Entertainment and modelling agencies

Entertainment and modelling agencies: charging fees to certain jobseekers

Guide

If you run an employment agency you can charge fees to certain jobseekers for work-finding services in the acting, entertainment, or modelling sectors, subject to the rules below.

You can only charge fees or commission out of the jobseeker's earnings from employment you have found for them. Details of the service and fee to be charged must be agreed in writing before it is paid by the hirer or deducted from the worker's earnings.

Fees for including information in publications and on websites

The only up-front fee you can charge is for including the details of certain types of jobseekers in a publication (including on a website) for the purpose of finding them work.

The publication must be wholly aimed at finding jobseekers employment or providing hirers with information about jobseekers.

Types of jobseekers that apply

These types of workers are:

  • professional sports person
  • actor, musician, singer, dancer, background artist, extra, walk-on or other performer
  • composer, writer, artist, director, production manager, lighting cameraman, camera operator, make-up artist, clothes, hair or make-up stylist, film editor, action arranger or co-ordinator, stunt arranger, costume or production designer, recording engineer, property master, film continuity person, sound mixer, photographer, stage manager, producer, choreographer or theatre designer

You can only charge the fee if placing the jobseeker's information in the publication is the only service you are providing eg you are not involved in matching or selecting workers for hirers), or the fee is no more than a reasonable estimate of the cost of production and circulation of the publication attributable to the inclusion of information about that jobseeker in the publication.

In addition, you should make available to the jobseeker a copy of the current edition of the publication in which you are offering to include information about the jobseeker.