Broadcasters and producers are backing a set of guidelines designed to set boundaries between work and home life for freelancer.
The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, UKTV, BBC Studios, ITV Studios, Fremantle, Banijay UK, Bectu and CIISA have all endorsed seven shared principles drawn up by the ScreenSkills-backed Action for Freelancers (AfF).
While recognising that some organisations have their own policies on work-life balance, the guidelines are designed to set a common standard so that freelancers know what to expect from any employer.
The AfF drew on the Film and TV Charity’s 2024 Looking Glass Survey, in which poor work-life balance was a key factor for the 64% of those polled who were considering leaving the industry due to their mental health.
AfF chair Richard Watsham said: “Today’s guidelines are the first of many crucial pieces of work from an initiative fast building momentum.
“They’re a vital recognition of the balance that needs to be struck between freelancers who are desperate to do a good job and employers under pressure in a challenging environment.”
The principles state:
Leaders must model the behaviour - senior figures set the tone, and reassurance that not responding out of hours carries no penalty must be repeated throughout a production
Set contact windows, rotate on-call responsibility, or time-shift - including at least 11 hours free of messages between wrap and next call, in line with Working Time Regulations
Agree what counts as a real emergency - before production starts, and document it at induction
Use the right channel for the right level of urgency - WhatsApp and direct messages for genuinely time-sensitive issues only
Use delay-send, add clear labels to emails and messages - so a flexible working pattern never becomes implied urgency for the receiver
Make it safe to raise concerns - including anonymously, in line with CIISA Standards (Open and Accountable Reporting Mechanisms)
Support flexible working - no individual’s working pattern should ever create an obligation, spoken or unspoken, for someone else to match it
