Crew Employment

New Zealand Crew Employment

Below are the key terms and conditions for the employment of technicians which should provide a suitable guide when budgeting productions. Please note that these are the key points only and are not legally approved contracts.

General Terms and Conditions

The following matters should be covered in all contracts between producers and crew, whether the crew be independent contractors or employees. It should always be clearly stated in the contract which type of relationship is intended. If the contract is one of independent contractor, fees apply. If it is one for employment, wages apply.

If you require further information, please contact:

The Executive Officer
New Zealand Film and Video Technicians' Guild
Tel: (+64) 9 360 6032
Freephone: 0800 832 467
Fax: (+64) 9 360 6056
Email: info@nztecho.com
www.nztecho.com

The Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand (SPADA) office can also be contacted to provide advice and guidance to members on matters relating to employment of crew.

Crew Bookings

• Confirmed or Hold
  • A hold booking is an acknowledgment of the availability of a crew member for work on that date(s), and acknowledges the production company's intention to use that crew member.
  • Second and subsequent holds may be held by the crew member for other production companies, whilst awaiting confirmation or release of previous hold(s). Holds are sometimes referred to as 'Pencil Bookings', 'Pencils' or 'Weather Hold'. Holds are confirmed or released within twenty-four hours of request by the crew member.
• Date of Confirmation
  • If a producer is unable to confirm a booking, a reason will be given and expected date of confirmation advised.
• Postponement
  • Postponement generally only applies to long-term engagements. Other engagements are covered by cancelation provisions.
  • The producer may reschedule the date of principal photography up to thirty days prior to such date, but in such cases the date of principal photography shall not be advanced or postponed more than fourteen days from the original date set. In the event of the producer wishing to set a new date outside these parameters a new contract will be entered into by the parties.
  • Any postponement that a contractor is not available for automatically becomes a cancelation.
• Cancelation
  Period of notice required for cancelation:
  1. If a confirmed booking is canceled with less than 48 hours notice, a cancelation fee equal to a full day's rate for each of the confirmed days will be incurred, up to a maximum of seven days.
  2. If a confirmed booking is canceled with more than 48 hours notice, a cancelation fee will be incurred, based on the following scale, and will apply to each of the confirmed days, up to a maximum of seven days:

     Amount of notice	% of full day's rate
     3 days	60
     4 days	55
     5 days	50
     6 days	45
     7 days	40
     8 days	35
     9 days	30
     10 days	25
     11 days	20
     12 days	15
     13 days	10
     14 days	5

• Provided that in either of the above no cancellation will be charged for days replaced by other confirmed days.

• Long-term Bookings
  • Cancelations in these circumstances should have regard to the length of booking and the amount of notice. Longer notice would tend to reduce the compensation payable, longer engagement would tend to increase it.
• Provisions for Variations
  • In the event of adverse weather, script change, unavailability or other factors, the contractor may be asked to stand-by for weather or other reasons and the half-day rate (60% of normal daily rate) will be charged for each stand-by day. If the contractor is not released from stand-by within five hours after call, a full days rate will be charged.

Hours

• The Working Day
  • This is timed from contractor's first call to contractor's wrap. The normal day is ten hours.
• The Week
  • This is usually five or six consecutive days.
• Extra Time
  • Common practice: Time-and-a-half for the first two hours; followed by double-time thereafter. 
  • Unscheduled extra time: Agreement must be reached with the contractor before any unscheduled extra time may proceed.
  • Follow-on bookings: Contractors should advise production company of following bookings involving early starts.
  • Heavy Transport Drivers: (Trucks exceeding two-tons loaded). Most Grip, Gaffer and Generator vehicles are owner driven. The workday starts from truck departure point to return at the end of the working day. Under Heavy Transport Drivers Licence regulations a technician who also drives a truck can work no more than 14 hours. The 14 hours represents travel to location, on set work and return to point of embarkation. After 14 hours, a swing driver must be engaged.
• Turnaround
  • Sufficient break must be given between wrap and the next call. Ten hours break is usual. 
  • Work within turnaround would normally be paid at double-time. 
  • Work within the ten-hour turnaround shall only be with the agreement of the contractors and the production company.
• Day(s) Off
  • The contract should identify the day(s) off in each week. It is usual for days off to be consecutive. The minimum duration is 24 hours plus 10 hours turnaround.
• Night Shoot
  • Definition of night shoot hours: any working day that proceeds beyond 2400 or commences between 2400 and 0300.
  • Where any booking terminates with a night shoot, the hours worked after midnight will incur an additional surcharge of one hour (one tenth of the normal daily rate) for each hour worked. This is in addition to any other extra payment due.
  • When a night shoot is scheduled to proceed beyond 0300, crew are obliged not to accept other work either on the day of commencement, or on the day following the night shoot. (Note: when a production spans seven days or more, night shoot provisions can be covered by normal rostered day-off and turnaround practices).
• Broken Days
  • If a day is split into two or more separate shooting periods, any payment for the intervening time should be subject to special agreement.
• Meals
  • Meals and refreshments are normally provided by the production company.
  • A meal break of at least 45 minutes will be scheduled within five hours of commencement of the working day. If a shorter or delayed meal break is required, it shall only be by agreement between all crew and the production company.
  • When crew members have differing call times, then the meal break should be scheduled from the majority crew call, with special arrangements being made for early crew if required.
  • If an early call makes it unreasonable or impractical for the crew to provide their own breakfast, then this will be provided by the production company.
  • When a working day extends beyond 12 hours, a further meal break is to be automatically called within 7 hours of the scheduled completion of the first meal break unless all contractors agree to waive, the circumstances to be agreed by the crew and production company.
• Breaks
  • Some shoots have an afternoon break, but the industry works on the basis of continuously available refreshments.

Fees

• Daily
  • Fees are set daily, and a half-day fee is normally for a maximum of five hours and is calculated at 60% of the daily rate.
• Hourly
  • This will normally be calculated as one-tenth of the daily rate and may incur a surcharge as working on an hourly basis may preclude other work.
• Work on a Day-off
  • This is done by agreement with the contractor and normally at double time rate.
• Statutory Holidays
  • The following statutory holidays if worked are to be paid at double time rate
    • New Year's Holiday - 2 January
    • Waitangi Day - 6 February
    • Good Friday - the Friday before Easter
    • Easter Sunday - usually late March or early April
    • Easter Monday - the Monday after Easter
    • Anzac Day - 25 April
    • Queen's Birthday - the Monday after first weekend in June
    • Labour Day - the last Monday in October
  • The following statutory holidays if worked are to be paid at triple time rate:
    • New Year's Day - 1 January
    • Christmas Day - 25 December
    • Boxing Day - 26 December
• Travel Time
  • Travel time is considered part of the working day except where local travel from home to the contractor's first call and from end of last call to home is less than an agreed distance. The common practice is 20km by road from the nearest Police Station.
  • Travel time from out of town accommodation to the contractor's first call and from end of last call to the accommodation may be negotiated. Special rates for extended travel may be negotiated eg where contractor is driving/a passenger/relocating. This is usually paid from the time of the contractor's first call to completion of travel.
• Travel Expenses
  • The cost of travel from first call is at the production company's expense. The production company should also:
    • Organise pre-paid air tickets.
    • Book rental vehicles.
    • Arrange payment for use of contractor's vehicle.
  • Other agreed expenses to be reimbursed by production company.
• Accommodation and Per Diems
  • The production company is to provide for suitable accommodation and meals. This includes single room accommodation unless otherwise agreed. The production company is to provide for all meals and cover laundry costs when crew are required to work away from their town of normal residence.
  • Per diems at an agreed rate may be paid in lieu of all or some of the above.
• Protective Clothing/Safety Equipment
  • For more information, please contact the New Zealand Film and Video Technicians' Guild.
• Special Equipment
  • For more information, please contact the New Zealand Film and Video Technicians' Guild.

Safety in the New Zealand Screen Production Industry

The New Zealand Film and Video Technicians Guild is the publisher of The Safety Code of Practice, the reference safety document in the New Zealand Screen Production Industry. Visit the NZF&VTG website for more information.