1.
Broken Turnaround
Best Practice
Firstly, the most important point: producers must do all that they reasonably can to ensure broken turnarounds are kept to an absolute minimum or avoided altogether.
There may be occasions where some crew need to be in early and leave late. This should not apply to whole departments but to a few individuals.
If possible, those individuals should not be there at both ends of the day – please inform or reiterate to your line producers, the need to communicate with HoDs about daily scheduling requirements and if necessary, look at staggering crew or bringing in dailies.
Second, if broken turnaround does have to occur, in addition to minimising the number of crew impacted, please do everything you can to allow those impacted to get that time back. Compensatory rest plays a vital part in maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
If it is not possible to give back the time, remember that there is a penalty for any authorised broken turnaround. You pay an additional 0.5T in 15 minute increments for that part of the 11 hour rest period the crew miss out on.
2.
Broken Turnaround
Bectu Campaign
Pact is aware that Bectu is asking crew not to break turnaround. Bectu is also encouraging crew to ask for 2.5T if turnaround is broken.
In doing this, Bectu is in breach of the collective agreements and inciting crew to break their contracts. Bectu is also telling crew that breaking turnaround is illegal. As explained below, it is not.
If crew do state that they do not wish to break turnaround, in the first instance work with the HoD to do everything you can to see if the breaking of the turnaround can be avoided. Some crew may have young families for example – be mindful of such circumstances.
If the breaking of the 11 hour rest cannot be avoided altogether, please try and give the time back as compensatory rest, explain what the agreement says and, if necessary, quote from this email.
3.
Broken Turnaround
Is It Allowed?
In short, yes.
The Pact Bectu HETV and MMP agreements both explicitly allow for broken turnaround. The HETV Agreement acknowledges that the nature of filming sometimes leads to rest breaks being infringed. In Section C3.3 of the agreement it says “Producers shall endeavour to give Workers the rest and other breaks set out in this Agreement. It is understood that there may be occasions where breach of rest breaks is unavoidable…”
The agreement also contains a clause headed “rest breaks and broken turnaround.” (Clause 6) explaining what to do/pay if/when broken turnaround occurs. The MMP Agreement has similar.
The crew may quote the Working Time Regulations. Please note that while Regulation 10 of the Working Time Regulations enshrines the principle of an 11 hour rest between working days, Regulation 23 of the Working Time Regulations allows Regulation 10 to be modified by a collective agreement.
You are not breaching Regulation 10 if you ask a crew member to break turnaround. You are working under the collective agreements that producers and Bectu’s members voted to adopt as governing working terms and conditions in the industry.
4.
Broken Turnaround
What Next?
Pact continues to hope that we can have fruitful and collaborative discussions with Bectu to try and find ways to limit or negate the need for broken turnaround altogether. We have previously asked for volunteers to assist in a working group to explore this. We may need to ask again.
We are meeting with Bectu on Tuesday 3rd June and will keep members updated on progress.