s a young female TV crew member working in an industry where 50% of freelancers are currently unemployed, Amelie* was desperate for a job and money to pay her bills. So when she was offered work on a TV film for a major UK broadcaster miles from where she lived, she took it – despite the fact no accommodation was provided. The set location was in Essex, two and a half to three hours’ drive away from home.
One experienced crew member says that safety has been “an ongoing issue … for a while”, adding: “I fell asleep driving around London – I drove into the back of another vehicle. I know lots of people who’ve done the same thing. No amount of coffee is going to help. Your body is saying ‘no’ … you don’t know until you’ve fallen asleep.
The freelance nature of the industry also exacerbates the issue in that many TV shows are made not by broadcasters themselves but by separate, independent production companies. Rules and collective agreements with unions are in place as to how TV shows are made and how much time crews should have off between shifts.
Netflix points out that it has a production health and safety team for each show, plus a confidential hotline, and it has worked with safety experts to establish its Netflix Lifesavers protocol toA spokesperson says: “We have a tool pack for people on set, 24-hour hotlines and take health and safety very seriously.”
Looking after crew members’ wellbeing benefits the industry long-term as it is more expensive to retrain than retain staff, MacDonald explains. He believes change is possible, pointing to the success of shorter working days in Nordic countries. Bectu has also negotiated better hours for set construction staff which resulted in higher productivity and less churn, “because they’re not burnt out and they don’t get so many mental health issues”.