Legal, ethical and contractual constraints

Legal, ethical and contractual constraints

Constraint- a limitation or a restriction on something in order to prevent something else from occurring.

There are many limitations, laws and restrictions in the Media industry. Some regulations aren’t legal however these are just equally as important in some circumstances.

Employment legislation

Employment legislation refers to the laws which enable protection to employers as well as their staff from unsafe working conditions and unhealthy situations. In any job or employment situation, health and safety regulations need to be carried out effectively and properly assessed as well as ensure employee’s rights and opportunities are all equal.

Employees rights at work depend on:

• Employment status and rights
• Contract of employment

Worker

A worker is generally classed as this if they have a contract or another arrangement in order to carry out work or services personally for a reward however the contract does not have to be written. The employees' reward is almost always for money although it could also be a benefit such as a promise of a contract or future work. 

Workers only have limited right to send someone else to do their work.These individuals also have to turn up for work even if they do not want to. Their employer has to have work for them to do as long as the contract or arrangement lasts. These employees' aren’t doing the work as part of their own limited company in an arrangement where the ‘employer’ is actually a customer or client.

Employment rights

Workers are entitled to certain employment rights such as:

• Receiving The National Minimum Wage
• Protection against unlawful deductions from wages
• The statutory minimum level of paid holiday
• The statutory minimum length of rest breaks
• To not work more than 48 hours on average per week or to opt out of this right if they choose
• Protection against unlawful discrimination
• Protection for ‘Whistle-blowing’
• To not be treated less favourably if they work part-time

https://www.gov.uk/child-employment/minimum-ages-children-can-work

Performance licences

A child might require a licence if they are under the leaving school age and taking part in:

• Films, plays, concerts and other public performances that an audience will pay to view or that takes place on licence premises.
• Any sporting events or modelling assignments where the individual is paid

The employer of the child must apply to the child’s local council for a child performance licence.

Supervision for the child

If this individual will not be present with their parent(s), guardians, teacher or tutor, they will have to be supervised by a chaperoned which will be provided by the council. Chaperones can be applied for approval by the council.

Rules for paying children

School aged children are not entitled to the National Minimum Wage as they do not pay National Insurance so they only need to be included in a payroll if their income is over their Personal Allowance. Children who are 16 or 17 are entitled to at least £3.87 per hour. 

A registered employer will need a record for this individual and report their pay as part of running payroll, however, if they earn more than £112 a week they will also need to do other regular PAYE tasks like deductions.

Restrictions on employment

There are various restrictions on where and when children are allowed to work. Children are not allowed to work:

• Without an employment permit issues by the education department of their local council
• A factory or industrial site
• During school hours
• Before 7am or after 7pm
• For more than one hour before school
• For more than 4 hours without taking a break that lasts at least an hour
• Pubs, betting shops and prohibited in local bylaws
• Harmful work places that could affect their health, well-being or education
• Without having a 2 week break from any work during the school holidays each year

Term time rules

During term time children can only work a maximum of 12 hours a week which also includes:

• A maximum of 2 hours on school days and Sundays
• A maximum of 5 hours on Saturdays for individuals who are 13-14 and 8 hours for 16-15 year old children

School holiday rules

During school holidays 13 and 14 year old children are allowed to work up to 25 hours a week which also includes:

• A maximum of 5 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
• A maximum of 2 hours on Sundays

During school holidays 15 and 16 year old individuals are allowed to work the maximum hours of 35 a week. This includes:

• A maximum of 8 hours on weekdays and Saturdays
• A maximum of 2 hours on Sundays

The contract of employment is the agreement made between the employer and the employee. This is usually through a written agreement. The contract of employment will include ‘custom and practice’ agreements which will address how activities are usually carried out in the workplace even though this might not be mentioned in the contract.

Employers Liability Insurance

Employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees while they are at work. Employees may be injured at work or become ill as a result of their job. They might try to claim compensation from an employer if they believe that the employer is at fault and is responsible for the situation occurring.

The Employers’ Liability Act 1969 ensures that the employer has at least a minimum level of insurance cover against any potential claims of compensation that are made against them. Employers' Liability Insurance is compulsory to possess. Employers’ Liability Insurance enable employers to meet the cost of potential compensation for employees’ injuries or illness whether they are caused on or off site.

Any injuries and illness relating to motor accidents that occur while employees are working may be covered separately by motor insurance.

Public Liability

Public Liability is separate to Employer Liability Insurance. This liability ensures cover to employers in case claims are made by members of the public or other organisations. Public Liability Insurance is generally voluntary whereas Employers’ Liability Insurance is compulsory.

Employers can be fined if they do not hold a current Employers’ Liability Insurance policy which complies with the law. It is important to possess Public liability insurance if filming is taking place in public. If any aspect of production causes injury to a member of the public, or damages property during the production, Public Liability Insurance will be able to cover the production company and this insurance organisation will pay out the required compensation.

Copyright and Trademarks

Copyright applies to work that is recorded.

Copyright gives the author specific rights in relation to the work. It prohibits unauthorised actions and allows the author to take legal action against instances of infringement or plagiarism.

Trademarks are registered at a national or territory level with an appointed government body and may take anywhere between 6 and 18 months to be processed.

Registered Trademarks may be identified by the abbreviation TM, or a symbol.

Intellectual property

This refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, symbol, names, images and designs used in commerce.

Intellectual property is divided into two categories:

Industrial properly which includes inventions, trademarks, industrial designs and geographic indications of source

Copyright, which includes literary and artistic works such as novels, poems, plays, films, musical works, artistic works such as drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures and architectural designs.

Rights related to copyright include those of performing artists in their performances, producers of phonograms in their recordings and those of broadcasters in their radio and television programmes.

Exclusivity and confidentiality

A non-disclosure agreement is a legal contract between at least two parties that outlines confidential material. This is knowledge or information that the parties wish to share with one another for specific purposes, but wish to restrict access to by third parties.

A non-disclosure agreement creates a confidential relationship between the parties to protect any type of confidential and proprietary information or secrets of production.

A non-disclosure agreement in a contract may also include exclusivity between the parties involved. Often, a person signing a contract provided by a company is agreeing to limited and exclusive employment for the company, the production or any other details the contract states.

Ethical constraints

Ethics are the Moral Principles that define how a person or group acts. There are ethical issues that TV producers are affected by including:

Trust

Liability

Truth

Privacy

Serving Public interest

The BBC follows a Charter.

The Charter sets out the public purposes of the BBC, this guarantees its independence and outlines of the BBC Trust as well as the BBC Executive Board.

BBC Editorial Guidelines

Trust

Truth and accuracy

Impartiality

Harm and offence

Fairness

Privacy

Conflicts of interest

Accountability