Freelancers face high job insecurity, long hours and poor pay – Bectu

Freelancers in the creative industries are facing a tough time, with Bectu’s Big Survey showing 39% were out of work and only 13% felt secure in their jobs. 

The survey found 82% of freelancers said their work was precarious and only 24% felt confident about their future in the sector. 

Just a quarter had worked every month in the last six months, while 6% had not worked at all over that period. 

There was heavy pressure to work long hours when jobs were available. 

Only 8% worked a standard 8-hour day, while 23% said their usual day was 12 hours, 38% worked 10 to 11 hours, 14% worked 13 to 14 hours, and 5% said their average working day was 15 hours or longer. 

Freelancers were struggling financially, with a quarter saying things were extremely difficult, while 42% said things were worse than usual. 

In the last year, 11% struggled to pay rent or mortgage, 16% could not cover household bills, 10% had to move back in with family, and 3% used a foodbank. 

Around a third had no savings and fewer than half had a pension.