Who'll be there to catch me when I fall??
For many of the different Job Roles such as performer, director, musical director and choreographer, they all belong to the same union...this union is called EQUITY. Equity ensures that performers are looked after and treated right in case of an injury or if rules are being broken within a company etc... After all, all of the hard work and training needs to pay off, we cant let a broken bone get in the way!
This is a short video explaining how equity works:
https://youtu.be/nh86d02KyKo
Here are some of the advantages of performers and roles within a performance company becoming members of equity:
- Industry opportunities - Equity keep all of there members up to date with real, paid job opportunities that are open in the industry.
- Free advise - Equity give you all of the advice that you may need to know regarding the industry. this includes tax and national insurance, job seekers allowance etc...
- Public liability insurance - covered costs of up to £10 million in case of a serious injury if an Equity member. Equity are there to support you and give you protection for working lives.
- Accident and backstage insurance - Members are automatically covered for this type of insurance. Additional support is also provided if you are unable to work due to an accident.
- Workshops and training - There are free workshops that Equity members are entitled to and they provide short course programmes in professional development.
- Pay and conditions - Equity advise you to run through any work contracts that you may have been offered and making sure that they are a part of Equity ensuring that you are fully aware of different terms and conditions that you may be at risk of.
Directors
Equity will give directors the right support for them, helping them through any difficulties they may be faced with through their career. This protects them against scams, ‘contract claims’ etc… they will ensure that you are not part of any scandal or something that is not legal or professional. They will also help you if you have ever been underpaid, or haven’t been paid due to being sick and so on.
Being a member of equity and having an equity card, is recognised to be a part of a professional organisation and having a professional status.
Musical Directors
There is also another union that Musical Directors can be a part of, how ever this is just for musicians, which may be more appropriate for younger and less experienced MD's to be a part of whilst in the early stages of their career. This union is called 'theMU' (the musician's union).
The benefits of this union are:
- Instrument and personal liability insurance
- Full guide access for the industry
- Career and business advice
- Copyright protections
- Legal assistance
- Nationwide network of musicians
To be a member of the MU, it is only £20 per month, and this ensures that you will be fully protected and looked after during every job that you have or are being offered. Especially in the early stages of a career and you are looking for any work you can get for experience.
Choreographers
Equity will look after the individual through their changes in positions in the industry (from performer to choreographer) and support all job roles within the performing arts community .
From the information that is mentioned previously about other job roles and how they near enough all belong to the Equity union, it is no different for a choreographer! A choreographer is still at the same risk as a performer to getting injured, and this is the reason as to why they need to be within a union that will look after them.
Assistant stage managers
Assistant stage managers belong to another union called 'The stage management organisation', also known as SMA.
They work for stage managers in the UK, supporting, promoting, representing and developing the work of their members who are in the profession.
Some of the benefits of joining unison is that:
Front of House mangers
Some people may think that Front of House staff do not need to belong to a union because it is usually only part time work due to the limited amount of hours (evening and matinee performances) meaning that most of the staff will have other jobs. However, this is a full time job for the Front of house manager due to the amount of tasks, skills and responsibilities that they have to complete whilst on the job.
Unison is the ‘public service union’, meaning that anyone who works with the public can join this union. A front of house manager means that you have to work with the public daily, ensuring that they are completely satisfied with the service you are providing them with. Becoming a members of Unison will ensure that your pay is protected and that your working conditions are legal and fine for you to work.
Some of the benefits for becoming a member of Unison are:
To join Unison, you will have to pay a monthly fee depending on your annual salary. Here is a chart showing the rates of pay – it’s starts off as little as paying £1.30 a month!
This is a short video explaining how equity works:
https://youtu.be/nh86d02KyKo
Here are some of the advantages of performers and roles within a performance company becoming members of equity:
- Industry opportunities - Equity keep all of there members up to date with real, paid job opportunities that are open in the industry.
- Free advise - Equity give you all of the advice that you may need to know regarding the industry. this includes tax and national insurance, job seekers allowance etc...
- Public liability insurance - covered costs of up to £10 million in case of a serious injury if an Equity member. Equity are there to support you and give you protection for working lives.
- Accident and backstage insurance - Members are automatically covered for this type of insurance. Additional support is also provided if you are unable to work due to an accident.
- Workshops and training - There are free workshops that Equity members are entitled to and they provide short course programmes in professional development.
- Pay and conditions - Equity advise you to run through any work contracts that you may have been offered and making sure that they are a part of Equity ensuring that you are fully aware of different terms and conditions that you may be at risk of.
Directors
Equity will give directors the right support for them, helping them through any difficulties they may be faced with through their career. This protects them against scams, ‘contract claims’ etc… they will ensure that you are not part of any scandal or something that is not legal or professional. They will also help you if you have ever been underpaid, or haven’t been paid due to being sick and so on.
Being a member of equity and having an equity card, is recognised to be a part of a professional organisation and having a professional status.
Musical Directors
There is also another union that Musical Directors can be a part of, how ever this is just for musicians, which may be more appropriate for younger and less experienced MD's to be a part of whilst in the early stages of their career. This union is called 'theMU' (the musician's union).
The benefits of this union are:
- Instrument and personal liability insurance
- Full guide access for the industry
- Career and business advice
- Copyright protections
- Legal assistance
- Nationwide network of musicians
To be a member of the MU, it is only £20 per month, and this ensures that you will be fully protected and looked after during every job that you have or are being offered. Especially in the early stages of a career and you are looking for any work you can get for experience.
Choreographers
Equity will look after the individual through their changes in positions in the industry (from performer to choreographer) and support all job roles within the performing arts community .
From the information that is mentioned previously about other job roles and how they near enough all belong to the Equity union, it is no different for a choreographer! A choreographer is still at the same risk as a performer to getting injured, and this is the reason as to why they need to be within a union that will look after them.
Assistant stage managers
Assistant stage managers belong to another union called 'The stage management organisation', also known as SMA.
They work for stage managers in the UK, supporting, promoting, representing and developing the work of their members who are in the profession.
Some of the benefits of joining unison is that:
- They help people in the industry with different contracts, looking at whether they are suitable and legal.
- They help people who are in need of employment. Employers will be able to search for stage managers (or other job roles) if they need someone for a certain job.
- They offer support to their members if they are in any sort of dilemma that it may be hard to get out of, or don't know how to act in the right way.
Front of House mangers
Some people may think that Front of House staff do not need to belong to a union because it is usually only part time work due to the limited amount of hours (evening and matinee performances) meaning that most of the staff will have other jobs. However, this is a full time job for the Front of house manager due to the amount of tasks, skills and responsibilities that they have to complete whilst on the job.
Unison is the ‘public service union’, meaning that anyone who works with the public can join this union. A front of house manager means that you have to work with the public daily, ensuring that they are completely satisfied with the service you are providing them with. Becoming a members of Unison will ensure that your pay is protected and that your working conditions are legal and fine for you to work.
Some of the benefits for becoming a member of Unison are:
- Free training and development
- Death and accident benefits
- Legal services
- Welfare benefits
- NHS professional indemnity insurance
- Financial grants for learning
To join Unison, you will have to pay a monthly fee depending on your annual salary. Here is a chart showing the rates of pay – it’s starts off as little as paying £1.30 a month!