A list of behind-the-camera roles in the film and TV industry that qualify a worker for self-employed status has been expanded and updated but is still not exhaustive.
25 May 2021
Amended by HMRC in December 2019, the list incorporates modernised job titles and makes self-employed status available to a wider group of workers. Those meeting either the criteria in column A or column B of appendix 1 – see here – can be readily accepted as self-employed for tax purposes.
The changes will help the industry assess quickly the tax status of large numbers of workers taken on for a particular production. The list applies to directly employed workers and also contractors working through their own companies.
However, the list of roles is not exhaustive, and some individuals may not meet the criteria in the list of roles accepted as self- employed, yet work on a succession of short-term engagements with a large number of different clients.
Where the work patterns and business structure are consistent with the circumstances of the Lorimer case (a 1993 legal judgement), such individuals can be treated as self-employed.
Where a role is not listed, or the criteria is not met, the individual can seek confirmation from HMRC so that an employer may treat them as self-employed.
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