Equity Announce New Agreements for Directors - West End, Commercial and Subsidised

We are pleased to announce three brand new four year Agreements for Directors working in Theatre, following the submission of our ambitious financial claim early this year with the West End Managers, Commercial Managers and Subsidised Managers. Our claims were intended to build on the success of our previous work during the last set of negotiations of delivering major uplifts to the minimum rates.

We are delighted to have achieved for Directors an immediate 10% increase to minimum rates in the West End, and 6% in the Commercial and Subsidised Sector.

In the West End, minimum rates will rise by 5% in Year 2, and CPI+ 2% in Years 3 and 4 – subject to a minimum increase of 4%, and maximum increase of 5%.

For Commercial and Subsidised Theatre, minimum rates will rise by 5% in Year 2, and CPI + 1% in Years 3 and 4, subject to a minimum increase of 4%, and maximum increase of 5%. 

This means guaranteed increases on the minimum terms for Directors working in the West End of a huge 24.9% or 27.3% and with guaranteed increases in Commercial and Subsidised Theatre of 20.4% or 22.7%.

Directors will remember that we last achieved substantial increases of 5% per year for each of the four years of the previous Agreement at a time of low inflation and when the industry was operating normally.

These Agreements were widely welcomed as achieving our objective of meaningful and inflation-proofed increases to the  minimum rates, and going some way to the longer term objective of decreasing the gap between these minima and the fees some Directors are able to achieve.

During this recent set of negotiations, the Managers ability to respond to our claim was constrained by the fact that the industry has not recovered from the ravages of the pandemic, with the Commercial Touring sector particularly badly hit and the West End operating only at 2019 levels. Production in Subsidised Theatre has also been severely impacted and that, together with frozen or cut funding levels, led to an extremely difficult set of negotiations.

That said, despite this very different economic landscape we were able to build on the previous negotiations and achieve percentage rises in excess of those recently received and celebrated for our performers and stage management, increases achieved against the background of the Unions Work, Rest and Pay Campaigns, Dignity in Digs, and Stand Up for 17. Both SOLT and UK Theatre also sought to respond as positively as they could, in acknowledgement of the sacrifices made by Equity members during the pandemic and the strength of the industrial relationship with Equity.

Paul W Fleming, Equity General Secretary, said:

“Equity is the union for theatre directors, and our negotiating committee has worked incredibly hard to deliver these substantial rises in pay. The underlying terms of our directors agreements are robust, particularly around copyright and further use, but the value of these terms has been eroded by low minimum rates. Through the incredible efforts of our members and staff we have made substantial progress in ensuring that the minimum rates can begin to match the going rates, and eliminate producers who undercut their peers to the detriment of our members. There is work still to do, but Equity’s unique place at the table, along with growing theatre director membership and activism means we are in a better position than ever to advance our agenda of a fair deal for directors.”

Michelle Major Butler, Head of Employee Relations, SOLT/UK Theatre, said:

Given the current economic difficulties facing SOLT/UK Theatre and Equity members, these negotiations had the potential to be challenging, and consequently it is particularly pleasing to note that the constructive dialogue and professionalism displayed by all parties in the negotiation process resulted in a settlement that was strongly supported by members of both organisations.

UK Theatre Minimum Rates 2023 – 2027

SOLT Minimum Rates 2023-2027