THE BIG FREELANCER SURVEY REPORT 2024: Freelancers at breaking point

The fourth Big Freelancer Survey Report presents a workforce at breaking point.

Freelancers Make Theatre Work have released their Big Freelancer Survey Report 2024 (BFS2024). This is the fourth of five annual surveys collecting data about the UK’s freelance theatre workforce, which makes up an estimated 70% of people working in the industry. 1286 freelancers participated in this year’s survey, taking the total number of survey respondents since 2020 to over 12,000, making this the largest ongoing survey of its kind.

BFS2024 reveals that in the financial year 2022-23, over a third of theatre freelancers reported average hourly earnings below the UK National Living Wage – in other words, rates of pay which would be illegal in a PAYE job.

Nearly half (46.5%) of respondents earned less than London Living Wage for that period (£13.15/hour). The issue of low pay was visible in all demographic groups that participated in the survey, although it was particularly severe for respondents living with one or more disabilities or other medical conditions.

Freelancers reported that years of inadequate low pay alongside long hours and a void in arts funding has left them feeling that they – and the industry – are at breaking point. BFS2024 paints a picture of a community of freelancers who are deeply committed to their work and to supporting each other, but are struggling to continue against a backdrop of destructive government arts policies, funding that is scarce and difficult to access, and organisations that have been described as ‘abusive’ in the structures they uphold and perpetuate.

One of the key recommendations in this year’s report is that arts organisations move away from payment models of flat-fees and buyouts, and towards compensation based on actual hours worked, including paid overtime. As part of this process, organisations must also recognise that union rates are supposed to be minimums, rather than standard fees. The report also calls on funders to hold their grant-holders accountable for freelancers’ pay and working conditions.

Commenting on this year’s report, classical singer and Freelancers Make Theatre Work volunteer Mimi Doulton said: “The clear message throughout this year’s report is that whilst there is an evident love for the job and the craft of theatre-making, as one of our respondents aptly put it: ‘love is not enough’.”

Data and Communications Manager for Freelancers Make Theatre Work, Paul Carey Jones, adds: “In a few days’ time, the UK will have a new government. The BFS2024 report makes it clear that urgent action is needed to secure the future of the freelance workforce, without which the world-leading British performing arts industry cannot survive. In many aspects, freelancers are effectively treated as second-class citizens. Both the industry and the government need to look at systemic reforms to empower freelancers and increase their career security. And none of this can be achieved without a serious financial investment in the arts, not only from the private sector, but via direct state support. The industry generates an estimated £126billion for the UK economy every year. But the industry cannot survive without its freelance workforce. This is a moment of crisis, and urgent action is needed: freelancers are at breaking point.”

The Big Freelancer Survey is an annual survey of the UK’s freelance performing arts workforce, carried out by Freelancers Make Theatre Work in partnership with the Centre for Work, Organisation and Society at the University of Essex. The aim of the Big Freelancer Survey is to provide an evidence base for Freelancers Make Theatre Work and other organisations that support freelancers. The evidence is used to advocate and lobby for a fair and sustainable future for freelance workers across the UK’s theatre and entertainment industries.