Creative Britain 'needs two freelance talent routes'
Two
freelancer-only routes into the UK should be provided by the government to the
creative industries -- the first for those in the EU, the second for
freelancers from outside it.
Issuing this dual recommendation, the Creative Industries Federation (CIF) said that of more than 250 creative businesses it polled, a hefty 62% engaged non-British freelancers.
Underlining
this heavy reliance on overseas freelancers, more than 70% of the businesses
that used non-British self-employed people said they “could not fill” the jobs
with UK workers.
So within the EU and once the UK completes its exit from it, the government must “provide a route for freelance talent,” said the CIF, which wants freedom of movement to be retained.
“EU
workers, along with workers from elsewhere in the world, must be able to set up
in the UK in a freelance capacity,” the federation urged, in its new ‘Global
Talent Report.’
If they
cannot, then the implied restrictions on non-British freelancers coming to the
UK from the EU could be “catastrophic” for the nation’s creative industry, the
CIF reportedly believes.
But it is the second talent route into the UK -- for non-EU freelancers -- where the report is more critical. “The visa system does not work for self-employed and freelance workers,” it begins.
“There is
no provision for the freelance workers the creative industries depend upon, for
example, and it does not accommodate the rapid turnaround of projects in some subsectors.”
Furthermore, it does not address the creative industry’s “requirements around the freelance workforce or skilled -- short of ‘exceptional’ -- talent at the level that many creative businesses would be looking to employ.”
It also
operates on far too small a scale; requires significant administration and
cost; fits poorly with the way in which most small businesses access talent
and, due to curbs on the number of jobs, does not tally with freelancers often
taking on multiple assignments at the same time.
In a CIF-organised letter, Labour, SNP, and Liberal Democrat MPs agreed, saying the non-EU immigration system “fails to meet the needs of creative freelancers”.
Their
letter adds: “This system will inevitably come under greater pressure after we
leave the European Union and its failing will only become more apparent.
“A lack of direction and tangible proposals from government on how this will be improved post-Brexit risks exacerbating these challenges and undermining our reputation as an international centre of culture and creativity.”
So the
federation says the government must create a ‘creative freelancer’ visa, a
bolt-on to the Tier1 ‘exceptional talent’ visa that would grant non-EU freelancers
entry into the UK to work for up to 24 months.
Extendable, and replaceable (with an offer of full-time employment under the employer-sponsored visa system), the visa would only be eligible to those who can “demonstrate a history of work in the sector”.
The freelance
creative would also need to produce a “viable plan for acquiring work in the UK,”
adds the report, which says the visa already has the backing of six
creative industry bodies including those from the film, fashion, technology,
crafts and broadcasting sectors.
“We
recognise that all visa systems must be resistant to abuse and believe adopting
a structure similar to tier 1 will help mitigate against improper use,” the CIF
said. Want to know how to write my essay fast ? Have a rough draft and you want to get it right the first time? Or perhaps your instructor has assigned a test and you need to get it for the grade. Whatever the reason, learning how to write a fast and effective essay is important. Here are some great tips for getting your essay ready in record time. “We ask government to consult with us on how to make systems even more rigorous
as existing policies are developed and new ones designed.”
26th October 2017
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