Freelance work and fair pay
View larger version
© Ian Davenport. All Rights Reserved, DACS/Artimage 2024
Low pay and lack of job security regularly experienced by visual artists creates significant barriers to opportunity for those from lower income backgrounds. Without better support for freelance artists, there is a risk of a talent drain from the visual arts – a crucial part of the UK’s £126 billion Creative Industries and a key factor in the UK’s position as a cultural leader on the international stage.
DACS advocates for fair pay and improved working conditions for artists, on behalf of our members and all artists.
Artists' earnings research
In 2024 we commissioned CREATe, University of Glasgow to deliver research into artists' earnings in the UK. This aimed to build a clear and comprehensive picture of artists’ earnings today and how they are generating income, and understand the challenges they face in sustaining their practice.
The responses to the survey from over 1200 visual artists revealed a number of stark findings, such as the median earning being is £12,500, a 47% decrease since 2010.
Freelance labour
Freelancers make up a significant proportion of the UK’s creative workforce, including the majority of visual artists. However, freelance workers continue to face challenges such as insecure income, lack of access to employment protections, and limited routes to influence policy that affects their working lives.
DACS works with partners across the creative industries to improve conditions for freelancers and ensure their voices are better reflected in government decision‑making.
Campaigning for a Freelancer Commissioner
DACS joined calls led by the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), alongside partners including Creative UK, Directors UK, Bectu and the Creators’ Rights Alliance, for the appointment of a Freelancer Commissioner. The role was proposed to help government better understand the realities of freelance work, address gaps in support for the self‑employed, and improve coordination of policy affecting freelancers across departments.
In April 2024, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee formally recommended the appointment of a Freelancer Commissioner in its Creator Remuneration report. The subsequent decision to establish the role represents a successful outcome of sustained, joint campaigning by creative sector organisations.
DACS continues to support the development of the Freelancer Commissioner role, working with Creative UK and through the Good Work Self‑Employed Creators Working Group to help shape its remit. This includes ensuring that the perspectives and experiences of freelance artists and creators inform how the role operates in practice, and that freelancers can access clear advice and guidance relevant to their working lives.
APPG for Freelancers
In March 2026, DACS helped launch the All‑Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Freelancers, a new cross‑party group established to give freelancers a stronger voice in Parliament.
The APPG provides a dedicated forum for MPs, peers and sector organisations to:
- Improve understanding of how freelance work operates in practice
- Address financial insecurity and barriers to long‑term sustainability
- Examine access to employment protections, parental rights and pensions
- Scrutinise how new legislation affects freelancers across the creative industries
The APPG will initially focus on the creative industries, where freelance working is long‑established, before widening its scope to other sectors.
DACS jointly provides the APPG Secretariat, alongside ALCS, Bectu, Directors UK and Freelancers Make Theatre Work, and supports the group’s evidence‑gathering, stakeholder engagement and policy development. This work complements our ongoing advocacy for better conditions, fair pay and stronger protections for freelance artists and creative workers. Those who are interested in joining the APPG can reach out to the email address here: freelancersappg@bectu.org.uk
