Man Vs Bee and the missing holiday pay.

Pretty much everyone in the industry knows that holiday pay is due to all workers, whatever sector they work in.

So it is somewhat surprising to find a company which is offering rates to freelancers and then, when the contract arrives, rolling up their holiday pay into the rate.

The company in question is MVB Films, currently making Rowan Atkinson’s latest vehicle for Netflix, Man Vs Bee. This company has hired numerous freelancers for this production, offered them a rate of pay and then, when the deal is put in writing, proceeded to tell them that holiday pay is “included”.

The regulations on this really could not be clearer:

In sum, if you offer someone a rate of pay, that is their rate. That can never “include holiday pay”. This however is exactly what MVB Films has done.

I asked production manager Loreta Zajarskyte why the company was not paying holiday pay on top of the rate on this production but she refused to answer. So I asked Anne Mensah at Netflix, with the same result.

If you are working on this production and have had your holiday pay rolled up into your rate in this way, feel free to get in touch (info@tvwatercooler.org). All in complete confidence, guaranteed.