Unit 8 - Working Patterns

Contracts

Fixed term contract:

A fixed term contract is a contract for work, however the employer states that the contract will expire in a certain date, at a future date, it can be long or short depending on the employer who gives it out. The contract will expire when it reaches that date. they are usually done to full a specific role for a relatively short amount of time to get a task done or a project finished. When the contract finishes it will be treated as any dismissal, the employee will then leave the work, all workers are eligible to a fair dismissal so they would have knowledge of it prior to them being dismissed, if there is an unfair dismissal then they could make a claim legally. Their role is to fill in a gap in the industry. they are not permanent workers, they are there for a short time to fill in a job in order to get a task finished by a deadline, in the media industry they would be an editor for example, they are only there for the duration that they have to edit, so whenever the deadline for the film is, their contract would be to that date, as once the final product is finished there is no more use for them, they have a relatively short amount of time to work, and they are to put all the scenes shot together to make the film, they do not specialise in anything else. A film / video editor earns an average salary of £23,621 per year. The contract and the length of work will decide how much money they earn depending on the job as well. The role in the media industry has to be a fixed-term contract as they cannot be permanent, if producers or director does not like the work that they do or their way of working, they should have the right to dismiss them, a fixed term contract is to make sure that the 'editor' for example does the editing for the film, but he is not permanent because he would not be being paid by the production company for not doing any work, it wouldn't make any sense for them to be paid, unless the contract is to edit two films one after the other, which is unlikely, they would hire a team of editors to do multiple films, one person would not overlook the whole film. 

Freelance worker:

A freelancer or freelance worker is a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer. As a freelancer, you also enter into contracts, but with many “employers.” The contract basically is that you will do a certain type of work, you can generally do the work at any location you choose, and the work is usually on a project-by-project basis. In return, you get paid for the work you do. you may work for as many other businesses if you want. They are not bound by employer limits, as they do the work given to them , they are 'self-employed' as in they do not have a set day to go into work, or be loyal to one company they can work for several different companies that wants to get a project/task done. They are similar to fixed-term int he fact that they share the same role, in filling in a job slot to get a project finished, however they do not get the same rights and benefits as such. they can be dismissed or they can leave at any time. Scriptwriters to web designers, TV presenters to radio producers, many people in the media industry are ‘freelancers’. A scriptwriter is under a free-lance firstly because they do not get a high amount of wage, so if they work for several different companies writing scripts, they will get more money, but also, once they have finished the script and have finalised the story/plot of the film there is no more use for them to be on set and being paid by a contract, so making them freelance means they can get the script done in time, get paid for the work they have and then move on, to a different job if they have it, they are not bound by contracts or leaving dates. Web designers again are freelancers because once the final product is made there is no requirement for them to be there, once the website is created to the way the client would like, the web-designer won't be paid for not doing any work, so them being a free lancer is a benefit to both sides in the fact that the free lancer can work on several different projects and get paid, usually since they work for a lot of different companies, they will get high amount of money, and this is beneficial to the company as they wont be paying wages to an employee who is not adding anything to the project. A costume designer again falls in to the same category, unless the producer and manager know and like the work that the costume designer has done, they will be free-lancer as well, once they have finished the costumes they would be dismissed as there is no use for them, them being free-lancer means that they can work on different costumes for different films. Free-lancer work on a product based work, once their work is is finished they leave with their pay. 

Irregular patterns:

Irregular working patterns are similar to free-lance but are a bit more restrictive, so you are called in rather choosing when and how to work, so an animator for example, they are not needed 24/7 and so they are called in to work, so they will have really irregular woking hours and patterns they could be called in in the middle of the night, so it can really effect people's lives. However they are paid more usually, due to them being flexible and them working for the company and when the company wants them to. If there is no need for them, they wont be called in, they work in abnormal times, due to a production taking a very long time, so there hours may be long as well, they would film maybe the middle of the film first and then the ending and then finally the start, filming can can be quite abstract and not in a linear way. so they will be called in according to the production schedule and when they are needed. filming in different locations as well would requite the worker to travel, and most of their wages can be compensation for the irregular work and their costs covering, as they are coming in for the company, they don't choose when to work, the company does, they are to come in do their work and leave, they don't have right to anything except health and safety, they are flexible and are paid usually higher, and not put to a 9-5 schedule, which some people prefer.