Assistants Rights: GUIDELINES FOR WORK EXPERIENCE.

Following some controversy regarding recent postings for work experience, please read these guidelines if you're willing to offer someone a work placement:

NOT OK:

You need someone to help you out on a shoot but you're not willing to pay them. If you're in need of assistance for a job and have expectations of the assistant's skills and performance, then you should be willing to reimburse them for their time. You are, in fact, legally obliged to pay the minimum wage.

OK:

You're willing to have someone along to shadow you and help out with things along the way. This should not be a replacement for an assistant, but should be something that, were they not there, would not be shoot-critical. You should have no demands regarding their skills other than general competency and trustworthiness. Please let us know if you are willing to offer someone a placement along these lines at admin@photoassist.co.uk with the subject "work placement offered" and we'll send your offer out to anyone who expresses an interest. Likewise, if you're interested in doing work experience, please drop us a line with "work experience sought" in the subject line.

Also, if you're a student or an assistant and are doing a test shoot for your folio and are willing to have another student or assistant along so that you both benefit from the experience, then feel free to post in the "testing" forum.

REGARDING WORKING FOR FREE:

If you're willing to work for free, then that's entirely up to you - it can be a good way to get experience in the industry. Please understand though that there is a big difference between you approaching someone to ask for experience (where you target people whose work you admire and where you think you might mutually benefit from helping them out occasionally), and us indiscriminately allowing adverts to be posted for people looking for free assistance. Although the majority of these are in good faith, it's too much of a grey area to police properly.


THANK YOU!

Originally Posted: 04 February 2009 at 11:45am
http://www.photoassist.co.uk/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1402
by Duncan Soar