‘WE DON’T EVEN WANT THE OVERTIME. WE JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO TO BED’
before – trying desperately to source and design the right branding for a police vehicle, ahead of a day’s shoot costing £100,000. “They won’t cancel it, so it’s all resting on me, and it’s not even my actual job,” he explains. This is no rare event, it seems. “I’ve been on productions where the showrunner has changed his mind at 7:00pm about what’s required on set,” he says. “That means us staying until 10:00pm and being back on set at 5:00am. No one says no to the showrunner.” What happens if someone does actually say no to the bosses? “It’s a freelance world, very competitive, and, if you stand up to them, it looks like you’re not committed or you can’t handle it,” says Sarah. “You get the tag of ‘difficult person’, and it means that you’re less likely to get a follow-up gig with the same producers.”
TFC
at the weekend’. But, more often, it’s not explicitly said, it’s just an expectation that everyone’s aware of.” Location set-ups are no better, according to Miles, who’s worked consistently as a runner, then researcher, on TV documentaries since graduating in 2017. He explains: “You receive your call sheet – often around 9:00pm – for the following day, and you laugh when you read the words ‘Wrap 7:00pm’. You already know you’ll never hit that time. To even attempt to finish by 9:00pm means going without a lunch break.” For him, the problem is in the small print of almost every freelance contract, a copy of which he shows me. It has the line: “You will be expected to work such additional hours as may be reasonably necessary for the proper performance of your duties”, as well as a stipulation that the freelancer opts
out of the 1998 Working Time Regulations. Apparently, “reasonably necessary” is interpreted to mean: whatever the producer wants, they get. On the relatively low daily rates for runners and entry-level production staff, all those extra worked hours mean the hourly rate gets lower and lower, to the point where it dips below the minimum wage. Are staff offered compensation at that point? “Try having that conversation,” scoffs Miles. With specialist skills come equal amounts of pressure. When I speak to John, well established as a graphic designer, mostly in big-budget drama, he has worked until 11:00pm the night
Television www.rts.org.uk June 2021
‘YOU CAN’T THROW A STONE… WITHOUT HITTING SOMEBODY WITH A HORROR STORY TO TELL’
“You’re made to feel very guilty for even saying anything,” says Miles. “And you’re constantly reminded, ‘This is a great opportunity for you’.” “It’s not about the money,” John adds: “For most of us, we don’t even want the overtime. We just want to be able to go to bed.” All this pressure can lead to outcomes worse than not getting the next gig. Everyone I speak to reports fatigue, stress, sickness and worse – one ended up missing his grandfather’s funeral due to work, something he deeply regrets. Everyone I speak to has either experienced or witnessed both bullying and harassment. One time, Sarah was �
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