Work seekers should not bear the cost of recruitment
Casting directories like Spotlight charge artists a fee for inclusion. In most industries, this practice - of charging work seekers a fee whether they find work or not - is illegal. However, Spotlight and other directories enjoy a carve-out from regulations governing employment agencies that is specific to the performing arts.
This is unjust and we are working to end this practice and put an end to casting directory fees entirely.
Our members frequently share concerns with us about the cost of casting directories and the impact it is has on their incomes. It cannot be right that those who need work bear the cost of recruitment. For actors, the professional necessity to be on Spotlight means their hope for work comes at a cost. This cost is a tax on that hope.
Legal action
Trial scheduled for Summer 2025
Despite the carve-out, casting directories cannot charge what they please. The current regulations state “the fee charged to the work-seeker [must] amount to no more than a reasonable estimate of the cost of production and circulation of the publication attributable to the inclusion of information about that work-seeker in the publication”. We believe that Spotlight’s fee (currently £198 per year when paid annually) exceeds this restriction.
On 11 July 2024, eight Equity members filed papers at the High Court in a class action against Spotlight. The action seeks a declaration from a judge that Spotlight is an employment agency and it must, therefore, abide by the regulations restricting the level of fee it can charge.
A successful judgment would mean that Spotlight must show that their rates of subscription to their members amount to no more than a reasonable estimate of the cost of production and distribution of their directory.
Spotlight are defending the claim and we have been given a window for a trial of June or July 2025.
Our work lobbying government
At the same time, we are asking the government to end the unjust carve-out from regulations governing employment agencies that is specific to the performing arts.
As the government’s Employment Rights Bill progresses through Parliament, we will be seeking to have a provision inserted to amend the relevant regulations to remove the carve-out for casting directories.
