Each organisation should consider what is relevant to them depending on their size, location of staff and specific needs for a particular production or considering the work that the company or team does.
What do you need to provide to ensure the psychological safety of everyone who works with you and how can you offer appropriate, relevant and meaningful support?
To answer these questions, you should carry out a risk assessment. There is more advice on how to do this below. It will help you identify what is needed so you can then start addressing each need.
Bigger organisations might have internal, corporate structures in place to help support workers, such as in-house training, HR resources and an Employee Assistance Programme.
For smaller companies, there are still ways to provide support even if your company only has a few permanent staff members. For example, you could contract a third-party independent organisation to provide HR support at a cost that is appropriate to the scale of your company and workforce.
Companies of any size should have corporate policies in place, for example safeguarding and anti-discrimination. Make sure these are kept up to date – again, a third-party HR organisation can help with this. These policies should be made available to everyone who works with you.
Consider your organisational or production-wide communications procedures. What is the mechanism for reporting upwards? How will you stay in touch with your workers? Include this information in your on-boarding documentation, for example on call sheets or when agreeing contracts.
Further support and best practice recommendations:
- The Film and TV Charity’s Whole picture toolkit: a resource for mentally healthy productions helps productions throughout all stages in the production cycle. Co-designed with TV and filmmakers, it has a clear set of actions for each stage in the production cycle. It also contains examples of best practice and ready-to-use templates.
- The Bectu Welfare Policy was published in 2022 following consultation with members. It provides practicable policies which have the dual purpose of benefiting the workers and production companies. Find out what other support is available on the website or email the membership team.
- There is support available to production companies through Pact or for individuals through the Production Guild of Great Britain and Directors UK.
All companies and productions should carry out psychological risk assessments in the same way as you do physical risk assessments. This will identify threats to both physical and psychological health and physical and psychological safety.
It allows you to prevent risks where possible and take steps to mitigate them where you can't. The risk assessment should be carried out on an organisation-wide or production-wide level and should be reviewed regularly.
- The Film and TV Charity’s Whole Picture Toolkit contains guidance on writing a mental health risk assessment specifically for productions. It helps you to consider which mental health risks and stressors are present in your production and make an action plan to keep crew safe and motivated. There’s also an example of a completed assessment, based on several actual productions, which includes some of the potential control measures you could use.
- The Bectu Creative Industries Training Passport (CRISP) course offers a template production risk assessment form and hazards checklist as part of the student materials. It also covers stress using the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 and Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 as reference points. It includes a section on mental health (including physical safety for intimate scenes, emotional safety and measures that could be put in place). It is a one-day course accredited by the Institution of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH).
Organisations should provide training for freelancers on mandatory and compliance training and also on any systems required for the work you engage them to do. Consider making mandatory some basic training on mental health awareness and risks in the industry, as well as leadership training for anyone in a management position.
Where the freelancer has already recently completed this training, you might offer a refresher course or further, relevant mental health training to develop their continuing professional development.
Here are just a few ways you might support your freelancers:
- Resource sheet with information on what support is available and how to find out more
- Webinars or events on relevant topics, including pre-recorded online sessions
- Access to an Employee Assistance Programme
- Regular online meetings or forums to keep freelancers updated on policies and where to find support, and to address their questions or concerns
- Access to online resources such as an intranet wellbeing site
- Peer support networks
- Clear process for freelancers to feel able to discuss their needs, such as a dedicated manager or mentor, with a confidential way for them to provide feedback without fear of reprisal
- Signpost resources available to freelancers across the industry, including:
- The Film and TV Charity support line and Freelancer Wellbeing Hub
- Training and funding are available for freelancers through ScreenSkills. The Freelance Toolkit introduces the basics of freelancing in the screen industries
- Support is available from membership organisations including Bectu, the Production Guild of Great Britain and DirectorsUK
- HMRC guidance on IR35 and the check employment status for tax (CEST) tool
Here are a few points to consider:
- Risk assessment to identify and address specific risks or needs
- Corporate wide initiatives
- Senior leadership initiatives
- Organisational support networks
- Departmental champions
- Peer support groups
- Mandatory training for all
- Specific training for relevant people
- Online guides and clear communication channels for reporting upwards
- Corporate Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) – these can be expanded to include freelancers currently working with you
Have a look at the Film and TV Charity’s curated resources to help you to support your team.
Experience of a freelancer with 30 years of journalistic experience across a number of networks – anonymous.
Julie Freeborn, Occupational Psychologist, BBC:
"Whilst working on some BBC investigative stories, their manager who had attended a BBC Mental Health Awareness session recognised a marked deterioration in their mental health that was negatively impacting on their performance and productivity.
"As much as the manager could do to support them it became obvious this person was becoming unwell. The manager reached out to a BBC Mental Health First Aider and Trauma Risk Management Practitioner (both roles are peer to peer networks of staff who have volunteered to attend training to have the skills to support their BBC colleagues) to engage with the freelancer.
"From the conversation with the MHFA it was identified the freelancer was struggling with a complex mix of psychologically traumatising events they had experienced from childhood, through their personal life and professional career as a freelance journalist that was being triggered by a recent event.
"Whilst it was considered that the BBC work wasn’t the primary cause of their ill-health, it was recognised the BBC work was negatively impacting on their wellbeing and they were potentially close to a mental health crisis.
"Through a panel made up of the manager, HR and a specialist health practitioner the team felt it was appropriate to invest in a psychiatric assessment to confirm a diagnosis, help explore the reasons for their mental ill-health, identify work adjustments, support and get recommendations for appropriate therapy.
"Following the assessment where they were diagnosed with Complex PTSD by a trauma specialist; the freelancer actually self-funded their therapy, recognising that the issues were not caused by the BBC work."
The freelancer has commented: “I am now on the road to a full recovery. It wasn’t easy and there were many tears shed along the way but I am now back in a good place and back at The BBC working, which is a joy as I was seriously thinking of an alternative career. I used to feel ashamed and embarrassed about my ‘dark’ secret of struggling with depression and my mental illness. I now wear that badge with pride having overcome it and kept on moving forward. In some ways too it has made me a more empathetic and compassionate journalist. We as "blokes" don’t like talking about their ‘mental health stuff’ which I know now to my cost.”
Across the Sky family we were able to financially support our PAYE freelancers in 2020 during the first lockdown when most freelancer work at Sky and across the industry dried up.
As the world began to open up Sky put in countless measures to be Covid secure, engaging all freelancers on the impact this would have on them.
Jo Brookman, SPS Post bookings team leader, Sky Sport:
“In post production we are really keen to see our freelancers as part of our team. Beginning with the IR35 changes, we kept our freelancers informed through the whole process as to how their work with us would potentially be affected, reaching out with phone calls and group meetings to guide them through the process.
"Since the pandemic we in Post have been really mindful of the impact this had on our freelancers, our teams were empathetic to their situation and through regular meetings we were able to answer questions on payments Sky could offer to our PAYE freelancers and signpost them to support that was and is available to those limited companies.
"Once we began to welcome our teams back on site we engaged again with our freelancers to reassure the safety aspects of our sites. Our director of post was fully behind the reassurance piece, calling freelancers who may have been anxious to come back in.
"Our edit suites remain single occupancy and social distancing remains in place and is strictly monitored. We offer training to freelancers where we recognise a skill would be beneficial to our output and ultimately our customers.
"We make a point of all staff communication being sent to our freelance population. We believe their needs and wellbeing are just as important as those permanent staff. We rely on them so much that it would be detrimental not to treat them that way. We continue to look for better ways we can support our freelancers in post and at Sky.”
Bob Clarke, CEO, MAMA Youth Project:
“At MAMA Youth Project, the welfare of our staff is a major priority for us. Apart from working long hours, we work with young people with challenges in their life such as homelessness, mental health, ex-offenders, self-harmers to name but a few.
"Working with young people from these backgrounds can be very challenging for the staff and their mental health. There is an internal support procedure but we have decided to pay for a counselling service through our HR, which is outsourced.
"For a small fee, all staff and contractors can receive counselling while they are on contract and a further six months of support after their contract has ended. This service also extends to all the young trainees.
"As a small organisation and production company, this is an amazing service to offer our staff and contractors. It is a tangible demonstration of our commitment to their mental health and welfare. I cannot see any reason why all small to medium size companies would not want to provide a service like this.”