"Security, opportunity and respect are the foundations with which freelance workers in Scotland can build their lives around". Photo: Shutterstock.
The Fair Work for Freelancers checklist aims to tackle pay insecurity, poor working practices, bullying and harassment, and to provide clarity on intellectual property rights and union engagement.
Employers funded through Creative Scotland are being encouraged to adopt the checklist as part of their commitment to Fair Work principles.
Freelance and Forgotten
The checklist follows the publication of Freelance and Forgotten, a report by unions and the STUC which exposed poor working conditions and exploitation across Scotland’s creative industries. The report highlights the urgent need for stronger protections and fairer treatment for freelance workers.
These developments come as the sector awaits the findings of the Scottish Government’s Culture Fair Work Task Force and the review of Creative Scotland, both expected to be published soon.
“Security, opportunity and respect”
Caroline Sewell, MU Regional Organiser for Scotland and Northern Ireland, said: “Insecurity of work, low pay and workplace cultures where bad practice and bullying and harassment remain all too prevalent is driving creatives out of the sector in Scotland. This threatens to leave a huge cultural void at the heart of the country at a time where the economic, cultural and societal benefits of a thriving culture sector should be nurtured and harnessed.
“The checklist provides a framework to ensure that security, opportunity and respect are the foundations with which freelance workers in Scotland can build their lives around.”
How members and employers can get involved
The MU is encouraging members who work with cultural organisations in Scotland to ask those organisations to endorse the checklist and support the vital Fair Work for Freelancers campaign.
By endorsing the checklist, organisations can demonstrate that the Fair Work obligations, upon which their funding is dependent, are being met.
Organisations funded by Creative Scotland or directly from the Scottish Government can register their interest to endorse here.
Learn more about STUC's Fair Work campaign.