UK Tribunal Awards Pay to Actors for Work in Fringe Production

Well, it has happened. ‘Profit share’ as we know it has gone on trial, and profit share lost. The Guardian reports:

An employment tribunal case was brought against a theatre company in May by actors working for ‘profit share’ on the London fringe. Despite the actors agreeing to the contract, and knowing that working on the fringe for profit share invariably means working for nothing, the tribunal judge ruled that the actors should have been paid the national minimum wage under employment law.

The Guardian goes on to point out that further guidance is needed for companies that want to operate on an unpaid cooperative basis.

This case is likely to encourage other actors to come forward and claim their wages. Equity organiser Paul Flemming points out: “There has to be a level of compromise; there has to be an acceptance that the right of a producer to produce a play is not greater that the right of an artist to be paid.”