Paying the Living Wage in TV.

It seems a long time ago but there was a time way back in the distant past when employers routinely took on entry level staff and expected them to work for free. It was felt by some that that was the best way for young people to “earn their dues”, that the ability to live on nothing but fresh air somehow best qualified you for the great privilege of supping at the showbiz cup of glamorous delight.

Those days are thankfully behind us (they are, aren’t they? If not we’d be happy to help) but entry level pay is still at very poor in the sector and, especially in London, almost impossibly low for many. In fact Film and TV has some of the highest rates of low pay in the sector and, not coincidentally, it is also the worst at employing people from diverse socio-economic backgrounds with just 8.4% coming from a working class background (compared to 57% in the economy as a whole).

There are some rays of hope however, particularly at those companies which have taken on the pledge to pay at least the Living Wage to all their workers (currently £12 per hour, £13.15 in London*). It’s still not much but it does give a chance for those who aren’t otherwise blessed with support from the Bank of Mum and Dad. Companies which have taken the pledge include Nutopia, Garden, Raise the Roof, Sunset+Vine, Brinkworth, CPL, Absolutely, Coffee & TV, Argonon, Reel Film, Garden Studios, North One and Objective - to name just a few.

All of these lovely companies have taken on the obligation to pay all their staff the real Living Wage, and, within constraints of any contracts they're tied into, commit to a timescale to bring in the real Living Wage to third party contractors they employ for two or more hours a week, for eight or more consecutive weeks.

Much kudos then to all of them. Needless to say, we’d love for there to be more who might take up the challenge. And if they do, we’d of course be very happy to highlight them too!

*The real Living Wage, unlike the Government's statutory living wage, is calculated according to the everyday costs of living.