay on public holiday rates
• Non-performance call rises from £35 to £46.35 (half of basic day rate).
• Supplementary fees
  • Category A (haircut and change of clothes) rises from £12.50 to £20, an uplift of 60%. The “unused clothing options” increases from £6.25 to £10 per set of clothing (to a maximum of three), an increase of 60%.
  • Category B increases from £19 to £20.
• Categories C to E will for the first time increase annually by 2% for 2020 to 2022.
• Travel Allowances will be linked to TFL annual rate increase. For 2020, all travel allowances go up by 2.8%, and any future uplifts will also apply.
• Meal break allowances (where catering is not provided by productions) increases in line with the applicable HMRC guidelines – £5 for breakfast, £10 for lunch and £25 for dinner.