July 20, 2010
Workers in the entertainment industry are set for increased salary protection as the House of Commons and House of Lords approve changes to up-front fees.
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 will be amended so that the practice of charging up-front fees to would-be models will be banned outright, but changes will not extend to other entertainers, such as actors, musicians and TV extras.
Introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Wilcox, the draft regulations will tackle “a long-standing issue that has tarnished the reputation of agencies in the entertainment and modelling sector for too long”.
Baroness Wilcox argued that most agents who charge to include performers in a directory are “reputable”, but added: “There is also unfortunately a tradition of abuse of this provision by the unscrupulous. Typically, they target the young, and often vulnerable, with unrealistic promises of work.”
Striking “a sensible balance between the need to protect workers from unscrupulous practices” and the need to “maintain a flexible and dynamic labour market”, the new legislation will bring a complete ban on up-front charges in relation to models, while extras, walk-ons and background artists will benefit from the 30-day cooling-off. However, modelling agencies will still be able to charge commission on actual work found.
“The risk of abuse is significantly lower in these sectors and a ban would have a disproportionate effect on legitimate businesses,” Baroness Wilcox added.
When the outgoing Labour government presented the draft regulations before parliament earlier this year, they were labelled a “shambles” by campaigners, critical of the fact they were not as strong as the ones first outlined late last year.
But those working in the industry will welcome the coalition’s amendments, set to be enforced on October 1st.
