21/03/2025 - The research, aiming to rethink taxes and benefits for UK screen freelancers, examines policies from Germany, France, South Korea, Spain, Ireland and Sweden

Doris Ruth Eikhof, from the University of Glasgow, and Hannah Randolph, of the Fraser of Allander Institute (University of Strathclyde), are the brains behind the study “Make Freelancing Pay: Can We Use Taxes & Benefits to Boost Competitiveness, and Improve Workforce Diversity and Retention in the UK Screen Sector?”

The project was initiated by a coalition of screen-sector stakeholders, led by British Screen Forum and the Film + TV Charity, and supported with funding and advisory input by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre, the BFI, Bectu, Equity, Directors UK and the Production Guild of Great Britain. The report was published by Design Otherwise, a University of Glasgow spinout company that aims to improve inclusion and social justice in the cultural economy.

It is estimated that in the UK, 36%-47% of the workforce are on non-permanent contracts, and in film and TV production, this figure rises to more than 70%. Research carried out by the Bectu union and the Film + TV Charity found that seven out of ten workers are pessimistic about their financial and professional future, which also leads to mental-health struggles. It has been proven that workers who are women, disabled, older, from racially minoritised or working-class backgrounds, have caring responsibilities, or live outside London and South-East England are disproportionately likely to face more challenging professional situations.

The problems related to these stereotypes cannot be directly changed through a tax and benefits system; however, a more beneficial tax situation can have an impact on the material circumstances in which screen-industry freelancers make a living. The research suggests that such a change could lead to a broader chain of benefits for people who work in the British screen industry. To assert the potential of these suggestions, Eikhof and Randolph provided a series of positive examples from different European and non-European countries.

For instance, in Germany, social-insurance contributions are deducted from employees' gross salaries and split equally between employer and employee. It covers benefits that, in the UK, would be funded through National Insurance (eg, health insurance and pensions) and taxes (eg, unemployment benefits). For freelance artists, the German government and hiring businesses cover the employer's share via the Künstlersozialkasse (which allows freelancers in creative fields to access social insurance, including pension and long-term care insurance). A German-inspired model would thus halve self-employed National Insurance contributions (NICs).

France provides unemployment insurance for intermittent workers, including those in arts and culture, through the intermittent du spectacle scheme. Workers who have accumulated at least 910 hours over 24 months receive support for 12 months, equivalent to five hours of minimum wage per day. A French-inspired model would offer UK intermittent workers £286 (€342.14) per week (25 hours at national minimum/living wage) alongside existing benefits, without affecting tax liability or entitlements.

South Korea supports artists by subsidising 30%-50% of national pension contributions and providing public rental housing. A South Korean-inspired model would reduce NICs for workers by 40% and would lower housing costs to the regional social-housing average. Hence, the combination of reduced NICs and reduced housing costs would have a notable impact on freelancers’ disposable income, with percentage increases into the double digits. Directly addressing housing costs is the only policy that increases the disposable income of freelancers with children more than that of freelancers without children, except for the youngest workers.

Spain's Special Social Security Scheme provides €526.14 per month to self-employed freelancers earning under €3,000 annually. A Spanish-inspired UK model would support freelancers earning under £4,520 (€5,407.28) per year with an additional £230 (€275.15) per week in unemployment benefits, without affecting tax liability or entitlements. It should be noted that, in addition to its effects being mainly marginal, this policy applies only to self-employed freelancers.

Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts provides €325 per week to eligible artists, taxed as self-employment income. This payment is equivalent to about 25.6 hours of work per week at the national minimum wage for those aged 20 and older (€12.70 per hour). A UK model would give non-student adults £295 (€352.91) per week (25.6 hours at national living wage), treated as self-employment income for tax, National Insurance and benefits calculations. Introducing an Irish-style basic income has the potential to increase freelancers’ disposable income by around 50%.

Sweden sets a minimum hourly wage for artistic work, which, as of June 2024, corresponds to SEK 203 (€17.75), or around the mean hourly wage in the country. A Swedish-inspired UK model would introduce a £21.65 (€25.90) hourly minimum wage for PAYE (pay as you earn) freelancers, significantly above the UK’s £11.44 (€13.69), applicable regardless of age but excluding self-employed freelancers. A Swedish-style minimum hourly wage for screen work would lead to significant uplifts in disposable income for all screen freelancers, except those already on high earnings, and freelancers on low incomes could see their disposable income rise by nearly 50%.

The full report can be consulted here.