Concerns raised over Covid payouts for UK film and TV freelancers (screendaily.com)
UK trade union Bectu confirmed to Screen that while studios including Warner Bros and Netflix have paid crew in full during Covid-induced suspensions, “many other” productions have used the £350 figure.
Bectu also said that some productions are refusing to pay at all during suspensions, but insisting that crew remain under contract and cannot work other jobs.
Furthermore, one ‘Covid rider’ attached to a contract seen by Screen’s sister publication Broadcast, stipulated that contracts can be terminated “with immediate effect” if a production is affected by the pandemic.
The document spells out that if a crew member is personally affected by the virus then a maximum payment of £700 across two weeks is due and if the absence lasts longer than a fortnight, they can be considered “absent due to sickness” and have their contract terminated.
“During the last 12 months a large proportion [of productions] have suspended part of the crew or the entire production for 2 or 3 weeks. Because they are testing all the time, productions are hitting this problem on a regular basis,” said Bectu national secretary Spencer Macdonald.
By: Max Goldbart
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