Equity has established that contributions are payable to members of the Equity Pension Scheme in respect of ADR session fees for PACT TV and film engagements, thereby securing these payments for members which would otherwise not have been paid.
After members brought the issue to our attention, Equity queried the lack of pension contributions being paid by producers on ADR sessions with PACT. Despite recognising that language in the agreements was open to interpretation, PACT have agreed with Equity’s view that pension does apply for ADR engagements on both the PACT Television Agreement and the PACT Cinema Films Agreement.
Members and their agents should inform production in advance of sessions that they are members of the Equity pension scheme and provide their pension numbers on the contracts in order to receive these payment.
The pension provisions are as follows –
Pact TV
Provided that the Artist has notified the Producer that the Artist is a member of the pension scheme, the Producer shall contribute 5% of the Artists session fee, subject to the following maximum payments: a maximum of £68.50 for each episode the Artist is engaged in.
The Artist shall contribute 50% of the contributions made by the Producer.
Pact Cinema Film
Provided that the Artist has notified the Producer that the Artist is a member of the pension scheme, the Producer shall contribute 6% of the Artists session fee, subject to the following maximum payments: a total maximum of £294 per film.
The Artist shall contribute 50% of the contributions made by the Producer.
FAQs
- Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT) have informed their members so producers should be aware that pension contributions are payable on ADR session fees.
- Members should include their Equity pension scheme number (P5 number), NI (National Insurance) number and date of birth on their invoices.
- It is the responsibility of the producer (the engager), not the crowd wrangler, to ensure that there is a process in place for pension contributions to be administered and paid to Equity pension scheme members.
- Equity pension scheme contributions: 5% employer contribution and a 2.5% member contribution. Example: for a £200 fee, a member contributes £5 and an employer contributes £10. The member would therefore receive a payment of £195, with a total contribution into their pension of £15. Holiday pay is not included in pension calculations.
- If you are experiencing problems with a producer, please contact the relevant Equity official in the Recorded Media department with the details of your ADR session. You can email ftvr@equity.org.uk
Re-voicing, voiceover and post-synchronisation are pensionable under the agreements but the problem was with payments for ADR (also referred to as crowd ADR) sessions not being treated as pensionable. Equity has now established that ADR session fees also attract pension contributions.
No, the artist’s contribution is deducted from their fee by production and then paid by them to the pension administrator.
If you don’t wish to make pension contributions on a contract, you can omit your pension membership details. This will mean that production will also not make pension contributions.
In most cases, artists working under a contract will not be entitled to pension contributions because the rules around auto enrolment are designed to capture workers who have a job that is paid on a regular basis. This is called the “pay reference period” and is typically weekly/monthly/four-weekly but there are other frequencies allowed. The law does not capture one-off contracts, irrespective of the value. However, Equity’s collective agreements make pension contributions a contractual right for members of the Equity Pension Scheme. So if you want to make pension contributions, and have contributions made (on top of/in addition to your fee) to your pension by an engager, sign up to the Equity Pension Scheme.
