The BFI and BAFTA are tackling bullying, harassment and racism in the workplace with a new employer Action List for the\u00a0U.K.’s screen industries, as The Film and TV Charity launches new services that provide immediate support for workers.<\/p>\n
The Action List is part of a wider industry effort and call for employers to commit to following the latest advice to meet their legal and ethical responsibilities and signpost workers to available support. It includes a set of resources designed to assist employers to meet those responsibilities.<\/p>\n
The Guidance outlines the law around bullying, harassment and racism, and also includes sexism, ableism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination. It sets out the responsibilities of employers and provides advice for employees and freelancers. A supporting Dignity at Work Policy, developed in partnership with Bectu, provides a template for companies, productions and festivals to complement the Guidance and Principles to tackle workplace bullying and harassment.<\/p>\n
Also, The Film and TV Charity has launched a suite of new services to provide more support for individuals who have experienced or witnessed bullying. This includes the Bullying Pathway Service, accessible via the charity\u2019s existing free and confidential 24-hour film and TV support line that offers industry-specific legal, HR and mental health advice; and the digital incident-recording tool Spot, accessible via the charity\u2019s website, which can be used by anyone to create a confidential private record of something they\u2019ve experienced of witnessed.<\/p>\n
Jen Smith, head of inclusion at the BFI, said: \u201cWe\u2019re delighted that so many organizations across the screen industries have already adopted the Guidance and Principles, but we know from our conversations with industry that more structured support needs to be within every workplace to prevent and reduce instances of bullying, harassment and racism. The Guidance, Principles, Dignity at Work policy and the Action List are working documents that we will continue to refine, as well as building even more complementary resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have demonstrated our dexterity and adaptability as an industry in the face of a pandemic; as production begins to increase again, in the face of the visceral inequality that the pandemic has laid bare, the BFI and BAFTA want to share these resources widely as we believe they can immediately improve that lived experience for our workers and act as a very useful point of reference for employers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tim Hunter, director of learning, policy and inclusion at BAFTA, said: \u201cThe nature of our industries can make it more challenging to put in place policies and procedures which might be more achievable in other sectors. The Action List and accompanying training and resources suggest solutions for the kinds of workplaces common in the industries which we will continue to improve in the coming years. It\u2019s so important that so many industry bodies are coming together with a united strategy to tackle this issue supporting both employers via the Action List, and workers via the fantastic services offered by The Film and TV Charity. Our shared aim is to create workplace cultures where everyone can contribute to the best of their abilities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Caroline Waters, deputy chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: \u201cWe\u2019re pleased to see the BFI and BAFTA taking clear action to ensure that bullying and harassment and racism issues across U.K. screen industries are dealt with. The Action list will help to minimize the possibility of incidents and ensure legal compliance which will protect both employers and workers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dame Heather Rabbatts, chair of TIME’S UP UK, said: \u201cIt was just over three years ago when TIME\u2019S UP UK, in collaboration with BFI and BAFTA, launched the Bullying, Harassment and Racism Principles and Guidance for industry calling out unacceptable behavior. Three years on, whilst awareness has been heightened, we need these resources more than ever and so we welcome the Action List released today to bolster our armory to help eradicate these toxic practices. At TIME\u2019S UP UK we are soon to release a series of safety guides for people working in the entertainment industry, free resources to empower arts and entertainment workers with information about their rights, industry-specific norms, and practical ways they can advocate for themselves and their safety and help people understand that no matter your situation, you have options.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lucy Tallon, head of mental health and wellbeing at The Film and TV Charity, said: \u201cThe Film and TV Charity is pleased to be part of this pioneering pan-industry commitment to end bullying and harassment. Our research identified bullying as one of the leading causes of poor mental health in our industry. The personal testimonies we heard and continued to hear are shocking. We must do better as an industry. The Film and TV Charity is launching a suite of services to help those experiencing or witnessing bullying navigate their options. Individuals can come to us for self-help resources, for professional advice, and for access to a safe digital space to record experiences in private. These services are part of our strategy to make sure everyone working in film and TV has better support and better mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adeel Amini, chair of the pan-industry Coalition for Change and founder of the TV Mindset, said: \u201cThe Coalition for Change is focused on raising awareness of the urgent need to improve working conditions for everyone in our industry and we continue to push for widespread cultural change. Bullying, harassment, racism, ableism and other forms of discrimination have no place in what should be a supportive, creative environment, so we’re happy to be supporting the BFI and BAFTA as they step forward with practical advice on how to combat a pernicious culture, and to have been involved in creating new services to support workers with The Film and TV Charity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philippa Childs, head of Bectu, said: \u201cBectu has worked with BFI and BAFTA over many years to develop practical solutions to tackle bullying and harassment in the workplace. The guidance being re-issued today includes a simple template policy to help employers deliver on their legal responsibilities to all workers on-set.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to see employers deliver more for their workers than the legal bare minimum, which is why we are pleased that the guidance also includes Bectu\u2019s recommendation that all productions have a designated individual who can take reports of bullying and harassment. We will be working with BFI, BAFTA and ScreenSkills to draw up a template of responsibilities for this role.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe industry quickly came together to agree Covid supervisor roles last year, and we hope to be met with a similar can-do attitude to tackling bullying and harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seetha Kumar, CEO of ScreenSkills, said: \u201cIt is so positive that the industry has come together to create a better, fairer working environment by addressing unacceptable behaviors that have no place in it. We at ScreenSkills already provide a range of training, e-learning and resources\u2014including some supported by the BFI with National Lottery funds\u2014to help the industry identify and tackle bullying and harassment and racism so companies and productions, as well as individual freelancers, can play their part in creating safe and welcoming workplaces for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victor Jenkins, chair of the Casting Director\u2019s Guild, said: \u201cThe Casting Directors’ Guild wholeheartedly supports these principles and actively promotes equality, diversity and inclusion within our own practices and the work of our members. Through a shared commitment across the industry, we can ensure there is no place for bullying and harassment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andy Harrower, CEO of Directors UK, said: \u201cIt is vital that as an industry we create an urgent and meaningful response to the systemic issues of bullying, harassment and racism. Ensuring everyone is treated fairly, professionally and with respect should be the first priority of every production. This additional tool to support the industry principles and guidance makes the advice accessible to all productions and empowers them to take action regardless of their size or budget. We are pleased to support this work today and will continue to work with our colleagues to prevent unacceptable behavior in the workplace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Faye Ward and Hannah Farrell, creative directors of Fable Pictures, said: \u201cFable Pictures strive to offer an inclusive environment on all our productions where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. The Principles against bullying, harassment and racism have really helped us set the tone on set and create a welcoming and inclusive working environment. This new Action List has made it even easier for us to understand what steps we can take to prevent and deal with unacceptable behavior and support all our employees.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sara Putt of Sara Putt Associates said: \u201cSara Putt Associates are proud and excited to support this work. We, as many other talent agents, include adherence to the BFI\/BAFTA Principles and Guidance for the prevention of Bullying, and Harassment and Racism in our deal memos, and this clear and comprehensive Action List offers great practical guidance enabling all productions to create a safe workplace for everyone. Through my role as a BAFTA Trustee I have witnessed at first hand the huge amount of hard work put in by the BFI and BAFTA to create the original guidance and principles and now to have honed the information into an effective practical toolkit for all of the industry to use. As we strive to create a better environment for everyone who works in film and TV the importance of this Action List and the associated resources cannot be underestimated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jo Twist, CEO of Ukie, said: \u201cThe games industry has worked closely with our colleagues in film and television, through BAFTA and the BFI, to ensure that there is a clear and coherent set of principles and guidance across the screen industries. The industry\u2019s Action List for employers in games, which launched in July 2020, has drawn on that best practice to help games studios of all sizes to help create, foster and maintain healthy work environments for their employees and freelance workers.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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