Ben Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 hi all,basic situation is that I have been asked to do some work for a company that manages a proformance space. the space is rented to third parties on a regular basis however there is currently no in house technician or alike and the managment company wishes to hire me is when required by the third parties and charge them an admin fee for it. I have been asked to state my fees and have no idea what to tell them, the work is split into 2 types: confrences, and small scale productions. I have been told that I can set different fees for each but have been asked to provide3 fees for each: evening, day and hourly, as the requirements vary so much. the job is everything from rigging and H&S, to opperating both lighting and sound. can anyone please give me an idea of what to quote???any help you can give would nb emuch appreaciated. Thanks in advance,Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 hi all,basic situation is that I have been asked to do some work for a company that manages a proformance space. the space is rented to third parties on a regular basis however there is currently no in house technician or alike and the managment company wishes to hire me is when required by the third parties and charge them an admin fee for it. I have been asked to state my fees and have no idea what to tell them, the work is split into 2 types: confrences, and small scale productions. I have been told that I can set different fees for each but have been asked to provide3 fees for each: evening, day and hourly, as the requirements vary so much. the job is everything from rigging and H&S, to opperating both lighting and sound. can anyone please give me an idea of what to quote???any help you can give would nb emuch appreaciated. Thanks in advance,BenThis may seem like a glib answer, but charge them what you think your time is worth. Consider it carefully - undercharge and you'll find it difficult, if not impossible, to increase your rates when you realise that you should be getting more ; overcharge, and you'll be laughed out of the office! If you're a fresh young technician, just starting out in the business and looking for your first professional experience, I guess you'll be happier to work for less than if you're an experienced freelancer who's been doing it for years. You don't say which is the case. But you have to make a judgement as to what you think your time and your skills are worth. Look around at what other similar positions are paying (the sits vac ads in The Stage are a good source of info ...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 Im a student at CSSD doing production LX and have been doing work in various places for the past 9 years. the work I have always done has been amdram and not this sor tof thing so im a bit stuck with the pay issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 I reckon you could work on the basis of £8 to £12 an hour. Depends how much you want to push your luck! Always a tricky one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick_field Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 It depends....... <_< Are we talking a 'proper' job, with a contract, specified hours etc. here or just regular freelancing? In the proper job scenario then you want £10-15 an hour or so, with overtime agreed. If it's freelance then you should take £15 an hour as pretty much the minimum. Remember to be a 'proper' freelancer you need to make your own NI contributions, sort out your own pension and hold your own liablity insurance. As you're asking the question I'm sort of assuming you're quite new to the business. Once you've been doing it a few years, you can get a little more creative with those numbers.... It also depends where you are. Around the Thames valley house prices are staggering, and the general cost of living is maybe twice or more what it would be in, for example, remote Cornwall. So whatever you end up charging them make sure it's a 'living wage', of course that all depends on your lifestyle... Just rember, when negotiating it's far easier to start high and bargain your way down, than to start low and argue your way up..... Open the bidding high and drop it until the screams stop B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted February 10, 2003 Author Share Posted February 10, 2003 thanks for all the replys, the living wage thing is not such an issue as although im in london I am also a student.its regular contract work where my services will be offered with the rental of the space and I will for the sake of insurance be put on the managment companies payrole as this way I am covered by there insurance, however I am already insured in the space as it is part owned by a school of which I am a member of staff for the very reason of insurance, as I help to organise and run their shows. I guess if I ask for £15 an hour and £20 ish for overtime then its a not bad and I cant see them having a problem paying me that, but if othrs would charge more am I selling myself short? and if so, I doubt that after a while I can just say "rates have gone up" so should I charge more from the start?also if I am doing a whole day (eg fit up) do I still charge per hour or do I charge a dayly rate? thanks again to everyone who has helped so far and who im sure will reply to this.Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 You can't chop and change between charging hourly and daily as it suits you - you should agree how it's going to work, and stick to it. If you're going to be an employee (and all the signs point that way - mainly your statement that you're going to be "put on their payroll") then it'll almost certainly be an hourly rate that you need to agree. You need to ascertain how much responsibility the post will carry. If you're going to be in sole charge of all technical aspects of the space (including things like PAT testing, maintenance, ordering spares/consumables, etc.) then you should be paid as an HOD. If you just come in for show/fit-up calls, and have no admin duties or other responsibilities, your rate of pay would be more akin to an experienced casual or a full-time assistant. Also, remember that if you're on the management payroll, you'll have tax and NI deducted at source. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Need Posted February 10, 2003 Share Posted February 10, 2003 the job is everything from rigging and H&S, to opperating both lighting and sound.Hi Ben, If you look in any copy of the stage you will probably see numerous advertisments for technicians in municple venues, and places such as the Beck etc. I think last week there was a vacancy for technican with a starting salary of £11,500pa plus get outs ( Assuming TMA rates). Not sure how anyone can survive on this wage mind you (especially in London) but there are people waiting in the queue to leap in there and snap it up. I appreciate your problem, and reading the other posts, you are faced with a difficult choice. Perhaps, you could look at it in a variety of ways.-1- How much do you need to survive-2- How many hours are you willing for work for the above amount. i.e. Do you want to work 35 hours plus and earn more overtime?-3- How flexible do you want the job to be i.e. If something else comes up, say a conference for someone else, would you be able to job share, or put a deputy in for that day. -4- Do you really mind if you don't get the job? (In which case you can ask for £10-15 ph without losing sleep over thinking you had asked for too mouch) The two tear system of charging a higher rate for a conference would probably work well also. Good plan, as I am sure the management will be charging more for this type of event than a "fringy" theatre performance. I would probably start at £14,000 basic (depending on your experience) for a 35-38 hour week, 1.5 x time overtime, and double time on sunday. Plus travel allowance for taxi's home after 11pm. Oh and don't forget your legal right to holiday pay. Worth a try. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 As usual I could go on for pages on this subject, but will spare you all the ordeal for now. I asked a similar question a few years ago, when I was touting for LD work and the same answer came back again and again: "Whatever you can get out of them." Whatever you agree, make sure that you GET IT IN WRITING. This basic point cannot be emphasised strongly enough and is all too often forgotten. I must say, though that it looks like they are trying to get a cheap deal here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted February 11, 2003 Share Posted February 11, 2003 Whatever you agree, make sure that you GET IT IN WRITING. This basic point cannot be emphasised strongly enough and is all too often forgotten. I couldn't agree more! Two things to add: 1. Make sure you consider all possibilities when negotiating your contract. I've seen numerous agreements, including some draughted by professionals, that have been so vague as to be meaningless and leave considerable scope for possible disgreements. 2. Often you will agree things verbally with an employer, they will go off and write it all up, and when it comes back to you it will have little resemblance to what you discussed! So, before you sign anything, read it carefully, make sure you understand it, and don't be afraid to ask for clarifications and changes to be made if there is anything you are unhappy with. Hope this helps, Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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