News

Les Mis Film…again.

By KevinBrady

Thanks all for your responses re the Les Mis film. I had a chat with the new film co-ordinator (Laura Messenger) at Equity and we’ve sent the below over to the production company. She’s also raising our concerns with PACT. As loads of us have artists engaged on the film if we could all keep the following in mind:
1. Half hour lunch breaks on a normal day call – this is not allowed under the terms of the collective agreement, which provides, at F14 (2) that “A working day shall be ten hours including a break of one hour” and at F14 (9) (i) that, for a studio, “Artists shall be given a meal break of one hour which shall normally commence between 12.00 hours and 14.00 hours but in any event not later than five and a half hours from the unit call excluding make-up time.”
2. The exception to this is a continuous working day which will consist of eight hours without cessation of work between 07.00 and 19.00 hours. In this case (a) overtime will apply for work beyond eight hours and will not exceed two hours except in emergencies; (b) a running buffet must be provided and dependent on the time of day the appropriate meals should be made available; and (c) best endeavours must be used to ensure that artists are able to take refreshments whilst not actually working.
3. Very long days with no breaks – there are obligations in clause F14 (9) concerning overtime, ie, that where overtime continues over an hour but less than 1 ½ hours, light refreshments must be made available, and where overtime exceeds 1 ½ hours, either artists must have a one hour break and a meal (paid for by the artist) or they must get a break of 15 minutes and light refreshments provided by the producer and work must finish 45 minutes before scheduled finishing time (but be paid as if finished as scheduled).
4. There seem to be problems around F14 generally so I am attaching it for your information and please could you confirm that these provisions are not being overlooked. Please note that the rates are out of date and the correct rates are shown in Appendix FG.
5. Overtime – this should be limited to four hours a day.
6. Payment – it has been reported that your finance department is demanding invoices for payment of overtime. This is not in line with the agreement. It is for the producer to calculate the overtime in accordance with clause F15. Payment should be automatic in accordance with F12 of the agreement: “The Producer shall pay to the Artist all monies owing for the services of the Artist in any seven-day period ending on Saturday, not later than the Friday of the following week whether or not an invoice has been received.” This will include all over time and any other payment due whatsoever. The only exceptions will be where a VAT invoice is required or where an agent has agreed to a variation, eg, instalment payments. If payment is not made in a timely manner and without the demand of invoices, we can operate the penalties for late payment under clause F12 of the agreement.
If you have any questions in relation to the above then please do not hesitate to contact me. Otherwise, I would be grateful if you could ensure that the correct rules are being complied with and confirm this to me in writing at your earliest opportunity.