Enhanced Production Safeguarding

• Recent news has given all of us in the industry a chance to reflect and improve the way we do things.  
• Better safeguarding serves all our cast and crews by offering a safer, more inclusive, workplace for all.
• We have a duty of care to ensure our productions are safe, more inclusive, workplaces.

Raise awareness and listen

Branded posters/visible notices to be provided to productions for posting across production sites including Film&TV Charity and Sky Listens contact details (to be put up in toilets, dressing rooms, meeting areas)

Named Safeguarding Representative available on each production to support producer and individuals with information on policies and routes to raise/report concerns

Anonymous exit-survey at the end of filming with additional in person exit-interview offering to exchange further feedback

Educate

Sky’s ‘Respect in The Workplace’ online e-learning module to be made mandatory for all cast and crew on commissioned productions

ScreenSkills Leadership & Management Training required to be completed by senior manager/HoDs (freelancers) prior to production

Production company will ensure the Safeguarding Notice is provided to all cast and crew on the call-sheets, posters across production sites as well as other relevant production documents.

[INSERT PRODUCTION COMPANY NAME] and Sky have a zero tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour on any of our productions. All of our productions should be safe, inclusive, professional, and welcoming working environments. 

If you have concerns about anything you see or experience throughout production then you can: 

• Speak to your supervisor or your production’s dedicated Safeguarding Representative [insert name and number]
• Speak to the TV and Film Charity’s 24hrs/7 days a week free support line on 0800 054 0000
• Contact Sky’s confidential helpline on 0808 234 9777 or go to www.ComcastSkylistens.com 

Please be assured that any issues raised will be treated confidentially and anyone working on our productions should feel confident they can report issues without ANY retaliation for raising a concern.

In addition to raising concerns, the TV & Film Charity’s 24hrs/7 days a week free helpline can also be used to access wellbeing and mental health support. Further information can be found at https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/

The Production Company has the responsibility for sharing, championing and enforcing all HR policies. Every production is required to nominate a Safeguarding Representative, who will support the production with information on policies and best routes to deal with specific issues.

This is primarily a ‘sign-posting’ role, using their knowledge of available resources and policies, to direct individuals to the most appropriate place to deal with their needs (e.g. Sky Listens, the Film and TV Charity). The Safeguarding Representative must be prepared to actively listen to those individuals as their issues may include financial concerns, mental health worries and homelife problems and others, not just issues around bullying or harassment in the workplace.

Each production company will be responsible for identifying who is best to fulfil the role as this may vary from production to production. It may be assigned to someone with an existing role on set, who is given additional responsibility for safeguarding, however they must have the capacity and the capability to deal with safeguarding questions and issues appropriately.

Key role requirements are:

• to be accessible and available for any member of the production to approach 
• to have undertaken the ScreenSkills ‘Leadership and Management’ training and ‘Mental Health Awareness’ training (e.g. Solas or Production Guild) 
• to be empathetic and understand sensitive situations and incidents to help individuals on identifying best routes to go for support, reporting incidents or escalating complaints 
• to have acquired an in depth knowledge of both Sky’s and the production company’s policies regarding all elements of respect in the workplace 
• to have acquired an in depth knowledge of industry-wide support services to enable them to give appropriate advice on available resources

Below are some resources that may be useful in certain circumstances. The safeguarding representative should familiarise themselves with these organisations and the services they offer to best support people that come to them. This is not exhaustive and the safeguarding representative should first understand the request from the person, alongside advising them in accordance with company policies prior to directing them onwards.

• Sky Listens Confidential Helpline on 0808-234-9777 or at www.ComcastSkylistens.com
  To speak up or raise a concern about workplace behaviours
• The Film and TV Charity Support line on 0800 054 0000
  The support line can provide help for a range of issues from bullying, mental health to wellbeing and is available 24hrs/7 days a week. All calls are treated as confidential. Further information can be found https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/
• Samaritans 24hrs/365 days a year freephone number 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
  People contact the Samaritans with all sorts of concerns and what might be a small issue to you may be huge to someone else. It could be going through something new or have been struggling to cope for some time, either way, the Samaritans are here if you feel you need some extra support. 
• Debt Advice Foundation free debt advice helpline is open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm on 0800 043 40 50.
  Debt Advice Foundation is a registered national debt advice and education charity offering free, confidential support and advice to anyone worried about loans, credit and debt.

All Sky Original productions are expected to offer an anonymous exit survey to all cast and crew when they leave the production. This is to give all individuals the opportunity to raise any concerns or provide any recommendations for the future to both the independent production company and Sky. Here are some considerations:

• The survey to be around 8-12 questions long, focus on feedback on the production environment and safeguarding aspects including how policies around respect, harassment and bullying were carried out in practice
• All questions to have the same format allowing for people to agree/disagree in five degrees to allow for effective review of feedback 
• An additional free text space to be provided at the end of the survey asking for any additional comments on improvements or wider feedback 
• The production company to review completed surveys and discuss results at subsequent meetings as necessary to ensure a satisfactory level of fairness is felt by everyone on future productions 
• The production company may use any survey application or method it sees fit 
• Sky to be provided data from these surveys by the production company in order to provide support on any remedial actions 
• Sky may retain a record of the results/analysis and next steps to feed into future process improvements 

Please see an example question set below

Everyone working on a Sky Original Commission, including cast and crew, are required to complete mandatory online learning, which sets out the level of behaviour we expect in any workplace environment.

Training for each production will be administered by a nominated person(s), who will then report completions and advise producers where anyone has not completed the required courses.

From June 2024, this learning will be hosted by Screenskills as part of the Screenskills training passport. Everyone will be enrolled individually, and will register and complete the training via the Screenskills website.

The training needs to be completed at the earliest opportunity as part of onboarding, and ideally before the first day of working on the production.

Technical set-up and support will be handled by Screenskills with escalations handled centrally by Sky.

All information on individuals and training outcomes will be compliant with Data Protection requirements. Further information can be found in our privacy policy here.

In addition to the learning listed above, we require all Heads of Department and managers on productions to complete the ScreenSkills Leadership and Management training.

This is to be organised by the production company and be completed before a production starts (or on an annual basis).

Screenskills to report back to Sky on which productions have completed training for internal awareness and audit purposes.

• Production Company manages all raised concerns and issues directly with them on a case by case basis
• Production company is expected to make Sky aware of any complaint or concerns that is raised with them directly if it relates to: 
  • Discrimination and harassment
  • Integrity complaints (illegal or unethical misconduct)
• Production company will inform the relevant Sky representative (Commissioning Editor or Head of Production) as soon as they have been made aware of the issue
• Sky will require assurance on approach and resolution 
• Sky will work with the Production Company to provide any support that may be required