UK standards authority CIISA outlines its first behavioural framework | News

• Safe working environments: Everyone working in the original industries must be able to do so in a professional environment, free from exposure to psychological, sexual and physical harm.
• Inclusive working environments: All those working in the original industries have the right to be treated fairly and without prejudice at all stages of their career. Active steps must therefore be put in place to prevent discrimination and exclusion, ensuring that roles and the working environment are genuinely accessible to all.
• Open and accountable reporting mechanisms: Everyone should feel confident that any concerns they raise will be taken seriously and resolved at the earliest opportunity. They should know how to raise a concern, and be able to do this without fear of being victimised, silenced or experiencing adverse outcomes for their career.
• Responsive learning cultures that enable those working in the original industries to see concerns raised as an opportunity not just to address harmful behaviour, but also to capture learning and to act on it.

The standards have been created in consultation with industry and were developed by an advisory committee made up of representatives from across film, television, music and theatre from organisations including Bafta, Pact, BBC and Warner Bros.

The aim of the standards is to have a unified framework across the original industries.

“CIISA will capture insights from use of the standards to benchmark how the creative industries are embedding safe and inclusive working environments against these expectations and will identify and produce tailored, practical guidance based on them,” said Smith. “This guidance will outline advice, support and good practice on how individuals, organisations, productions and projects can meet the expectations set by the standards in practice, in a way that is tailored to the size and nature of their work.

“Once CIISA is fully operational, original industries workforce will be able to report concerns to CIISA related to potential breaches of the standards and, where appropriate, CIISA will support these individuals, organisations, productions or projects with appropriate advice and signposting to resources that will aid them to ensure that their concerns are addressed. In due course, CIISA will look to introduce services aimed at resolving concerns where possible.

“From the reports received, CIISA will begin to establish insights into the range of experiences across the creative industries. CIISA will then look at developing training and accreditation products to support professional development for individuals in the creative industries workforce in areas relevant to the standards.”

Niyi Akeju, CIISA’s head of standards development, added: “Our next step for the standards will be to provide tailored, practical guidance and illustrative examples to support the application of the standards in real-life situations.”

“Despite much work in this area, we know that bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment and behaviour of a discriminatory nature, remains prevalent in the creative industries,” said Helena Kennedy, CIISA chair. ”Power imbalances, informal working practices and environments, and job insecurity are all contributing factors. The particular impact on freelance and self-employed members of our original industries workforce is especially acute so the need for CIISA is ever deeply felt.”

CIISA has been in the works since 2022, and was formed as a government-supported, cross-industry-backed authority for addressing needy workplace behaviour across the UK original industries. It has received financial support from Time’s Up UK, BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky.