SolvedVTAXPER63200 | Particular trades: Off-air workers in the film, television and radio industries: Off-air grades accepted as self-employed in the film, video and television industry
From HM Revenue & Customs · VAT Taxable Person Manual
The grades listed below are treated as self-employed, provided that all the conditions shown are fulfilled.
Assistants are not included in the job categories below.
Specific project normally means programme production over and above the company’s regular output. “Regular output” means programmes like Coronation Street and Eastenders which produce a weekly/daily output throughout the year. Essentially, individuals engaged for a specific project will have been recruited from outside the company’s staff and will be the type of person who moves from project to project throughout the ITV companies, BBC and the film industry. The term “specific project” does not include holiday relief, filling in for staff shortages and/or sickness and similar.
Staff who are engaged on a regular succession of contracts are not covered by this document. Such contracts are called roll-over contracts.
Freelance for HM Revenue & Customs purposes denotes an individual who moves from company to company. It is not synonymous with self-employment.
In certain circumstances the status of a worker may be influenced by the duration of an engagement. Workers in grades marked with an asterisk* in the following list can usually be regarded as self-employed provided that they are engaged:-
for a one-off production such as a feature film or a single drama or documentary
for less than 9 months on a series or a specific strand of a programme
Workers in grades not marked with an asterisk may be regarded as self-employed regardless of the length of the engagement, provided that they fulfil the necessary criteria.
| ### Job | ### Proviso |
|---|---|
| Advance Rigger | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| *Animal handler | |
| *Animation director | |
| *Animation production co-ordinator | |
| Animator | where the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager and the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| *Animatronic model designer | |
| Archive researcher | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| *Art director | |
| Assistant art director | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Assistant costume designer | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager or the contract requires substantial provision of materials |
| *Associate producer | except where engaged primarily for general research |
| *Auditioner | |
| Background artist | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Camera operator | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| *Casting director | |
| *Chaperone | |
| *Choreographer | |
| Composer | |
| Construction manager | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Continuity | where script breakdown is an integral part of the contract |
| Contributor | where payment is made on a per contribution basis |
| *Co-producer | |
| Costume designer; costume supervisor | where the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager or the contract requires substantial provision of materials |
| *Cricket scorer | |
| Digital Set Designer | where the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| *Director | |
| *Director of photography | |
| Dressmaker | where the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Driver | where the contract requires the driver to provide their own vehicle |
| *Editor | |
| *Executive producer | |
| *Fight arranger | |
| *Film stylist | |
| *First assistant director | |
| Foley artist | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Gaffer | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Graphic artist | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Graphic designer | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Grip (including Key Grip) | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Hairdresser | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment (including wigs) by the hairdresser, or 50% or more of the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| *Head of Art Department | |
| Head of Department rigger | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Language assessor | where used on an occasional basis to check style and delivery of foreign language broadcasts |
| Lettering artist | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Lettering designer | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Lighting cameraperson; Lighting director | where responsible for designing lighting or photography |
| *Line producer | |
| Location manager | |
| Make-up artist | where the contract requires provision of a standard make-up kit by the artist, or 50% or more is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| *Matron | |
| Model camera person | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Model designer | where providing own facilities and equipment/materials |
| Model maker | where providing own facilities and equipment/materials |
| *Modeller | |
| Musical arranger; Musical copyist | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| *Musical associate | |
| *Musical director | |
| *Musical score reader | |
| *Nurse | |
| *Photographic stylist | |
| *Post-production supervisor | |
| *Producer | |
| Production accountant | where the contract requires provision of relevant facilities by the worker |
| Production assistant | where script breakdown is an integral part of the contract |
| *Production buyer | |
| *Production designer | |
| *Production manager | |
| *Production supervisor | |
| Property master; Property hand | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment (including props) |
| Provider of occasional information (including Legmen) | Embraces tip-offs, racing tips, news, sports news and similar information |
| *Publicist | |
| Scenic artist/Scenic designer | where 50% or more of work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Script reader | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Script supervisor | where script breakdown is an integral part of the contract |
| *Scriptwriter | excluding reporting scripts |
| *Sculptor | |
| *Senior floor manager | |
| *Senior special effects technician | |
| Set decorator; Set dresser | where the contract requires set design to be performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Sound maintenance engineer | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Sound mixer; sound recordist | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Special effects supervisor | where the contract requires provision of necessary equipment |
| Special effects wireperson | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Specialised researcher | where the worker has either an existing profession outside of the Film Industry (for example Academic, Legal Adviser, Doctor) or specialist knowledge of the programme content to be researched and the worker is engaged for a specific project and is not a regular contributor |
| *Sport statistician | |
| Stage manager | where the contract requires provision of equipment (including props) |
| Stills photographer | where the contract requires provision of all cameras |
| Storyboard artist | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Storywriter | excluding news reporting |
| Stylist | film or photographic styling |
| Transcript typist | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Translator | where work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Transport manager | where providing own vehicles |
| *Tutor | |
| Unit manager | where the contract requires provision of facilities by the worker |
| Video technician | where the contract requires substantial provision of equipment |
| Wardrobe (includes wardrobe supervisor and stylist) | where the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager, or the contract requires substantial provision of materials |
| *Warm up | |
| Wigmaker | where the work is performed on premises other than those provided by the engager |
| Wireperson | where the contract requires provision of necessary equipment by the worker |
| *Writer |