Independent Culture Fair Work Task Force Report and Recommendations

Discussion

Legislative Changes

Reserved

36. There are a number of issues which the Task Force has examined where it is clear that the Scottish Government has the powers to act and, to an extent, has already been using both these powers and other policy levers; this includes influencing and advocacy. Where an expansion of this action would be beneficial are dealt with under the relevant recommendations.

37. However there are several areas where the Task Force considers that action is required and that the necessary steps are outwith the current powers of the Scottish Government and the vires of the Scottish Parliament itself.

38. The Task Force considers that these will therefore require legislation at the reserved level to resolve and improve the situation. These are included in the Recommendations but the Task Force notes that there is a need for an enhanced and improved legislative framework for all workers in the Culture and Creative Industries workforce, throughout the UK, as well as those situations where reserved legislation impacts within the Scottish industries.

39. These are necessary to enable greater protections for Fair Pay, job security, effective voice and ensuring confidence in receiving due payments. Clearly this rests in the reserved legislative area.

UK Government Employment Rights Bill:

40. Since the Task Force began our work in May 2024 we have since seen the publication of the UK Government Creative Industries Sector Plan in June 2025 as part of the overarching, pan-sectoral UK Government Ten Year Industrial Plan. Within that Sector Plan we have noted the commitments to move towards “Good Work” including stronger employment rights ^[29] and tackling bullying, harassment and discrimination^[30]. There has also been the commitment by the UK Government towards a Fair Work Agency, as an Executive Agency of the Department of Business and Trade.^[31]

41. The Task Force has noted the UK Government statement of intent from July 2025 “Implementing the Employment Rights Bill – and the phased approach proposed to roll out of additional rights during 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Task Force therefore recommends that the Scottish Government commend this commitment and work closely with the UK Government to ensure a rapid passage and subsequent enactment of any legislation that delivers greater benefit for the Culture and Creative Industries across Scotland.

42. Recalling the strong linkages between Scottish Government outcomes, and onward to UN Sustainable Development Goals (as per paragraph 14 above) and the global need to recognise the factors that influence the status and wellbeing of the artist, the Task Force discussions agreed the worth of transposing the UNESCO’s 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist^[32] policy intent into the relevant legislation.

43. In particular the Task Force highlights the definition of ‘artist’ adopted in the UNESCO text and considered that the transposition of this established transnational definition could provide consistency and common understanding in policymaking related to the living and working conditions of artists. This could apply to any future legislation where artists are mentioned or revisions to existing legislation, including those that establish, or seek to alter, the purpose of public bodies working in the creative and cultural sector: for example a majority of the Task Force considered that the adoption of the UNESCO definition within the legally defined functions of Creative Scotland should be considered to centre the definition and wider approach.

44. The Task Force recommend that the Scottish Government seek to refine definitions in user in order to reflect both the status of the artist and also reflect the changing nature of artistic activity within the Culture and Creative industries – recognising the challenges and opportunities from recent developments in areas such as Artificial Intelligence – expanded on in paragraph 63 below.

45. Recognising though the timescale that is often necessary for legislative changes, it is only if this definition of an artist (including those seeking to ‘break into’ the sector and not yet receiving payment) cannot be embedded using swifter administrative actions already available to the Scottish Government, that any legislative changes should be considered. We note that the UNESCO Member States, including the UK are also invited to submit, every four years, a report on the implementation of the Recommendation, a mechanism that could be utilised to track progress on public bodies’ commitments to the living and working conditions of artists.

Public Sector Culture Bodies

46. Since the Task Force began our work, in May 2025 Scottish Ministers commenced an Independent Review of Creative Scotland.^[33] This is to be commended and the Task Force wrote to the Chair of the Independent Review and the letter (from selected members of the Task Force) is included as Annex A to this report.

Freelancers

47. As noted, the Fair Work Convention does not apply to self-employed workers outwith public funding streams: whilst the clear advantages deriving from Fair Work practices are well documented (and not necessary to repeat here). It is therefore currently for individual companies to set conditions (in line with the reserved employment law).

48. Our deliberate emphasis on companies here, rather than employers, reflects the overwhelming makeup of the culture and creative industries sector being self-employed/freelance workers.

49. As usefully summarised by the House of Lords Library, “There is no specific definition of freelancer in UK employment law, but they are often self-employed contractors or consultants who work for different clients on a flexible basis. They can be engaged directly, through other companies, or through the freelancer’s own company (sometimes known as a ‘personal service company’).^[34]

50. The Task Force has agreed that, as a working definition, when the term “freelancer” is used, it will be assumed to refer to self-employed creatives, or contractors who are not afforded the same rights as employees.

51. A more expansive treatment of the definition and issues is covered in the 2025 Creative UK report “Forging Freelance Futures”, extracted below:

“While the term ‘freelancer’ lacks a precise legal definition in the UK, it generally refers to individuals who:

• operate as consultants or contractors;
• offer their services to multiple clients; and
• undertake work directly through a third party, agency or via the freelancer’s own limited company.

….‘freelancers’ refers to workers who pay some or all tax through self-assessment (not PAYE) or take multiple and overlapping PAYE contracts.

Whilst freelancers may operate on a self-employed basis, this is not exclusively the case. Freelancing includes individuals working across a mix of employment types, whether self-employed, employed, or on a series of short-term contracts. The working definition of a freelancer can also extend to those with ‘portfolio careers’ – individuals managing multiple and varied jobs across different projects or industries.^[35]

52. As a recent House of Lords analysis noted “Rates of self-employment are higher in the creative sectors than in most other sectors of the UK economy”^[36]. It further noted that:

“As self-employed contractors, most freelancers pay tax through self-assessment, not through the PAYE system. This can have tax advantages to the individual, and to the client hiring the freelancer, as the client does not have to pay employer national insurance contributions. Freelancers can benefit from the greater flexibility and control that self-employment can bring, but they may also lose access to workplace rights such as holiday pay, sick pay, pensions and the minimum wage [our emphasis]”.^[37]

53. In addition to the potential “to lose access to workplace rights”, the Task Force also noted the report “Freelance and Forgotten” from the Scottish Trade Union Congress relating experience of late payment, non payment and bullying, harassment and sexual harassment.^[38] This survey augmented the findings from earlier work which has informed the approach of the Task Force – including the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre.^[39]

54. The Task Force members set out in the letter in Annex A therefore asked, amongst other issues, that the Independent Review of Creative Scotland take the opportunity to consider the implementation of Fair Work with regard to Freelancers within those sectors and activities currently with Creative Scotland’s remit and responsibilities. Other public bodies working in the sector could similarly consider their potential role in extending the benefits of Fair Work to the freelancer workforce, expanded on further in paragraph 138.

55. This recognises that there are issues affecting Freelancers across a number of inter-related sectors, and is expanded on in later discussions and recommendations #7 and #12.

56. Pending the further improvements to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) work, referred to in the UK Government Creative Industries Sector Plan, the Task Force recognises the Culture Strategy Action Plan’s action on data (S2) and considers that there is still an urgent need for further data collection within the control of the Scottish Government and its public bodies.^[40]

57. A key aim in this work must be an accurate disaggregation of data in order to facilitate a better understanding of the intersecting needs amongst different members of the culture and creative industries sector workforce in Scotland.

58. In particular, a priority area must be addressing unfair pay practices by reporting on the gender pay gap to the Scottish Government by way of the Fair Work Delivery Group. This should include regular reporting on the industries, including disaggregated data on the gender pay gap as it applies to racial minorities, migrants, working class communities, disabled artists, and all identities protected under the Equality Act of 2010.

59. Pending the detailed ONS work the Task Force welcome consideration of how a suitably resourced Creative Scotland could play a co-ordination and advisory role within the sector, supporting both the Delivery Group and the Freelance Commission in this task, and working in partnership with relevant agencies and stakeholders to help stakeholders improve their own data collection, disaggregation, sharing and reuse.

60. Recognising the work of earlier groups dealing with the Culture Strategy for Scotland, including the Measuring Change Sub-Group of the National Partnership for Culture^[41], this improvement in data collection, disaggregation, sharing and enabling reuse would aim to help decision-makers, funders and service users have an improved understanding of the work and impact of the sector using existing information from a range of resources.

61. As well as enabling invaluable context for an annual report on Fair Work (with appropriate input and analysis from both the Culture Fair Work Delivery Group and the Freelance Commission), throughout the rest of the year it could also provide an invaluable resource for other research (such as independently run participatory systems mapping of cultural programmes) by ensuring a consistent and accurate approach to the measurement of resources and funding inputs.

62. We highlight the need for this data to include culture and creative industries sector workers that are employed across other sectors like the events and hospitality sectors, reflecting the intersectionality which is such a feature of the culture and creative economies – and explicitly recognised in the ongoing ONS work.^[42]

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

63. Recognising the changing nature of the sectors (as per paragraph 44 above), the Task Force would also highlight concerns the sector has relating to Artificial Intelligence (AI). Amongst other ethical considerations^[43], AI is an emerging and evolving issue which is impacting creatives due to work being stolen and through diminishing of available work.

64. At a time when we see considerable efforts being made across culture and creative industries to monitor and mitigate their environmental impact (e.g. The Theatre Green Book^[44]) it is necessary within the ongoing debates around the potential benefits of this emerging technology to also highlight all the associated debates surrounding data centres – including issues of local economic impacts, water and power consumption.^[45]

65. Considerations surrounding AI for creatives should begin by acknowledging that key principles of consent, credit and remuneration are needed for workers within the sector – and recognition of the jobs already being lost to AI. The loss of existing creative assets from creatives has been profound and also impacts adversely on future earnings by creatives.

66. The Task Force recognises that AI is a challenging international issue and that copyright law is different in every country. There have been interesting legislative approaches namely the Danish Government’s proposal to change copyright law^[46] to ensure that citizens would have the right to their own body, facial features and voice, and in California where a law has been set out to protect actors and performers from AI replicas of their likeness or voice being used without their consent.^[47]

67. The Task Force supports legislation that allows creatives and creative practitioners to opt in to give explicit permission for their data and their creative work to be used. The Task Force considers that the default position should be that permission for use must be actively and explicitly granted by the owner rather than, as understood at present, the owner of their data is required to opt-out to prevent their data or work being used without their permission, or any remuneration.

68. The Task Force recommends a report on the impact of the future of AI on the creative workforce to be commissioned on behalf of the Culture Fair Work Delivery Group (at a pace to enable findings delivered simultaneously with the current July 2026 Fair Work programme evaluation) to explore the impact of data ethics, copyright and IP ownership, consent, regulation and legislation.

69. This improved data on the culture and creative industries workforce would feed into the work of both the proposed Freelance Commission (Recommendation # 12) and the Culture Fair Work Delivery Group (Recommendation #2).

70. This research would also explicitly explore the impact of scraping data from individual members of the creative workforce to understand the impact of this practice on income earning abilities and career progression within the sector.

71. A further sub-recommendation is, as part of this initial research, the consequence of the scraping of data be explored with a view towards regular research interventions to track the impact of AI in data in Scotland.

72. This would include a particular view to the impact of how data is being used and the impact of AI developments on data storage and usage. This service would be a government funded partnership across the third, private, and public sectors to enable research to be conducted to understand the full impact of the rapidly evolving technology.

Conditionality within the Public sector and public sector funding

73. The Task Force recognised that the current Fair Work implementation across Culture and Creative Industries largely relies on conditionality within grants by public bodies or within contracts for delivery of goods and services.

74. This reflects that the Scottish Government does not have the authority (nor the Scottish Parliament the vires) to create, amend or repeal employment law – see Reserved.

75. This means employers and, crucially contractors and sub-contractors, can decide if they use Fair Work practices in their business or not – unless required to do so. This recognises the increased use of complex chains of sub-contracts within the sector: although driven by a “prime contract”, these sub-contracts (whilst remaining within current employment legislation until amended at UK level as per the UK Government commitment in the Creative Industries Sector Plan^[48]) do not have a compulsion to deliver Fair Work conditions.

76. The Task Force notes that those public bodies funded by Grant In Aid should already be applying Fair Work First, in addition to their other obligations for “Fairness and equality^[49]” under the Best Value regime.

77. The Task Force however notes the existing opportunity which would already appear to be open to Local Authorities in their Licensing Authority role around Temporary Licenses for events.

78. Recognising the Verity House agreement and the respective democratic mandates of both the Scottish Government and Local Authorities, the Task Force would welcome clarity and further discussion amongst stakeholders about the potential for making greater use of conditions by individual Local Authorities (as a Licensing Authority) in such cases – and to consider how Fair Work principles might be expanded in other commercial settings.

79. The Task Force further recognises that although there are often multiple funders for creative industries activity (e.g. sponsorship, philanthropy etc.) in order for Fair Work to be effectively embedded in the culture and creative sectors, there needs to be conditionality on funding across the sector, irrespective of the source of funding.

80. It is our view that this conditionality should continue to apply to Creative Scotland grant recipients (including one-off and Multi Year funded Organisations) and the National Performing Companies: Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, National Theatre of Scotland and Scottish National Orchestra. These are funded directly, and predominantly, by the Scottish Government.

81. This conditionality is essential for the Scottish Government to reach its goal of being a Fair Work Nation by 2030.