COVID-19:OneYearOn–Oursurveysaid...

In March, we asked members to respond to a survey about the pandemic and how it has impacted you over the last year. Here, we summarise our findings and outline how your input will help guide the work we do on your behalf.

We’d like to thank the many of you who responded to our recent COVID-19: One Year On survey. Your responses have given us an invaluable insight in to how directors have been affected by the pandemic, the impact the gaps in support have had on our community, and also on what Directors UK, as your professional association, can do to continue to support you as we emerge from the latest lockdown.

Your finances and government support

Although the country and the industry are beginning to show signs of recovery, there is no getting away from the devastating impact the last year has had on our community of largely freelance and self-employed directors.

89% of members who responded told us that you have lost significant amounts of work in the 12 months following the first lockdown. Similarly, 89% of you said you had lost income due to the pandemic. 64% of you were able to work for only 6 months or less. A significant 18% have not been able to find any work at all since the pandemic began.

And yet only 11% of respondents said they had been able to rely on government schemes to support their lost income, with 42% having to rely on a partner or savings. Unsurprisingly, 88% of you felt let down by the Government and the support offered to self-employed/freelance workers in the creative industries, with confidence in the Government’s willingness to support you in a COVID crisis only rating an average of 3 on a scale of 1-10.

As expected, the most common reasons you gave for not being able to access support was the fact that you weren’t registered with HMRC by a PAYE employer on the appropriate cut-off dates (66% of freelancers working under PAYE weren’t eligible for furlough for this reason), or that you were excluded by the strict eligibility criteria of the SEISS and its arbitrary cut offs (only 34% of you were both eligible and applied, 56% weren’t eligible).

35% of you earned the majority of your income in dividends, meaning you couldn’t claim for the bulk of your annual earnings. 32% had savings in excess of the Universal Credit cut off. And 45% earned above the £50,000 cliff edge – some by just a matter of pounds. Others referred to your frustration that the level of your assessed income had been affected by maternity breaks, or by having recently become self-employed.

While none of these examples are new, having figures and case studies that show the impact it has had on you allows us to push back against the Government’s rhetoric that those who needed help have already been helped.

Throughout the pandemic, along with industry colleagues, we have been lobbying the Government to address the gaps in support, and we have drawn on the evidence and insights from our member surveys and from individual members to back up our arguments in letters, meetings and responses to numerous Government committee inquiries (from the DCMS, the Treasury, and the BEIS) into the impact of COVID over the last 12 months.

It’s not an easy fight, and millions across the country are feeling the same frustration that the Government simply hasn’t listened or responded to the realities faced by the self-employed. But it is important that we continue to gather evidence and keep pushing, so that freelancers and the self-employed are not left unsupported in the future.

In the last few weeks, we have signed an open letter to Jesse Norman MP, organised by Excluded UK to push back on the Government’s response so far. We have also submitted evidence to the latest Treasury Committee inquiry into Jobs, Growth and Productivity after COVID, drawing on the data above to highlight the impact it has had on our members and the need for the Government to better understand how the self-employed work. We will be writing again to the Chancellor with our findings. And we will of course be submitting evidence to the full-scale COVID inquiry when it eventually happens.

For anyone who continues to experience financial hardship as a result of the pandemic, or for any other reason, don’t forget you can always contact the Directors Charitable Foundation, our sister charity which was established to support directors in need. In the last year Directors UK has donated £75,000 to the DCF to provide funds to support directors who need financial help.

Working practices

On an industry level, many of you told us about the impact COVID and subsequent restrictions have had on your work. 30% said you had been due to start work on a project that has been postponed and yet to resume, and 33% had work that was due to start but was cancelled. 32% have worked on a production that had to stop due to an outbreak.

Meanwhile, 19% of respondents were unable to work at all due to caring responsibilities. 23% told us that they had to diversify and take on other types of work within the industry, and 12% had to take on work outside the industry.

There are however signs that work is starting to return for at least some of you. 35% said you were unable to find work at the beginning of the pandemic but are now securing work again, while 28% said you were able to continue working as you had been. Reassuringly, members rated their confidence in both the industry’s ability to recover and for your own ability to stay in the industry at 7/10.

However, you also told us that there is now a greater competition for jobs and that COVID protocols are making working conditions much harder and hours longer. If you aren’t already using it, we would encourage you to log your hours with the Time Project. Directors UK is a supporter of this initiative which aims to gather comprehensive data on the punitive working hours that we know exist in our industry, creating an accurate picture of work with a view to driving change. And if you’re ever struggling, don’t forget that the Film and TV Charity operate a 24-hour support line at 0800 054 0000.

18% of respondents have found themselves presented with contract clauses that restrict or cancel your pay should a production be shut down for COVID-related reasons. This is an issue we have warned members to watch out for, and this is one of a number of contractual issues which we are in discussions with Pact about. If you are a Full member of Directors UK, we offer a contract vetting and legal advice service to support you with any contract or legal queries. Please contact the legal team at [email protected].

Your professional association

Thank you also for your feedback on what Directors UK can do to continue to support you. Many of you want us to keep lobbying the Government and the industry on the impact that COVID has had on you in this past year. You also want us to keep on top of the broadcasters and industry employers to challenge working conditions and other issues affecting directors.

Behind the scenes, our small team is working hard to push for better support and improved conditions. CEO Andy Harrower regularly attends trade body group meetings with industry representatives and participates in government roundtables to represent your concerns. We are a key participant in the Coalition for Change, where the industry is coming together to tackle key issues such as bullying and harassment and the development of a freelancers’ charter. We also meet regularly with our sister unions Bectu, Equity and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, to discuss common issues faced by all our members.

Diversity and representation is a huge concern for many of our members, and we remain committed to eradicating racism and improving access and opportunities for everyone in our sector. While change is not happening as fast as we all would like, we will keep pushing the industry to move more quickly towards a more inclusive and representative workforce.

And finally, your feedback about our member services has been invaluable in letting us know which activities and events are supporting you best. Our events team continues to explore a range of activities to help meet members’ needs – now and in the coming months as we emerge from lockdown. Similarly, our career development team continues to seek new ways to support directors in their careers and to create networking opportunities in these challenging times.

The future

One thing that is clear from our survey is that the pandemic has been challenging for all our members in different ways. Whether you’ve had too little work or your working hours have been longer, whether the pandemic has had an impact on you financially, physically or mentally, whether you’ve been frustrated by the lack of financial support, whether you’ve had to adjust to remote working, or whether you’ve had to assume caring or shielding responsibilities that have prevented you from working.

Despite these personal and professional challenges, we are heartened that there is still a sense of resilience and determination to get on and continue doing what directors do best: making great content, telling great stories and finding creative solutions to the challenges ahead. Directors UK will always be here to support you in this objective.