Bectu

Bectu The UK's media and entertainment union supporting staff and freelancers in the creative industries

BECTU is the UK trade union for staff and freelancers working in broadcasting, TV & radio production, film, digital media, theatre and live events. Our members include all non-performance production grades as well as support staff in a variety of roles. Background artistes in London and the South East also rely on us for support. The union represents workers, whatever the type of contract, who are based primarily in the United Kingdom. (Workers assigned abroad but whose contracts originate in the UK are covered). From 1 January 2017, BECTU becomes the biggest sector of Prospect, the union for professionals. At that point Bectu will also encompass staff working in IT and telecoms and sector membership will swell to over 40,000 people.

07/10/2026

A day in the life working at a UK music festival 🏕️🥁🪕

Well not exactly. This is part 3 of our day in the life series of Bectu member stories, this time it is the story of one live events worker at a UK music festival.

In a recent Bectu survey of festival workers, working in extreme heat, 18 hour days, sleeping on the floor and inadequate sanitation were all too common issues faced by those working at UK festivals.

While the summer festival season may be over Bectu’s campaign to improve festival working conditions doesn’t end there.

If you worked at a festival this summer you can go to this post in our bio to fill out our festival reporting form to help us map working conditions across UK festivals, what’s working well and what you want to change.

The reporting form closes in two weeks and you can add multiple reports as every report helps improve your industry for the next festival season.

Video description: Day in the life video with various timestamps of working behind the scenes at a UK festival

Struggling to keep up with the constant drip feed of BBC cuts?The reality is that behind the headlines are people across...
30/09/2026

Struggling to keep up with the constant drip feed of BBC cuts?

The reality is that behind the headlines are people across the nations and regions represented by Bectu and our creative union partners who face uncertainty, anxiety and in many cases job losses.

Continuing cuts to services, programmes and channels are doing long-term damage to the BBC, some of which will be irreparable.
Morale is already at an all-time low among employees and the continual drip feed of bad news is making it worse.
Cuts upon more cuts will be hard to recover from and the whole industry will be affected.
We must put the BBC’s funding on a secure, long-term footing to stop its death by a thousand cuts.

Carousel description: Carousel post outlining the various BBC cuts in recent headlines with headlines and screen grabs from various stories on the cuts overlain on BBC building imagery.

24/09/2026

“The more we cut, the less we can do.” The BBC has announced another round of cuts, this time at BBC Sport with a number of job roles set to be cut.

The cuts are part of a BBC-wide plan to save ÂŁ500m and lose as many as 2,000 staff by 2028.

We spoke to Seynam Kluvitse who was speaking in support of the motion to protect the future of public service broadcasting at this year’s with our creative union partners & supporting too 📢

Charter Renewal must put the BBC’s funding on a secure, long-term pathway and in the meantime we need to ensure we don’t sleepwalk into the loss of vital functions, like potentially at BBC Sport.

21/08/2026

A decade of cuts has hugely damaged our public service broadcaster and the morale of BBC staff.

Bectu members have had their say during the charter renewal process, and the message is clear from all creative industry unions: the BBC is ours and we must protect it.

The BBC provides a critical skills and talent pipeline for the entire industry, which risks being damaged beyond repair.

In an era of fake news and an industry that is becoming more concentrated in the hands of a few multinational corporations, the UK needs a sustainably funded BBC more than ever.

The BBC is more than just a licence fee. It’s ours. We need to protect it. As Head of Bectu outlined in a recent parliamentary session.

29/07/2026

Just another day in the life working in film & TV 📺

Well not quite. This is part 2 of our day in the life series where we recreate member stories of working long hours in film and TV to highlight the endemic long hours culture many workers face day to day. This is a day in the life of a producer in Unscripted TV.

Our Broken Turnaround survey revealed widespread breaches of basic turnaround times, alongside testimonies that expose a culture putting workers at risk.

A worker is considered to have ‘broken turnaround’ when they are required by their employer to return to work within less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period. This is in breach of workplace rights.

Despite years of promises, the industry has failed to act. Talk of work life balance means nothing without real change. Enough is enough.

Video description: Day in the life video with various timestamps of working in Unscripted TV based on testimony

22/07/2026

Just a day in the life working in film and TV 🕰️

Well not quite. We recreated member stories of working long hours in film and TV to highlight the endemic long hours culture many workers face day to day. This is a day in the life of a worker in hair, make-up and prosthetics.

Our Broken Turnaround survey revealed widespread breaches of basic turnaround times, alongside testimonies that expose a culture putting workers at risk.

A worker is considered to have ‘broken turnaround’ when they are required by their employer to return to work within less than 11 consecutive hours in each 24-hour period. This is in breach of workplace rights.

Despite years of promises, the industry has failed to act. Talk of work life balance means nothing without real change. Enough is enough.

Make sure to sign our end long hours culture petition ✍️

Video description: Day in the life video with various timestamps of working in film and tv from testimony from a worker working in hair makeup and prosthetics

08/07/2026

Yes we Cannes? This is what international solidarity looks like 🎬

At Cannes Film Festival this year our union partners from France showed what solidarity across borders looks like by protesting long hours culture in film and TV.

Behind the glitzy image of working in film and TV is the punishing reality of long hours culture.

Bectu’s Big Survey reveals an endemic long hours culture in the creative industries, with
80% of freelancers working 10+ hour shifts and a quarter reporting 12-hour days as standard.

These long hours lead to severe burnout, unsafe travel, and frequent breaches of basic 11-hour rest breaks.

We are calling for an end to the practice of Broken Turnaround and for the entire industry to come to the table to finally end long hours culture so workers can have sustainable and enjoyable careers in the industry.

Video description: Talking heads discussing long hours culture to camera in French language. Intercut with shot of Cannes film festival.

01/07/2026

Can you imagine Britain without a BBC? 🤔

Luckily Max Profit isn’t real, but the threat is. A decade of cuts, including the latest round of 550 job cuts announced last month has hugely damaged our public service broadcaster and the morale of BBC workers.

The BBC’s Charter is up for renewal. Bectu members have had their say during the process, and the message is clear from all creative industry unions: the BBC is ours and we must protect it.

The BBC is also the hub at the heart of the creative industries ecosystem, without which the sector would hugely suffer.

The BBC provides a critical skills and talent pipeline for the entire industry, which risks being damaged beyond repair.

In an era of fake news and an industry that is becoming more concentrated in the hands of a few multinational corporations, the UK needs a sustainably funded BBC more than ever.

Charter Renewal must put the BBC’s funding on a secure, long-term pathway or the nightmare of Max Profit buying up the BBC could become real.

The BBC is more than just a licence fee. It’s ours. We need to protect it.

Video description: A man posing as a consultant for an American multinational media conglomerate approaches members of the public to mockingly consult them on its plan to buy the BBC. The public reacts with incredulity and questions the man’s motives. Eventually the man reveals it to be a ruse to highlight the need to keep the BBC publicly funded. Ends on an image that reads: Max Profit isn’t real but the threat is. It’s our BBC. Let’s protect it.

29/06/2026

Breaking BBC news coming this Wednesday 😧

Luckily Monolith Capital isn’t real. But the threat is.

Video description: Person posing as an American CEO proposes a new subscription model for the BBC as a tounge in cheek stunt.

Bectu Live Events Network members have started working another outdoor festival season and are running their annual Bett...
26/06/2026

Bectu Live Events Network members have started working another outdoor festival season and are running their annual Better Festivals Campaign to improve working conditions.

This year, reps and members will be handing out a new live events H&S and crew welfare leaflet to festival workers with a checklist of things to make sure are in place and to identify best practice.

With the extreme heatwave recently it is clear that employers need to take their duty of care seriously, ensure they proactively risk assess and do what they can to mitigate the risks of extreme heat for those working at festivals.

If there are areas of concern, or examples of things done well at festivals, then workers can report these using Bectu’s dedicated LinkTree reporting form here: https://linktr.ee/BectuFestivals

If you are working a festival this year and are interested in getting involved, then please let us know here: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=2Lp1HutZxU6auEMHxZPIgU9T35VNUu1Ouoy-u9k4Ai1UQjVENUNGMFpCVTNGU05YMTlUN1NUWjFEQi4u&route=shorturl

The more information live events workers share about working at festivals the better placed Bectu is when talking to festival organisers and stakeholders to get real changes in working conditions.

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100 Rochester Row
London
SW1P1JP

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Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm

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+443006001878

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