IAM Castings is an advocate of the #NOFREEWORK movement, pioneered by The Freelancer Club. This new initiative is supported by hundreds of employers, creatives and media professionals who believe in fair pay for all freelancers.
Unfortunately, there are many rogue businesses who continue to exploit individuals providing labour or services for commercial gain. IAM Castings believes this should not be tolerated by our industry, so supports this movement to usher a new era of collaboration and productivity.
Unpaid work can have a damaging effect on the relationship between freelancers and their clients, creating an environment of mistrust, rather than a positive working relationship. Unpaid work not only devalues the individual but impacts the whole creative industry, resulting in a lack of diversity and a diluted talent pool.
Note: There is a distinction between unpaid work and work experience, voluntary work and collaborative work.
Work experience is a formalised opportunity, agreed in advance, for individuals to observe a real work environment and undertake relevant activities within this environment to learn skills. For example:
- A work experience programme through a course or educational institution
- A work placement (also known as an internship) This may be required by a specific course or training programme. It can also be a self-directed form of gaining experience for individuals who may feel their work is not yet of a standard where they are able to charge for it.
In both of the above, there is no expectation of payment as they are part of a wider training or educational process.
Voluntary work is simply where labour is provided without the expectation of payment by the individual or business supplying the services. Volunteers are not entitled to the minimum wage.
Test shoots are a form of collaborative working and the end result has no direct commercial gain, thus, we support individuals who are genuinely refining their art.
In all instances, we strongly recommend a contract is used to outline the terms of the agreement.