It’s an agreement made between Bectu (the media and entertainment freelancers' union) and PACT (the producer’s union) to apply a set of terms and conditions to all contracts for feature film productions over £30m. Singular productions (not series) for streaming services are now included within the agreement as well.
The agreement was implemented in April 2018 and since then, contracts for the Art Dept on films over £30m have included the agreed terms.

The full MMP agreement can be downloaded directly from Bectu here.

As a result of the agreement, many conditions were improved for shooting and off set crew. However, for the Art Department and Set Dec, a significant impact of the agreement was that working hours are now clearly stated. Previously, contracts had often only specified hours for the shooting crew during principal photography. As a result, the Art Department and Set Dec (along with all off set crew) is now contracted to work 11+1 hours each day. (11 hours work, 1 hour unpaid for lunch)

In the negotiations, the producers acknowledged this and conceded that although the contracts would specify 11+1 hours, the Art Department and Set Dec could continue to work their traditional hours, under what was described as the 'gentleman’s agreement'. This of course, is problematic as it differs to the terms in the employment contract.
In the meantime, the Bectu Art Department Committee has been campaigning to change the contracted hours. PACT has agreed to discuss this in the next round of negotiations. The Art Department committee are also working on this campaign with other departments that work similar hours, defined as ‘workshop departments’.

The PACT-Bectu UK independent Television Drama Agreement was implemented in 2017. Similar to the MMP Agreement, it was the result of years of negotiations between Bectu (the media and entertainment freelancers' union) and PACT (the producer’s union). It covers a set of terms and conditions for contracts produced by production companies that are members of PACT.

In January 2023 a new version of the Agreement was implemented by all productions who are members of PACT. The larger studios and streamers are also expected to follow the new Agreement. This Agreement was voted in by BECTU members at the end of 2022.

The 2023 PACT-BECTU TV Drama Agreement can be found here.
There is also a comparison document with the 2017 Agreement here.

The Agreement will be regularly reviewed. A team has been set up by the Bectu Art Department Committee to attend the negotiations on behalf of the Art Department.

This is a disputed subject between the various BECTU Branches. Art Department and other 'workshop branches' felt that overall, the changes were mostly positive. They also felt that their members would be better off working under a joint agreement, rather than negotiating contracts as individuals with production companies. However, Props, Camera, Lighting and other branches, were unhappy with the 2022 proposal and wanted BECTU members to reject it at the vote. The following are a selection of changes in the 2023 version that effect Art Department crew members.

• The 11+1 working day for non shooting crew has been removed, leaving 10+1.


• Art Department has been removed from the Prep and Wrap list.


• There is the option now for non-shooting crew to be 'temporarily' scheduled on a SCWD (9.5+30) or CWD (9).


• 6th days will now be paid at 1T for up to 6 hours, 1.5T for over 6 hours. (Previously T1)


• Overtime has changed from 30 min increments to 15 min.


• A 4th budget band has been added (£7m+)


• Bank holidays will be paid at 2T if worked (previously T1), and for Band 4 productions, they will also now be paid at 1T if not worked. (Previously no pay)


• Overtime cap has risen from £40 to £70 per hour.

IATSE is the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. In other words, the union for crew working in film and TV. It is the equivalent of BECTU in this country.

However, it’s set up slightly differently. In the UK, BECTU is split into a London division and a regional division. These BECTU divisions then have branches that represent each film department; Camera, Props, Art Department, Costume etc.

In the States, IATSE is divided into ‘locals’. These are branches that represent different job roles in different areas. If you work as a set decorator, carpenter or propman in LA, you can apply to join the ‘Local 44’ which represents ‘Affiliated Property Craftspersons’ in California. If you work as an Art Director, anywhere in the States, you will come under the Local 800 Art Director’s Guild.

Where as anyone can join Bectu, and Bectu does not control who can and can't work on any jobs, the situation in America is very different. You have to apply to join IATSE and demonstrate relevant skills in order to be accepted. You can also only work on certain productions if you are an IATSE member. This has advantages and disadvantages. It means that rates are much more highly controlled in the States than in the UK. However, it can be harder to get into the industry and once there, more of a closed shop.

In October 2021, IATSE was in negotiation with the Studios, to improve working conditions for crew:

• 13 Hollywood union branches (known as the Hollywood Locals) united to negotiate better terms with the studios.
• This includes the Locals representing Art Department members, which are strong union branches in LA.
• On the 4th October 2021, the members of the IATSE Locals, that were involved in the negotiations, were asked to vote on a strike authorisation. 90% of eligible members voted, and 98% of the votes were in favour of strike authorisation.

The main points that the branches were negotiating on were living wages for the lowest paid crew, humane and sustainable working hours, reasonable rest and meal breaks and equitable compensation from streaming projects now that those Studios are profitable.

The Bectu Art Department Committee, alongside the British Film Designer's Guild and the Graphics Union, published the latest rate card in June 2023. It can be found, alongside job descriptions in the Art Department Hub on the Rates page. The rate card can also be found on the Bectu Art Department Branch website.

The BECTU Art Department Committee issues a new rate card each year in line with Art Department crew members rates. The committee is made up of Art Department and Set Decoration crew who work in the industry and volunteer their time to work on issues that effect the Art Department. Each year, they carry out extensive research on rates being paid, with comparisons with other departments and a view of external factors such as inflation, and meticulously formulate a rate card for each job role. If you are interested in finding out more about the process, or helping the Art Department Committee with their work, you can contact the Art Department committee..

IR35 is used to describe tax legislation. It was set up to prevent tax avoidance by a) workers who are supplying services through a LTD company, and b) the companies who hire the workers. For a film or TV engagement, if a worker is said to fall 'inside IR35', then they should be employed directly by the production company and pay income tax and NI as an employee (PAYE). If the worker is 'outside' of the IR35 legislation, then they can operate through their own LTD company and loan themselves out to the production company, or operate as a sole trader (self employed).

The reason that IR35 has moved into the Production companies’ consciousness is because of a change of tax responsibility. Previously, if a worker was found to be working under an incorrect employment status (i.e. Self-employed or LTD when the worker should be employed), the worker was liable for the unpaid tax. In April 2021 the tax liability became the Production Companies’ responsibility.

HMRC produces a list of film and TV grades, called the Film, Television and Production Industry Guidance notes Appendix 1. The list states which roles are believed to be ‘accepted self-employed grades’ and are used by production accountants when checking a crew member’s employment status. The appendix can be found on the HMRC website here. Please note that there is an *asterix on the list that applies to the information on this HMRC webpage.

HMRC have always stated that the list of grades is a guide and is not definitive. There are many further factors that can be used when deciding whether a worker should be engaged as an employee or not. The four main tests of employment status are: Supervision, Mutuality of Obligation, Substitution and Multiple Engagers. Further indicators are: Substantial supply of equipment, working away from the client’s premises, and running a business in your own right.

You can also use an HMRC tool called CEST (Check Employment Status for Tax) to check your correct tax status. More details are below.

HMRC has an ‘Employment status for tax’ checker that you can use to see if these indicators apply to you. If you belief that you should be classified as outside IR35, even though you are not on the list, you can present the findings of the online checker to the production accountant as evidence that you should not be classed as an employee.

HMRC say that they "will stand by all determinations given by the tool, as long as the information you give remains accurate". This means that if the CEST classifies you as outside of IR35 (Self employed / Ltd) then the production should follow this result in assigning your tax status.

It is also becoming more common for production companies to use their own tax status test. If you take a production company test and receive a different result to the CEST test, you should ask to see the answers that the production company put in for you. If you disagree with the answers, then you should provide your CEST test results to the production company and go through the answers with the Accounts department.

If the production still won't accept your self employed / LTD status and you believe you have been allocated the wrong tax status, then you should contact the BECTU Art Department Committee with the results of your CEST test, the production company test and your job title. BECTU are currently in a dialogue with HMRC to add more job titles to the appendix.

HMRC has always said that "This list is not exhaustive. If the individual is not on this list it does not necessarily mean they are an employee." As explained above, if you are not on the list, you should do the CEST test and present the results to production. If they fill it in for you, then you should ask to see the answers that they have filled in, in order to check that they are correct.

Because the HMRC list is only a guide and not definitive, HMRC have no plans to update it and add any futher grades. The Bectu Art Department Committee have been campaigning on this issue for many years and are pushing for further grades to be added. They are also in talks with certain production companies, in an attempt to clarify the position of certain job titles.

Over the summer of 2023, two US crew unions, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA, came to renegotiate their members’ contracts with the producers' union, the AMPTP. The parties involved couldn’t agree terms and both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA announced that their members would strike. This was the start of the first double strike in the industry in 60 years. Some smaller studios agreed to SAG-AFTRA’s terms and so were allowed to carry on, but Hollywood all but ground to a halt and there was immediately a huge knock-on effect for the UK industry, with most productions going on haitus overnight, or sending out notice letters to crew. Only the handful of productions that were not reliant on US actors could continue in the UK. The UK industry had already been quiet for several months when the strikes began in May 2023 and as of late summer 2023 a survey by Filmbase suggested around 75% of UK crew were not working.

SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) is a labour union, representing mostly US actors. The WGA (Writers Guild of America), also a labour union, represents writers in film, television, radio, and online media. Those two organisations were negotiating individually with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers), representing the major studios and streamers, including Amazon, Apple, Disney, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, and Warner Bros Discovery. Over in the UK, actors are represented by Equity and writers by BECTU, neither of which were involved in the strikes. However, there were UK actors and writers who were members of the US unions as well - and so were required to strike.

Pay
SAG-AFTRA said shorter seasons and longer hiatuses between seasons were making it increasingly difficult for actors to earn a living. Meanwhile the studios were posting “immense profits”. SAG-AFTRA called for increased pay and also better health benefits and pensions.

Residuals
Residuals are a form of royalty payment, usually calculated on sales or the success of a production. SAG-AFTRA said that these payments were not keeping pace with the rate that content was being streamed and monetised around the world.

Generative AI
SAG-AFTRA feared a ‘dystopian’ creative world where an actor’s AI-generated image, voice and performance could be used in a future production without their permission or payment. SAG-AFTRA was asking for contractual terms that protect against this.

Self-taped auditions
SAG-AFTRA said that “self-taping auditions [was] a massive, daily, uncompensated burden on the lives of performers”, with studios asking for longer readings. SAG-AFTRA was asking for “reasonable rules and limitations, and access to other casting formats”.

Mini-rooms
It had become common practice to use a small core of writers for a production and then to hire other writers on a more ad hoc basis. This kept fewer writers on the long-term payroll and resulted in less job security. The WGA wanted to see this regulated and writers compensated ‘fairly’.

Residuals
There had been less ‘TV syndication’ since the rise of streaming. This meant that episodes were less likely to be screened on multiple channels for long periods. This used to provide residuals (royalty payments) for writers on a long-term basis and the writers wanted to see increased payment to account for this.

Generative AI
The WGA wanted to limit the use of AI to protect opportunities for writers and to make sure that AI couldn't be used to create content from a writer's original work (for example, generative AI being used to create more episodes of Friends, in the same style as the original).

Pay
Writers had a weekly minimum that was set in their contracts. The last time these minimums were negotiated was in 2020 and they said annual increases had not reflected inflation.

After months of stop-start negotiations, in October the WGA agreed terms which it hailed as "industry-changing", giving writers "meaningful gains and protections".

A month later on 9 November, SAG-AFTRA released a triumphant statement, saying: "We are thrilled and proud to tell you that today your TV/Theatrical Negotiating Committee voted unanimously to approve a tentative agreement with the AMPTP. Our strike is officially suspended and all picket locations are closed."

Overall the two strikes had lasted 118 days.

The union said the new contract was valued at over one billion dollars and it included "consent and compensation" to protect members from the use of AI.

The main wins for SAG-AFTRA were:

• Wage and pension increases, plus a bonus on top of residuals for actors;
• Gains for hair and make-up equity (eg: eliminating inappropriate wiggings and paintdowns) plus rules regarding the use of gender neutral language and the provision of more sexual harassment prevention protections, including the use of intimacy coordinators in nudity scenes.
• Protections for the casting process for actors and relocation allowances for series actors.
• Rules governing the use of AI and compensation for the use of an actor's image or likeness or voice.