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XSocial Protection in the Cultural and
Creative Sector
Country Practices and Innovations
Authors / Carlos Galian, Margherita Licata, Maya Stern-Plaza
April / 2021
ILO Working Paper 28
Copyright © International Labour Organization 2021
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Suggested citation:
Galian, C., Licata, M., Stern-Plaza, M. 2021. Social Protection in the Cultural and Creative Sector: Country
Practices and Innovations, ILO Working Paper 28 (Geneva, ILO).
01 ILO Working Paper 28
Abstract
Social Protection in the culture and creative sector – this Working Paper is based on the ILO Centenary Declaration
for the Future of Work, 2019, which calls on the ILO to direct its eorts to “developing and enhancing social
protection systems, which are adequate, sustainable and adapted to developments in the world of work.”
In particular, the paper reviews policy and legal frameworks in selected countries that have pursued specif-
ic solutions to extend social security to workers in the creative and culture sector, in order to identify entry
points and mechanisms for expanding coverage. Policy options ensuring the adequacy and the sustaina-
bility of such systems are discussed, taking into account particular employment circumstances in the sec-
tor, such as uctuating employment status, irregular incomes, intermittent nature of work, and geograph-
ic mobility. The paper also situates the discussion within the COVID-19 pandemic, oering an overview of
social protection measures put in place by governments in the culture and creative sector.
About the authors
Carlos Galián is a development and social protection specialist with more than 15 years of professional ex-
perience on three continents. From 2010 to 2014, he worked for the ILO in Vietnam, managing the social
protection portfolio. This included providing technical advice to the government about the Law on Social
Insurance passed in 2014, working closely with the Ministry of Labour and Social Aairs and the Social Aairs
Committee of the National Assembly. After that, he joined the International Social Security Association,
where he was co-responsible for the Social Security Policies Throughout the World publication, conducting
research to update all country social protection proles.
In 2016, Carlos has restarted his studies, rst obtaining a Masters in International Economics, and now pur-
suing a PhD in Development Economics. Carlos is also working on models explaining the decisions of em-
ployers to become formal or informal using panel data from Vietnam from 1999 to 2016. In parallel, he has
worked as a consultant for the ILO, the World Bank, UNICEF, GIZ, Development Pathways and Chemonics.
His interests lie in topics such as data, policy analysis, and impact of social policies.
Margherita Licata works at the International Labour Organization, in the Sectoral Policies Department
and has over 15 years of experience in policy advice and planning in the areas of social policy, migration,
health and gender at work, including two years in Southern Africa. She currently coordinates global and
regional research, policy advice and facilitates consensus building on employment and labour issues in re-
tail/commerce, media and culture and nancial services.
She holds a M.Sc. in Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a Master in
International Legal Studies from the University of Verona, as well as a degree in Political Science from the
University of Perugia.
02 ILO Working Paper 28
Maya Stern-Plaza has been working at the ILO since 2012 and currently holds the position of Social Protection
Legal and Standards Ocer within the Social Protection Department. As part of her work, Maya provides
technical support to countries seeking to ratify ILO social security conventions and to align their national
law and policies with international standards. She has also contributed to a number of publications and
social protection assessment tools and is currently developing a guide for designing sound legal frame-
works for comprehensive social protection systems based on international standards and best practices.
Maya holds a Master's degree in Law as well as a law degree from the University of Montreal and a degree
in Political Science from McGill University. She is a member of the Quebec Bar Association and is uent in
English, French and Spanish.
03 ILO Working Paper 28
Abstract 01
About the authors 01
Acronyms 08
Foreword 09
Introduction 11
Structure of the study 12
Methodology 13
X1 The cultural and creative sector: current trends and social security systems 14
Economic and employment trends in the CCS 14
France 17
United States of America 19
Mexico 20
Social protection and the CCS 22
COVID-19 impact and social protection responses in the CCS 25
X2 Social protection for workers in the media and culture sector: case studies 30
Types of social security system coverage 30
Adapting social protection systems and relying on a variety of nancing mechanisms based
on the principle of solidarity 31
Highlights 31
France: adapting contribution collection 32
Germany: a special scheme for artists 33
Republic of Korea: from work injury to broader social services 36
Argentina and Uruguay: exibility to account for discontinuous contributions 37
Takeaways 38
Contractual relations 39
Highlights 39
Germany: quasi-employees 41
Argentina and Uruguay: actors as dependent workers 41
France: Presumption of salaried status for some CCS workers regarding unemployment insur-
ance “regime des intermittents du spectacle” 42
Takeaways 42
Registration and broadening social security aliation (administrative arrangements and
simplication) 43
Highlights 43
Table of contents
04 ILO Working Paper 28
Spain: Capitalizing on new technology to raise awareness 43
Ireland: Simplication of the JobSeekers’ Allowance for artists 44
India: exible contributions 44
Takeaways 45
Improving the portability of social security benets between employment statuses and
countries 46
Highlights 46
European Union: Eorts to improve portability and persistent gaps 47
Takeaways 49
X3 Policy approaches to increase coverage, adequacy, adaptability and port-
ability of social protection systems 50
Concluding remarks 53
Annex 55
Annex 1 – Social security systems in selected countries 55
Annex 2 – Social protection responses to COVID-19 in selected countries 63
References 71
Acknowledgements 75
06 ILO Working Paper 28
List of Tables
Table 1. ISCO-08 4-digit codes for cultural and creative occupations 14
Table 2. Number of persons employed in cultural and creative occupations (2015) 15
Table 3. Share of self-employment, part-time and temporary work in cultural and creative
occupations (2015) 16
Table 4. PCS codes for cultural and creative occupations in France 17
Table 5. Cultural and creative workers disaggregated by level of education in France (2018) 18
Table 6. Share of cultural and creative workers by weekly hours of work in France (2018) 18
Table 7. Total employment in cultural and creative occupations in the United States (2018) 19
Table 8. Working hours and salary details (in US$) for CCS occupations in the United States
(2018) 20
Table 9. Working hours and salary details (in Mexican pesos) for CCS occupations in Mexico
(2018) 21
Table 10. Contractual arrangements in CCS occupations in Mexico (2018) 21
Table 11. Insured areas of activity and types of social insurance in Germany (2016) 36
Table 12. Services of the Artist Welfare Foundation 37
Table 13. Gaps in coverage of categories of workers and actions to prevent their exclusion 52
08 ILO Working Paper 28
Acronyms
Agessa Association for the Management of Social Security for Writers (France)
APY Atal Pension Yojana (India)
BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics (United States of America)
CCS Cultural and creative sector
CFA Committee on Freedom of Association
ENOE National Labour Force Survey (Mexico)
ILC International Labour Conference
ILO International Labour Organization
ILS International Labour Standards
ISCO International Standard Classication of Occupations
MDA House of Artists (France)
NLRA National Labor Relations Board (United States of America)
PCS Professions et catégories socioprofessionnelles (French System of classication of oc-
cupational and professional categories)
UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientic and Cultural Organization
09 ILO Working Paper 28
Foreword
Workers in the creative and cultural sector (CCS) – from actors, musicians, orchestra directors, to technicians
working in the audio-visual and sound engineers – represent that part of the workforce that allows us to
watch a movie or to listen to recorded or live music. They ensure our lives are entertained and our minds
are educated. They contribute to the development of cultural heritage, promote diversity and cultural ex-
pression. They nurture creativity of countries and creative collaboration among countries, which is at the
source of cultural and social development.
With an estimated 29.5 million people working in creative and cultural industries worldwide, and over US$
2.2 billion revenues (3 per cent of the global GDP),1 these workers also constitute the driving force of the
creative and cultural industry, contributing to the countries’ economic development and job creation, in-
cluding in developing countries.
COVID-19 has underlined the importance of the CCS, and the role it played in uplifting people during dicult
times. During hours of connement at home, the public resorted to dierent forms of cultural expression
or entertainment, encompassing music and videos, leading to a surge in streaming and online services.2
Yet the sector was hit hard by measures put in place by governments to safeguard people’s health, result-
ing in closed productions, cancelled contracts, loss of earnings and unemployment.
These developments have exposed gaps in social protection coverage for workers in the sector, and have
revealed wider decent work decits that aect segments of the sector. Although important short-term
measures have been put in place to alleviate the impact of the crisis, now is the time to reinforce social
protection for the millions of workers in the sector, to ensure that they enjoy income security and eective
access to health care.
The International Labour Organization has been at the forefront of social protection policies to ensure ad-
equate levels of social protection to all members of the society within well-governed systems, which have
been substantiated through a body of international social security standards.
Guided by these standards, today the objective is to achieve universal access to comprehensive and sus-
tainable social protection, as endorsed by ILO Centenary Declaration and the 2030 Agenda. This goal im-
plies nding viable solutions to successfully reach those not adequately protected so far. However, there
cannot be a one-size ts all approach. Such viable policy solutions require adapting social protection sys-
tems in line with relevant international labour standards, to meet the specic needs of workers in the CCS,
often in self-employment, or temporary employment. Some of these workers receive irregular incomes
from several sources; with hours of unaccounted work.
Innovation and digital transformation in the sector, through the increased use of streaming and online plat-
forms to produce content or to perform live music or theatre, raise also issues of fair remuneration, which
may aect the extent to which these workers are covered under social security schemes.
This study reviews policy and legal frameworks in selected countries that have pursued specic solutions
to extend social security to workers in the creative and culture sector, in order to identify entry points and
mechanisms for expanding coverage, and to discuss policy options that ensure the adequacy and the sus-
tainability of such systems.
1EY, Cultural times - The rst global map of cultural and creative industries, 2015
2ILO, COVID-19 and the media and culture sector, Policy Brief, Geneva, 2020.
10 ILO Working Paper 28
In particular, the analysis reects on possible options to ensure not only that CCS workers are covered under
social security systems, but that legal frameworks can be easily translated into policies that ensure eec-
tive coverage, taking into account particular employment circumstances such as uctuating employment
status, irregular incomes, intermittent nature of work, geographic mobility, etc. A comprehensive and co-
ordinated approach will be required, which combines both contributory and non-contributory schemes.
On the one hand, contributory schemes are needed to cover CCS workers through holistic and tailor-made
solutions (e.g. adjusting qualifying conditions and contribution rates and allowing for the portability of
rights and entitlements); adapted administrative processes (e.g. simplifying registration and contribution
payment); and innovative and diverse nancing mechanisms (notably through the full engagement of “ser-
vice users”). These measures would need to consider the principles set out in ILO social security standards
and notably of risk-sharing, equity and solidarity.
On the other hand, the CCS is not homogenous, encompassing a diversity of employment arrangements.
As such, non-contributory schemes will be equally necessary to ensure low-income and vulnerable seg-
ments of CCS workers have access to at least a basic level of social protection, especially those not covered
through existing contributory schemes, in line with the Social Protection Floors Recommendation No. 202.
The success of this bi-dimensional approach will depend on the involvement of CCS trade unions and guilds,
as well as employers’ organizations (producers, broadcasters, etc.), through social dialogue processes and
participatory management, to ensure their voice in the policy design and its implementation.
The development of social security solutions cannot be done in a silo; the extension of social protection
schemes to CCS workers will also need to be framed within the broader changes in the employment rela-
tionships and the need to address the misclassication of employment relationships.
We hope that this research, as well as good practices collected through the collaborative work between the
Sectoral Policies Department and the Social Protection Department, will shine a light on eective solutions
that can ensure that the human right to social security is also a reality for CCS workers who contribute so
richly to our common cultural heritage.
Alette van Leur,
Director
Sectoral Policies Department
Shahra Razavi,
Director
Social Protection Department
11 ILO Working Paper 28
Introduction
The following study examines the social protection schemes covering workers in the cultural and creative
sector (CCS). In particular, it will analyse the social protection schemes and innovations that protect the CCS
in dierent countries, taking into account evolving labour relations in the sector.3
While in other sectors types of employment are diversifying due to technological transformations and oth-
er market forces, variety in contractual arrangements has long been common in the CCS. Recent reports,
including the ILO publication “Work for a Brighter Future”, have highlighted transformations in labour re-
lations associated with the introduction of robots, automation, use of networks and demographic change.4
In turn, this increasing uncertainty in employment relationships gives rise to critical challenges for social
protection systems, many of which are not designed for workers who are often self-employed or employed
on a temporary or part-time basis. In other cases, disguised/dependent self-employment (depending on
one main client to make a living, but still classied as self-employed), can curtail the applicability of exist-
ing social protection mechanisms
The exclusion of CCS workers from social security programmes and schemes may be related to several fac-
tors. These include workers not being covered by legal frameworks, or administrative and nancial chal-
lenges linked to their sporadic social security contributions as a result of the project-based or short-term
nature of their contracts.5 Furthermore, the extension of social protection to these workers may require
clarifying their employment relationships and the removal of barriers to their legal or de facto inclusion in
the social protection system.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light gaps in social protection in the CCS. While some States have
responded in the immediate term, including through temporary measures, it will be interesting to follow
longer-term responses, and possibly innovations, to adequately address issues of extension of social pro-
tection to CCS workers.6
Understanding the challenges and solutions put forward to protect and cover creative workers will there-
fore not only inform the industry and its stakeholders specically, but will also contribute to the ongoing
debate about the future of work.
3In this paper, we will focus on the broader term “social protection”, as seen from a human rights perspective and dened as a set
of policies and programmes to reduce and prevent poverty, vulnerability and social exclusion throughout the life cycle. Social pro-
tection includes nine main areas: child and family benets; maternity protection; unemployment support; employment injury bene-
ts; sickness benets; health protection (medical care); old-age benets; invalidity/disability benets; and survivors’ benets. Social
protection systems address all of these policy areas through a mix of contributory schemes (social insurance) and non-contributory
tax-nanced benets (including social assistance). In most contexts, however, the two terms, “social security” and “social protection”,
are largely interchangeable, and the ILO and other United Nations entities tend to use both in discourse with and advice to their con-
stituents. Source: ILO, World Social Protection Report 2017–19: Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,
2017.
4ILO, Global Commission on the Future of Work, Work for a brighter future, Geneva, 2019.
5Short-term schemes traditionally include maternity, sickness, work injury and unemployment. For most of these, workers must have
been contributing at the time of the event. If a CCS worker is not employed and contributing at the time of becoming pregnant or in-
jured, she or he will therefore not benet from social insurance schemes. Long-term schemes refer to old-age or disability pensions.
Similarly, if the CCS worker has not met the qualifying conditions (normally a number of years of contributions), he or she will not be
entitled to a pension.
6ILO, “Social Protection response to the COVID-19 Crisis”.
12 ILO Working Paper 28
Structure of the study
The study will analyse the features of cultural and creative occupations, their contractual relationship, and
coverage under dierent social protection schemes. Given the lack of data and information for this particu-
lar group of occupations, the study provides a detailed picture from three countries: France, Mexico and the
United States, to help understand the patterns around occupations in the sector, including workers’ annu-
al income, contractual status, and access to social protection schemes, when available. The analysis goes
on to address key policy areas (adaptability, nancing mechanisms, solidarity, and portability), broadening
the analysis to social security frameworks developed by a wide range of countries to cover CCS workers.
The study will provide specic details and country case studies highlighting policy options and the challeng-
es of ensuring eective social protection coverage for these occupations.
The research has focused on countries where social protection measures exist for the CCS, and extrapo-
lates good practices from these. It also acknowledges, however, that in many cases the CCS workers may
not be covered by or may not have access to existing national social protection systems, or may, to varying
extents, be covered under non-contributory schemes.
Contributory social insurance schemes and non-contributory schemes are both essential components of
national social protection systems. Non-contributory schemes are indeed necessary, as they play a key role
in reducing poverty, vulnerability and exclusion. However, contributory social insurance schemes remain a
fundamental element of income security in active and old age, providing benets related to previous earn-
ings, and higher levels of income security than benets provided under non-contributory, means-tested
or universal schemes.7 The study therefore seeks to gain a better understanding of how social protection
measures, and in particular contributory mechanisms, can best be adapted to the circumstances of the CCS.
Overall, this study nds that to tackle the challenges posed by extending coverage to all CCS workers, it is
crucial to adapt and combine social protection schemes (contributory and non-contributory). For non-con-
tributory schemes, strong national social protection oors will be necessary to ensure that low-income
and vulnerable groups of CCS workers have access to at least a basic level of social protection, in particu-
lar if they are not covered by existing contributory schemes. This will also require contributory schemes,
and tailor-made approaches, including a broader organization of national solidarity (subsidies), as well as
alternative nancing mechanisms beyond traditional contributions on monthly wages, and also dening
which benets are delivered and how.
A summary of current economic and employment trends is introduced, including gender dierences, fol-
lowed by a description of the overall social protection systems for the CCS. Four case studies highlight the
practices followed in dierent countries to extend social protection to workers in the CCS, and lastly there
is a presentation of conclusions and considerations to inform policy makers.
7ILO, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions, ILC.108/III/B, 2019, Executive Summary, iii.
13 ILO Working Paper 28
Methodology
Four main research methods have been used: data analysis, literature review, legal mapping and case stud-
ies. In order to provide an in-depth assessment of the current trends and challenges for workers in the CCS,
the study uses data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations Educational,
Scientic and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for global estimates. Additionally, more detailed information
is provided using national labour force surveys from France, Mexico and the United States. Equipped with
these sources, we can draw a picture of the most common forms of employment of CCS workers, includ-
ing self-employment, temporary work, length of contract, and gender dierences. A social security legis-
lative mapping was also done to give an overview of social security policies and legislation implemented
in dierent countries. Building on this mapping, several case studies have been developed, which look at
the specic tools and mechanisms employed to address the specic challenges that CSS workers face with
regard to social protection.
The study will focus on cultural and creative occupations, based on the assumption that labour conditions
would be homogenous across these, rather than across the sector as a whole. To illustrate this point, we
argue that actors, musicians or writers would face the same social protection challenges, regardless of
whether they work for a cultural or a non-cultural organization. The 2009 UNESCO Framework for Cultural
Studies denes total cultural employment as all persons that hold cultural occupations (A+B), as well as
workers holding dierent occupations within the cultural sector (C). This study will focus on creative and
cultural occupations (A+B) (Figure 1).
XFigure 1. UNESCO Cultural employment matrix
14 ILO Working Paper 28
X1 The cultural and creative sector: current trends
and social security systems
Economic and employment trends in the CCS
Measuring the size and importance of the CCS by occupation is a challenge; the denition of “artist”, var-
ies between countries, which causes diculties in nding comparable data. The International Standard
Classication of Occupations (ISCO) currently used, ISCO-08, was established by the Tripartite Meeting of
Experts on Labour Statistics in 2007. It “classies jobs, dened as a set of tasks and duties performed, or
meant to be performed, by one person, including for an employer or in self-employment.” Accordingly, “an
occupation is dened as a set of jobs whose main tasks and duties are characterised by a high degree of
similarity.” For the purposes of this study, CCS occupations are those listed in Table 1.
XTable 1. ISCO-08 4-digit codes for cultural and creative occupations
264 Authors, journal-
ists and linguists 265 Creative and per-
forming artists 343 Artistic, cultural and
culinary associate profes-
sionals
352 Telecommunications and
Broadcasting Technicians
2641 Authors and re-
lated writers 2651 Visual artists 3431 Photographers 3521 Broadcasting and Audiovisual
Technicians
2642 Journalists 2652 Musicians, singers
and composers 3435 Other artistic and
cultural associate profes-
sionals
3522 Telecommunications Engineering
Technicians
2653 Dancers and chore-
ographers
2654 Film, stage and re-
lated directors and pro-
ducers
2655 Actors
2656 Announcers on ra-
dio, television and other
media
2659 Creative and per-
forming artists not else-
where classified
Source: ILO. ISCO-08 Structure, group denitions and correspondence tables, Volume I, 2012
Unfortunately, there are no global data disaggregated to this level. ILO provides global and nationally com-
parable occupation data at the two-digit code level. Code 26 includes "Legal, social and cultural profession-
als", a broader category than the occupations listed above.
The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), through its Framework for Cultural Statistics, oers data on cul-
tural employment, disaggregated according to the cultural employment matrix (see Figure 1 above). The
UIS denition of CCS occupations is broader than the ILO denition, since it includes teaching, as well as
crafts and design services that are likely to include certain occupations falling outside the scope of this
study. Under this caveat, Table 2 shows estimates of people working in the CCS in 2015 in selected coun-
tries, which seem to have reliable data. Given the aforementioned considerations, these are upper esti-
mates. Some critical features of CCS workers’ labour market relations can be inferred from these gures.
15 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 2. Number of persons employed in cultural and creative occupations (2015)
Country Performance and
celebration
Visual arts
and crafts
Books and
press
Audiovisual and
interactive me-
dia
Design and
creative
services
Persons working
in cultural employ-
ment (as percent-
age of total num-
ber of persons
employed)
Austria 9,800 57,500 19,100 11,500 36,000 4.98
Belgium 10,364 27,361 31,087 10,142 67,493 5.01
Bulgaria 7,300 83,100 14,400 5,600 14,600 5.47
Canada 55,700 120,500 102,300 57,100 230,000 5.72
Cabo Verde 619 3,553 521 59 736 3.38
Costa Rica 819 54,403 455 5,360 11,632 4.89
Cyprus 537 2,689 1,967 620 3,085 n/a
Czechia 8,167 94,611 24,557 10,284 33,438 5.36
Ecuador 3,986 244,029 7,587 4,227 38,901 6.33
Estonia 1,986 7,809 5,824 1,994 7,069 7.27
Finland 5,911 20,146 29,781 9,774 54,509 8.6
France 41,406 189,575 102,201 109,866 260,108 4.25
Honduras 240 103,867 3,638 4,349 6,911 6.49
Lithuania 2,701 24,453 10,612 3,237 9,402 5.91
Luxembourg 307 1,101 5,092 450 1,793 5.97
Latvia 2,300 17,400 5,000 1,700 11,200 7.87
Mali 6,135 5,971 850 11,350 222,727 6.06
Netherlands 25,000 66,000 71,000 24,000 121,000 5.52
Serbia 9,319 58,214 13,871 5,663 14,203 5.68
Slovakia 2,100 45,000 9,000 3,400 18,700 4.43
Slovenia 1,618 14,047 5,992 1,418 10,259 n/a
Sweden 14,900 28,000 52,000 14,500 54,700 5.45
Togo 1,047 118,152 2,078 1,058 1,063 10.27
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics data on cultural employment,8 under CULTURE, Cultural Employment dataset.
In Europe, 30 to 50 per cent of CCS workers tend to be self-employed, except in the Baltic and some Eastern
European countries, where self-employment rates are much lower. This is according to 2019 data on cultural
employment collected by Eurostat, which reports “a relatively high proportion of self-employment, reecting
the independent and specialized nature of many occupations in the cultural sector – for example, authors,
performing artists, musicians, painters and sculptors, or crafts people.” This proportion (33 per cent, in
2018) was higher than the average proportion of self-employment in the economy as a whole (14 per cent).
As expected, self-employment rates are even higher in developing countries, at around 40–60 per cent, with
Costa Rica and Mali having the highest levels. When looking at gender dierences, there is no consistent
trend; while in many European countries self-employment is less prevalent among women in the CCS, in
some Asian countries, such as Malaysia and the Philippines, more than 70 per cent of self-employed CCS
workers are women.
8UNESCO, “UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Database”, accessed 28 January 2021.
16 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 3. Share of self-employment, part-time and temporary work in cultural and creative occupations
(2015)
Country Self-employment as a
share of creative and
cultural occupations
Part-time employment
as a share of creative and
cultural occupations
Temporary employment as a
share of creative and cultur-
al occupations
Armenia 13.4% 22.7% 4.3%
Austria 30.7% 25.7% 14.5%
Belgium 33.1% 20.7% 14.6%
Bulgaria 12.5% 4.5% 3.1%
Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.1% 7.5% 21.3%
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) 57.9% 34.0%
Canada 36.3% 23.1% 15.7%
Cabo Verde 48.7% 7.4%
Costa Rica 71.4% 49.5% 3.4%
Cyprus 45.3% 31.4% 16.8%
Czechia 38.9% 11.5% 10.8%
Germany 34.0% 26.6% 15.3%
Ecuador 55.1% 30.5% 42.0%
Spain 35.2% 18.1% 25.9%
Estonia 14.1% 20.7% 3.6%
Finland 23.9% 18.4% 16.9%
France 31.7% 22.6% 4.9%
Greece 38.1% 20.9% 18.1%
Honduras 56.5% 15.9% 10.3%
Croatia 16.1% 6.5% 25.1%
Hungary 23.7% 10.1% 11.5%
Iceland 32.1% 17.9% 11.9%
Italy 45.8% 18.1% 15.7%
Republic of Korea 27.1%
Sri Lanka 53.0% 19.1% 55.3%
Lithuania 16.2% 9.9%
Luxembourg 18.8% 17.8% 9.3%
Latvia 18.1% 15.8%
Republic of Moldova 11.2% 5.3%
Mexico 42.2% 64.9% 55.2%
North Macedonia 10.2% 41.6% 13.6%
Mali 87.6% 21.1% 27.6%
Malta 28.8% 20.7% 9.0%
Mongolia 46.5%
Malaysia 46.4%
Netherlands 47.7% 47.7% 10.4%
Pakistan 55.1% 4.2% 68.3%
Philippines 14.6% 27.9% 21.6%
Portugal 20.0% 10.5% 22.0%
Palestine 12.0% 4.0%
17 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Self-employment as a
share of creative and
cultural occupations
Part-time employment
as a share of creative and
cultural occupations
Temporary employment as a
share of creative and cultur-
al occupations
Romania 8.0% 22.5% 0.3%
Serbia 26.1% 17.2% 23.3%
Slovakia 31.8% 6.0% 6.5%
Slovenia 25.4%
Sweden 31.4% 29.9%
Thailand 43.3% 11.5% 22.8%
Turkey 27.2% 14.4% 7.5%
Viet Nam 37.8%
Average 33.2% 20.9% 17.9%
Source: UNESCO, Institute for Statistics data on cultural employment
On average, 43.3 per cent of workers in performance and celebration-related occupations and over 30 per
cent in audiovisual occupations were on part-time working arrangements. Overall, more than 42 per cent
of workers in performance and celebration-related occupations and 36 per cent in audiovisual occupa-
tions were self-employed, while 30 per cent and 26 per cent in performance and audiovisual occupations,
respectively, were on temporary contracts. It should be noted, however, that the percentage of CCS work-
ers who do not know their contractual status or do not have contract of employment is very high (see the
case of Mexico below).
Three countries’ data – France, Mexico and the United States of America – are analysed below, to better
understand these CCS dynamics.
France
The 2018 French Labour Force Survey (“Enquête Emploi en Continue”) provides a rened estimate of the
number of CCS workers. In 2018, under the French system of dening occupations (PCS, table 4), there
were 324,734 individuals working in cultural and creative occupations, equating to 1.1 per cent of the ac-
tive population.
XTable 4. PCS codes for cultural and creative occupations in France
351a Librarians, archivists, curators and other cultural heritage professions (public service)
352a Journalists (including editors-in-chief) 352b Literary authors, play/film writers and script writers
353a Newspaper executives, press administrators, editorial directors (literary, musical, audiovisual and multi-
media)
353b Audiovisual and performance directors, programming directors and production managers
353c Artistic and technical professions related to audiovisual and theatre production
354a Visual artists
354b Musicians and singers
354c Actors
18 ILO Working Paper 28
354d Dancers, circus artists and other performers
354e Dancers
354f Circus artists and other performers
Source: Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques (INSEE)
There are no clear trends with regard to age, only a slight concentration of workers in their 30s, (29 per cent
of the total). A gender analysis shows that 57 per cent of all CCS workers are male. The education break-
down shows that CCS workers are mostly highly educated (see Table 5).
XTable 5. Cultural and creative workers disaggregated by level of education in France (2018)
Education Level Share
Undergraduate degree, one-year post-graduate degree, masters degree (research or profes-
sional), further post-graduate study, specialized post-graduate study, doctorate 40.9%
College degree and further qualification 11.08%
University diploma 2.42%
BTS, DUT ou equivalent 17.30%
Paramedical and social (Baccalaureat +2 years) 0.45%
General baccalaureat 9.43%
Technical or vocational baccalaureat, or equivalent 6%
Vocational certificate 4.15%
Secondary education certificate 5.10%
Primary education certificate 0.43%
No qualification 2.38%
Not Available 0.36%
Source: INSEE. Emploi Enquête en Continu, 2018
Lastly, it is interesting to note that 32 per cent of CCS workers work less than 30 hours per week (see Table
6). Thus in France, part-time work is highly relevant for CCS workers, whether they are employees or self-em-
ployed. Since the French labour force survey asks workers what they would consider to be the ideal num-
ber of working hours, we can compare the two to determine whether part-time employees are satised
or would prefer to work additional hours. The analysis shows that CCS workers do not wish to work more
hours; part-time work tends to meet their needs.
XTable 6. Share of cultural and creative workers by weekly hours of work in France (2018)
Weekly Number of Hours Share
<15 hours 16%
15–30 hours 16%
30–35 hours 7%
35–40 hours 21%
40+ 37%
N/A 3%
Source: INSEE. Emploi Enquête en Continu, 2018
19 ILO Working Paper 28
United States of America
Using data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from May 2018, we estimate that there
are 1.4 million workers in CCS employment, which accounted for one per cent of total non-agricultural em-
ployment (Table 7).9 The most important occupations in CCS employment terms are: designers; writers and
editors; broadcast and radio technicians; and actors, producers and directors. These four broad occupa-
tions account for 69 per cent of total CCS employment in the United States.
XTable 7. Total employment in cultural and creative occupations in the United States (2018)
Code Occupation Total employed
27-1010 Artists and related workers190,990
27-1020 Designers 519,180
27-2010 Actors, producers, and directors 166,060
27-2030 Dancers and choreographers 14,810
27-2040 Musicians, singers, and related workers 53,840
27-2090 Miscellaneous entertainers and performers, sports and related workers 13,740
27-3010 Announcers 35,260
27-3020 News analysts, reporters and correspondents 43,030
27-3040 Writers and editors 191,320
27-3090 Miscellaneous media and communication workers 77,560
27-4010 Broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators 121,890
27-4020 Photographers 49,560
27-4030 Television, video, and motion picture camera operators and editors 49,240
27-4090 Miscellaneous media and communication tquipment workers 18,790
TOTAL 1,445,270
1For BLS purposes, “artists” include the following occupations: art directors, craft artists, ne artists – including painters, sculptors, and
illustrators –, multimedia artists and other related artists. Source: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, « Occupational Employment
Statistics », Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 28 January 2021.
Source: BLS data.
BLS data also provide interesting insights into wages and their distribution across occupations, as well as
the average number of hours worked per occupation. On average, artists, actors, producers, directors, mu-
sicians, technicians and operators work close to or more than 40 hours per week, while photographers,
dancers, entertainers and related workers work just over 20 hours per week. While average wages are in
line with the number of hours worked, this may not account for “hidden working hours” spent by some cat-
egories, such as performers, in practising or rehearsing. Regarding salary range, artists receive the highest
average wages while photographers receive the lowest. The annual average wage across all CCS occupa-
tions was US$51,960. Thus, wages for several CCS occupations are signicantly below the average, where-
as others, such as artists and occupations related to the lm industry, enjoy wages well above the mean.
Film industry occupations show the largest spread in salaries, with the 90th percentile making US$130,000
more per year than the 10th percentile.
9According to BLS data, in May 2018 the total number of employed in the United States was 144,733,270. See: United States Bureau of
Labor Statistics, “May 2018 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates”, Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed 28 January
2021.
20 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 8. Working hours and salary details (in US$) for CCS occupations in the United States (2018)
Occupation Average hours
worked
Average an-
nual salary
10th percentile
annual salary
90th percentile an-
nual salary
Artists and related workers 40.83 84,930 34,670 144,530
Designers 24.05 50,020 23,140 84,770
Actors, producers, and directors 39.24 81,610 23,930 160,730
Dancers and choreographers 22.44 46,670 19,810 90,290
Musicians, singers, and related workers 35.53 n/a n/a n/a
Miscellaneous entertainers and per-
formers, sports and related workers 21.53 n /a n/a n/a
Announcers 23.54 48,960 18,900 87,720
News analysts, reporters and corre-
spondents 29.1 60,530 23,840 112,750
Writers and editors 34.58 71,920 33,650 117,620
Miscellaneous media and communica-
tion workers 26.2 54,490 26,190 89,920
Broadcast and sound engineering tech-
nicians and radio operators 24.02 49,960 23,880 84,110
Photographers 20.56 42,770 19,850 76,360
Television, video, and motion picture
camera operators and editors 36.58 76,090 28,930 140,970
Miscellaneous media and communica-
tion equipment workers 37.06 77,080 31,760 117,300
Source: BLS data.
Mexico
The Mexican Labour Force Survey (Encuesta Nacional de Ocupación y Empleo), ENOE, provides very detailed
information for occupations at the 4-digit level, providing an in-depth analysis of the CCS. In 2018, the to-
tal employment in CCS occupations amounted to 436,532, accounting for 0.43 per cent of the working-age
population, slightly below the United States share. In Mexico, the main CCS occupations are: musicians;
designers, painters and illustrators; and photographers. Data on weekly working hours also show signi-
cant dierences across occupations; while some occupations work above 40 hours per week, in some cas-
es even reaching 50 hours (including designers, painters, illustrators, journalists, editors and broadcasting
technicians), others barely amount to 20 hours a week, including singers, sculptors, and event organizers.
In 2018, the average monthly salary in Mexico was 6,153 Mexican pesos. In the CCS, however, the average
monthly salary was signicantly higher, at 8,303 pesos. Wage dierentials across occupations in the CCS
are very large. While writers and critics receive salaries higher than 40,000 pesos a month, clowns and cir-
cus artists make around 2,400 pesos, which is well below the average.
The ENOE shows the proportion of these workers that are self-employed and, again, we nd a very di-
verse picture. Writers and critics and music composers are predominantly self-employed, while there are
no self-employed set designers and radio and television presenters. Self-employment is prevalent among
actors, at 47.6 per cent.
21 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 9. Working hours and salary details (in Mexican pesos) for CCS occupations in Mexico (2018)
Occupation Number of work-
ers
Percentage of
self-employed
workers
Number of
hours worked
Average
monthly sal-
ary
Writers and critics 3,759 96.2% n/a 40,071.4
Journalists and editors 28,285 12.2% 45.1 9,557.9
Artists 12,559 77.9% 36.0 9,980.9
Cartoonists and artists, illustrators and engrav-
ers 84,805 35.9% 46.7 9,437.8
Sculptors 3,977 78.5% 16.0 5,220.7
Set designers 4,128 0.0% 30.0 6,232.9
Composers and musical arrangers 652 91.0% n/a 4,223.7
Musicians 125,180 35.3% 20.8 6,896.8
Singers 18,265 37.9% 6.7 8,014.3
Dancers and choreographers 8,607 15.0% 35.0 6,395.1
Actors 3,926 47.6% n/a 12,861.3
Radio, television and other media presenters 7,536 0.0% 30.7 9,318.7
Hosts and event organizers 23,148 30.4% 20.5 11,877.7
Clowns, mimes and other circus artists 2,765 70.4% n/a 2,398.5
Video and recording production engineers and
technicians 16,173 28.9% 50.0 7,677.2
Sound and lighting engineers and technicians 34,577 31.9% 40.0 8,903.5
Photographers 58,220 65.7% 40.8 8,694.9
Total and weighted average 436,562 38.5% 8,303.8
Source: ENOE data.
The structure of labour arrangements in the CCS shows that workers in CCS occupations can be divided
into four categories: self-employed (these account for more than one-third of CCS workers); workers with
open-ended contracts; workers with temporary contracts; and workers with no contract of employment or
no knowledge about their contract (these account for quite a large proportion of CCS workers). Contrary
to assumptions about self-employment, the self-employed in the CCS sector in Mexico receive average sal-
aries that are roughly the same as those of employees under open-ended contracts and 17 per cent high-
er those with temporary contracts. Those working without a contract tend to be paid much lower wages
– roughly 40 per cent less than workers with known contractual arrangements.
XTable 10. Contractual arrangements in CCS occupations in Mexico (2018)
Type of contractual arrangement Number of workers Average monthly salary
Self-employed 177,347 9,701.9
Open-ended contract 89,224 9.789.1
Temporary contract 30,108 8,098.0
Unknown / no contract 139,883 5,997.9
Source: ENOE data.
The ENOE provides information on whether workers are given access to health insurance by their employ-
er, via the Mexican Social Security Institute, the national social insurance agency, which is a good indicator
of social security coverage. Close to 99 per cent of self-employed CCS workers state that they do not have
access to health insurance through their job, as do 96 per cent of workers without a contract. Conversely,
69 per cent of employees with open-ended contracts have health insurance coverage through the Institute.
Only 10 per cent of employees with open-ended contracts state that they are unprotected. Workers who
22 ILO Working Paper 28
are employed on temporary contracts sit somewhere in between: 52 per cent have health insurance, while
48 per cent do not.
In a country with a high prevalence of informal labour, more than one-third of CCS workers are self-em-
ployed, but another third do not even know their contractual status, and social security coverage is almost
non-existent. While workers with temporary contracts have slightly lower salaries than self-employed work-
ers (17% less on average), they have greater social protection. CCS workers who either do not have a con-
tract of employment or do not know whether they have one, earn the lowest wages and have very limited
social security coverage.
XBox 1: CCS employment trends highlights
●The proportion of self-employment is relatively high, reecting the independent and spe-
cialized nature of many occupations in the CCS; this proportion tends to be higher in de-
veloping countries.
●Part-time and temporary work tend to be prevalent, and a high proportion of CCS work-
ers do not know their contractual status or have no contract; again, this proportion tends
to be higher in developing countries.
●While average wages for CCS workers are in line with the number of hours of work, this
may not account for “hidden working hours” spent by some categories – such as perform-
ers – who spend unpaid time practising or rehearsing.
Social protection and the CCS
Social protection, or social security, is a human right10 and can be dened as the set of policies and pro-
grammes designed to reduce and prevent poverty and vulnerability throughout the life course.11 As the ILO
Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) indicates, social security includes benets
for children and families, maternity, unemployment, employment injury, sickness, old age, disability, survi-
vors, as well as health protection. Social protection systems address these policy areas through a mix of con-
tributory schemes (social insurance) and non-contributory tax-nanced benets, including social assistance.
CCS workers face numerous challenges in accessing social protection, partly related to the types of con-
tract they are employed under and the characteristics of their work. In most countries, entitlement to social
protection benets under social insurance schemes is determined by the type of activity, contractual rela-
tion and labour income. Characteristics of CCS occupations, which are described below, often lead to spo-
radic social security contributions, which can have a signicant impact on access to social protection ben-
ets for CCS workers when a particular contingency occurs (such as maternity or sickness). These sporadic
contributions may mean, for example, that CCS workers are unable to contribute for the time periods re-
quired to be eligible for benets, such as old-age pensions, due to low contribution density (resulting from
interrupted employment histories). In addition, national social protection systems may not be suciently
adapted to the realities of such workers, which will also impact their social protection coverage. In countries
with fragmented pension schemes, for instance, workers with “atypical” employment histories, as is the
case for many CCS workers, may end up contributing to several funds, but might not reach the minimum
contribution thresholds (vesting periods) to secure their entitlements. The common characteristics of CCS
occupations described below summarize the main reasons for lack of, or low, social protection coverage.
10 See: UN General Assembly Resolution 217 A(III), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, A/RES/217(III) (1948), Articles 22 and 25; UN
General Assembly Resolution 2200A (XXI), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, , A/RES/2200A(XXI), 1988,
Art 9; principles also enshrined in UN legal instruments setting out the rights of specic population groups (see: ILO, Building social
protection systems: International standards and human right instruments, 2019).
11 ILO, World Social Protection Report 2017–19: Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, 2017.
23 ILO Working Paper 28
Exclusion from social protection programmes in law and practice. In most countries, contributory
schemes cover formal employees with employment contracts; these schemes may be extended to the
self-employed, but this is often on a voluntary basis and the worker is responsible for both the employ-
er’s and employee’s share of contributions. In others, the self-employed might simply be excluded by law.
Indeed, people working in the CCS are regularly considered to be independent contractors and are thus
not covered by employment legislation; they are not employees, and as a result may not be covered by so-
cial insurance mechanisms. As we have seen, in some countries CCS workers may prefer being independ-
ent; in certain countries and occupations, however, there may be no real choice but to be self-employed.
Contributing to social protection schemes when self-employed may be expensive given that workers are
responsible for both the employer’s and employee’s share of contributions, as explained above. This means
that, even where not excluded from social protection schemes by law, the self-employed may be, in practice,
inclined not to participate when it is not mandatory. Many CCS workers may be misclassied as self-em-
ployed even though, in practice, their employment relationship can be assimilated to that of an employee.
This will de facto reduce their eligibility for social protection benets. In a survey of trade unions conducted
in 23 countries in Europe, 80 per cent of union bodies reported self-employment misclassication, despite
the fact that workers were, in many ways, treated like employees.12 De facto exclusion might also occur for
the reasons described below.
Project-based and short-term engagement. Most CCS occupations combine short-term projects (such as
lms, books, paintings, or plays, with dierent types of labour relations), salaried, self-employed and oth-
er working arrangements, interrupted by periods of study, rehearsing and practising, among others. The
diversity of employment relationships and work arrangements combined with interrupted employment
histories can result in sporadic social security contributions, which in turn result in low or insucient con-
tribution density. This can aect access to old-age pensions and result in periods where CCS workers are
no longer legally covered by contributory schemes. Accordingly, they may not have access to short-term
social security benets, such as in the case of unemployment, sickness, maternity or work injury.
Irregular and varied types of remuneration. While some occupations within this sector are closer to sal-
aried jobs, like technicians or journalists, and receive regular salaries, workers in CCS occupations have a
tendency to have several sources of income. For instance, writers receive royalties and artists or media tech-
nicians receive irregular ows of income when their pieces of art are sold or a recording is made. In other
cases, they may only have neighbouring rights, which may or may not generate revenue. Such revenues
are generally not signicant, due to an unbalanced contractual relationship. Even when they are paid, it
may only be for few months, rather than the whole year, or their remuneration settled in a lump-sum after
a certain period, rather than monthly, for example at the end of a performance, or based on a six-month
artistic production. With regard to remuneration, while traditional jobs require some level of monitoring
and evaluation, it may be dicult to measure performance in the CCS, meaning that income linked to ef-
fort or success is limited. Furthermore, in certain CCS occupations, income uctuates highly according to
demand for the artist’s work. A painter or an actor’s income can increase substantially after a success, but
in the same vein can decrease dramatically after a failure. Irregularities in remuneration, combined with a
tendency towards inadequate income, can aect the periodicity of contribution payments, depending on
how these are regulated, which may aect both access to and levels of social protection.
Fluidity of employment relationships in CCS occupations. This is linked to the previous issue; the sec-
tor includes a wide variety of occupations, from those based on artistic talent to technical or IT work, such
as sound engineers, technicians, and so on. Across this range of occupations, employment relationships
encompass xed-term, part-time, project-based and self-employed work, as well as emerging forms of
employment that are not always identiable under the traditional employment relationship divide (such
as dependent or disguised self-employment). This creates challenges in coverage with and access to so-
cial security for these workers, in particular where national social protection systems are fragmented and
12 Lionel Fulton, Trade unions protecting self-employed workers (ETUC, 2018).
24 ILO Working Paper 28
various schemes coexist for dierent categories of workers and where portability mechanisms are not in
place to ensure that all contributory periods can be accumulated to meet minimum contribution thresholds.
Idle time in creative occupations. Whereas a marketing director would still be paid a salary while work-
ing on dierent ideas for a campaign, artists invest signicant time conducting research for their projects,
carrying out daily instrument practice or working on their next shows or performances, which often are
unaccounted for. This is commonly referred to as “hidden working time”. Despite working, during these
periods they could be considered inactive from a traditional labour market perspective. In other words,
employment contracts often do not include these periods as “work” and they are therefore not remuner-
ated. Where this is the case, it is also more likely that these working hours are not accounted for under so-
cial insurance schemes.
High risk of employment injury. CCS workers not only face risks in terms of regularity and adequacy of
income, but also with regard to work-related injuries. Certain occupations are very prone to injuries, such
as professional dancers.13 An injury that would be considered light for a non CCS worker may completely
prevent a musician or other workers from working for several weeks or months (injuries to nger, hand,
shoulder, neck, lips, for example), which takes a signicant toll on their income security.
Uneven union representation. Trade unions may face challenges in organizing CCS workers, especial-
ly given their employment status (often in emerging forms of employment or self-employed), and in en-
suring the improvement of their working conditions through collective action. It is dicult for unions to
attract self-employed workers if they cannot bargain collectively on their behalf (which competition rules
generally prohibit), unless they can provide other services that are relevant to this category of members.
This situation aects these workers’ opportunities to discuss collectively and extend their social protection.
XBox 2: Barriers to social protection coverage, some ndings from countries analysis
CCS occupations combine a high level of risk (often higher than for other occupations) related to
the particular employment circumstances, which characterize this group, with recurrent limited so-
cial insurance coverage, resulting in the aggravation of an already unstable situation. For example,
CCS workers may often nd themselves with neither health protection nor sickness benets or old-
age pensions.
This is the case in Mexico, where 38.5 per cent of CCS workers are self-employed (Table 9). 99 per
cent of them do not have health insurance cover through their jobs, so they either receive subsidized
health insurance or have to nd another solution, such as purchasing private insurance, keeping in
mind that uninsured persons can also access the public health system.
Similarly, in the United States, a 2013 survey of over 3,400 United States-based artists across dis-
ciplines (dancers, actors, musicians, visual artists, lmmakers),14 conducted by the Future of Music
Coalition and the Actors Fund Artists’ Health Insurance Resource Center, found that 43 per cent of
respondents did not have health insurance coverage. This was above the national estimate of 18 per
cent uninsured; 88 per cent reported lack of aordability as the primary reason for lack of coverage.
15
A lack of access to social health protection will not only impact these workers’ ability to protect their
health, but can have a signicant impact on their nancial situation, especially where they have to
cover the costs of necessary medical care and/or forego work. Private health insurance schemes
also often involve co-payments, exclusion of risks by not covering pre-existing conditions, and are
13 Martine D’Amours et Marie-Hélène Deshaies, La protection sociale des artistes et autres groupes des travailleurs indépendents:
analyse de modèles internationaux (Faculté des sciences sociales - Université Laval, 2012).
14
Kristin Thomson and Jean Cook, Taking the Pulse in 2013: Artists and Health Insurance survey results (Future of Music Coalition, 2013).
15 Ibid.
25 ILO Working Paper 28
contingent on health examinations upon entry into the scheme. Furthermore, contribution amounts
are not usually linked to income or capacity to contribute but rather to individual risks. During a pan-
demic, such as COVID-19, this can also have implications on public health measures, when persons
have no choice but to continue to work despite being ill.16
A lack of income security in old-age, resulting from low contribution density or access to non-con-
tributory benets, can mean that CCS workers have to continue working for as long as possible,
sometimes in poorly paid and precarious jobs, which can be particularly challenging for those with
physically demanding work (such as performers). In Quebec, for example, 57 per cent of artists (a
subgroup of CCS occupations) contributed to the Regime des Rentes de Quebec in 2001, and more
than a quarter of CCS workers did not contribute to any old-age pension scheme.17 It should be not-
ed however that Canada has a universal tax-nanced old-age pension programme provided to all
legal residents.
The risks faced by workers in the CCS, as well as the challenges regarding access to adequate social protec-
tion, tend to be exacerbated during crisis situations, as demonstrated very clearly by the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 impact and social protection responses in the CCS
Some of the issues addressed in this study have been particularly magnied by the COVID-19 pandemic,
which is not only a public health challenge, but has signicant social and economic impacts in developed
and developing countries alike.18
COVID-19 has particularly exposed vulnerabilities in sectors characterized by degrees of income insecurity,
informality and lack of access to adequate social security benets.19 The CCS has been hit particularly hard,
especially by mandatory lockdowns, as well as other public health measures, including limitations on and/
or prohibitions of public gatherings. According to data available for the United States, all consumer spend-
ing on arts, entertainment and recreation decreased by 48.3 per cent between January and mid-July 2020,
the most signicant contraction of spending in all of the sectors analysed (Figure 2).20
16 ILO, Sickness Benets during Sick Leave and Quarantine: Country Responses and Policy Considerations in the Context of COVID-19,
Social Protection Spotlight, 2020.
17 The Régie des Rentes de Quebec was one of the two old-age pension systems of Quebec. It disappeared in 2016 when it was merged
with a separate system to create Retraite Quebec.
18 See information and data in: ILO, “COVID-19 and the world of work”; see also website: ILO “Social protection response to the COVID-19
Crisis”.
19 ILO, Social Protection Responses to the COVID-19 Crisis around the World, 2020.
20 Opportunity Insights, Track the economic impacts of COVID-19 on people, businesses, and communities across the United S tates in
real time, Economic Tracker.
26 ILO Working Paper 28
XFigure 2. Percentage Change in All Consumer Spending*
Source: Opportunity Insights, 2020
In the United States, the two States in which most cultural activity is concentrated – New York and California
– saw a reduction in consumption of 56.9 per cent and 57.4 per cent respectively; in April 2020 the contrac-
tion was between 70 and 80 per cent in both States.
This contraction has had an unprecedented impact on CCS workers. An online survey carried out by the
Berlin association of visual artists21 revealed that more than half of the city’s artists anticipated losing at
least 75 per cent of their monthly income due to lockdown. This is similar to the contraction in consump-
tion seen in New York and California, where more than three-quarters expressed fears that they would not
be able to aord to pay rent or meet other basic costs.
Governments’ eorts to mitigate the nancial impacts of COVID-19 on the CCS encompass three main are-
as: direct support to CCS workers (through social protection mechanisms or adjustments), nancial support
to CCS enterprises and institutions, and cultural promotion. Such measures could be: a) general, and inclu-
sive of CCS workers; or b) ad hoc, specically targeting this category of workers (see Annex 2 and Box 3).
COVID-19 has shone a light on the adverse consequences of gaps in social protection coverage in many
countries, forcing governments to take emergency measures to support persons not covered by existing
schemes, including self-employed and other categories of CCS workers, who often nd themselves in the
informal economy or outside employment relationship frameworks.22
The development of the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programme in the United States and other
specic programmes put in place in Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom
may force to rethink of how coverage by existing social protection systems can be extended in future to
protect self-employed workers in general, and CCS workers in particular.
21 Catherine Hickley, Majority of Berlin artists worried they can't pay rent due to coronavirus, survey nds, The Art News Paper, 27 March
2020.
22 ILO, “Social Protection responses to COVID-19 Crisis around the World”.
27 ILO Working Paper 28
Finally, the pandemic has also unveiled the very dierent degrees of protection for CCS workers in devel-
oped and developing countries. While most developed countries have established specic programmes for
CCS workers, many developing countries have generally weak social protection systems or systems cover-
ing a limited group of workers, among which CCS workers may not stand out.23
The ad-hoc solutions implemented to respond to the immediate challenges posed by the COVID-19 cri-
sis, should inform the development of sustainable measures aimed at elaborating comprehensive social
protection systems, including social protection oors. In other words, the pandemic has highlighted the
need for comprehensive and adequate social protection systems that cover everyone throughout the life
course, and all workers in all types of employment, through a rights-based and sustainable approach that
goes beyond one-o measures.24
Social protection COVID-19 responses analysed by the ILO have underlined the need to address the vulner-
abilities and decent work decits in dierent sectors of the economy, including the CCS. Current analysis of
these responses25 calls for the need to:
strengthen existing social protection systems, including social protection oors, to contribute to real-
izing universal health coverage and building universal social protection systems, in line with the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal targets 1.3 and 3.8,
as well as the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202);
bridge the coverage and adequacy gaps in social protection for certain categories of workers, including
part-time workers, temporary workers and self-employed workers, thereby ensuring adequate social
protection for workers in all forms of employment, adapted to their specic needs and characteristics, in
line with international social security standards and the ILO Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work;
extend social security coverage to workers in the informal economy more generally, including by pro-
moting the transition from the informal to the formal economy in line with ILO Recommendation No.
204 (2015);
secure robust, sustainable and equitable nancing mechanisms, based on the principles of broad risk
pooling and social solidarity established by ILO social security standards; and
expand scal space for social protection by considering a wide range of options and through national
dialogue to generate political will and adopt the optimal mix of public policies for inclusive growth with
jobs and social protection.
XBox 3: COVID-19: social protection responses for CCS workers
At the time of conducting this study, and acknowledging the specic situation of CCS workers, a
number of countries – notably Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom
– have sought to guarantee temporary emergency benets to CCS workers. These provide income
security in light of lockdowns and prohibition of public gatherings.
In May 2020, a Cultural Emergency Law was passed in Brazil- named after Aldir Blanc, a Brazilian
author who died from COVID-19. The Law set aside 3,600 million Brazilian reais (around €500 mil-
lion), to support the arts and cultural sector. Under the Law, a special benet was established to
support self-employed CCS workers who have no other contributory benets. The benet is com-
patible with the Bolsa Familia cash transfer and amounts to 600 reais (around €100) for 3 months.
23 ILO, Towards solid social protection oors? The role of non-contributory provision during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, Social
Protection Spotlight, 2021.
24 ILO, Social protection responses to the COVID-19 crisis: Country responses and policy considerations, Social Protection Spotlight,
2020.
25 ILO, Social protection responses to the COVID-19 crisis: Country responses and policy considerations, Social Protection Spotlight,
2020.
28 ILO Working Paper 28
In order to receive the benets, CCS workers need to prove that they worked in CCS occupations for
the previous two years.26
In Spain, an emergency benet programme has been introduced for CCS workers who are unable to
continue working as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, provided that they are not receiving
or continuing to contribute voluntarily to the ordinary contributory unemployment benet scheme
under the social security system. The new programme is, however, incompatible with any type of
employment, and any other benet, including non-contributory cash transfers. To be eligible, CCS
workers must have contributed for at least 20 days in 2019 under CCS activities. With 20–54 days of
contributions recorded in 2019, CCS workers are eligible for benets of €735 per month for up to 4
months (and up to 6 months if they contributed for more than 54 days).27
Switzerland introduced a special emergency aid programme for cultural workers (self-employed
Swiss residents whose main job is in the cultural sector) in order to support cultural workers in -
nancial distress, irrespective of the loss of commitments and fees. Those with higher incomes and
those receiving other benets are not eligible for this aid. The benet is calculated on the basis of
basic needs (based on the recommendations of the Swiss Conference of Social Work Institutions),
actual income and expenditure, and not on the basis of the loss of fees, which in most cases is sig-
nicantly higher. The maximum daily benet is CHF196 (CHF 5,880/month), for persons with an an-
nual income of up to CHF60,000 (single person) or CHF80,000 (married couple). For each additional
family member to be supported, an additional CHF15,000 can be added to the income limit.28
In the Republic of Korea, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has set up an emergency task
force to analyse the trends in the cultural sector and develop sectoral measures to respond to the
pandemic. In this context, a number of ad-hoc measures were taken: a) an emergency loan of USD
5.9 million reaching 1090 artists, at a low interest rate (1.2%), and with a funding limit of USD 8,000;
b) a creative funds programme USD 2,500 per person to ensure business continuity among low-in-
come artists (7,535 artists were selected and USD 18.8 million were funded in the rst half of 2020);
c) an artists’ employment insurance scheme allowing all artists, including freelance artists, to claim
unemployment benets (120 - 270 days) and childbirth allowances (minimum period of insurance
payments: 9 out of 24 months; and minimum employment period: 3 out of 24 months). The scheme
is in force since December 2020.29
In the United Kingdom, a one-time nancial support programme has also been implemented for
creative practitioners whose main work is focused on the following art forms and disciplines: music,
theatre, dance, visual arts, literature, combined arts, museums practice and libraries (activity that
helps deliver the United Kingdom’s Universal Library Oers programme). This includes choreogra-
phers, writers, translators, producers, editors, self-employed educators in creative disciplines and
art forms, composers, directors, designers, artists, crafters and curators. The benet is a one-o
payment up to £2,500 (around €2,760).30
Finally, France introduced a temporary modication of the eligibility conditions to the unemploy-
ment insurance scheme for the “intermittents du spectacle” (artists and technicians on intermittent
contracts in the performance sector) until August 2021. Essentially, the requirement to register new
hours of artistic work in the following months was removed.31As already stated, other supporting
measures have been introduced, aimed at ensuring business continuity and recovery for cultural and
26 Brazil, Law No. 14.017 of 29 June 2020.
27 Gobierno de Espana, Ministerio de Trabajo y Economia Social, « Acceso Extraordinario a la prestacion por desempleo de los artistas ».
28 Suisse Culture Sociale, « Questions fréquentes sur les demandes d’aide d’urgence auprès de Suisseculture Sociale », 19 Janvier 2021.
29 Republic of Korea, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, “Korea’s policy responses to COVID-19 – Building resilience for the cultural
sector”, 31 August 2020.
30 England Art Council, “Financial support for artists, creative practitioners and freelancers”.
31 France Pôle Emploi, « Actualisation et changements de situation pour les intermittents du spectacle ».
29 ILO Working Paper 28
creative companies and institutions, as well as promoting their activities. In Germany, for instance,
the Government budgeted €1 billion to support the CCS, most notably to adapt infrastructure to
the new COVID-19 requirements.32 In Brazil, under the Aldir Blanc Law mentioned above, between
3,000 and 10,000 reais (€500–1,600) will be provided for the maintenance of artistic and cultural
spaces, cultural micro- and small enterprises, cooperatives, institutions and community cultural or-
ganizations, the activities of which were interrupted by lockdown and social distancing measures.
General measures for all workers
In some countries, income security measures have reached CCS workers through existing social pro-
tection mechanisms that have been extended to self-employed workers, including CCS workers, rath-
er than creating specic programmes for them. This is the case in Germany, where the Government
has broadened the scope of the “short-term work allowance” programme (Konjunkturelle Kurzarbeit).
The allowance is a partial compensation payment by the Federal Employment Agency for the loss
of earnings caused by a temporary loss of work, paid from the unemployment insurance scheme.
To broaden the coverage of the allowance, the Government has allowed access to it if: a) the loss of
work is temporary and caused by force majeure; and b) at least one-third of the workers employed
in the company are aected by a loss of earnings of more than 10 percent of their monthly gross
salary each month. One-person enterprises are entitled to the benet, making it accessible to all
self-employed workers. The benet is calculated as a percentage of net income loss. In the context
of the COVID-19 pandemic, beneciaries will receive 60 per cent of missing net remuneration. If at
least one child lives in the household, this is increased to 67 per cent.33
Similarly, the United States has not set up a specic programme for CCS workers, but a broader scheme
for workers not eligible for traditional unemployment insurance. The Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance programme (PUA) was introduced under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security
Act (CARES Act), allowing self-employed workers, otherwise ineligible for unemployment benets un-
der state and federal law, to qualify for such benets. The self-employed, such as gig workers, con-
sultants, or independent contractors qualify, as do part-time employees and those who lack sucient
work history.34 The benet amounts to US$600 per week, for up to four months, for any weeks end-
ing on or before July 31, 2020. The PUA is an acknowledgement of the gaps left by pure contributo-
ry social insurance schemes. It has had more than double the forecast coverage: the Congressional
Budget Oce estimated that 5 million people would make claims but by June 2020, the programme
had almost 13 million beneciaries. Under the traditional unemployment insurance scheme, there
were 17.5 million registered workers; by mid-June 2020, 41 per cent of people receiving unemploy-
ment benets were covered by the PUA.35
32 Kate Brown, “Germany Continues to Lead the Way in Culture Aid, Doling Out Another €1 Billion to the Sector and Lowering the Tax
Rate on Art”, Artnet News, 4 June 2020.
33 Schlun & Elseven Rechtsanwälte, “Short-Time Working Allowance in Germany: COVID-19 Coronavirus”.
34 James N. Boudreau et al., “The CARES Act and the Self-employed: A primer”, National Law Review, Volume X, No. 105, (2020).
35 United States Department of Labor, “Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims”, News Release, 2 July 2020.
30 ILO Working Paper 28
X2 Social protection for workers in the media and
culture sector: case studies
While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the pivotal role of social protection, it has also brought to
light protection gaps, including for CCS workers. This section presents several case studies to highlight the
practices followed to extend social protection coverage to CCS workers in various countries. In particular, it
observes how responses and solutions have been sought to some of the obstacles that CCS workers face
in accessing social protection. These encompass adapting social protection mechanisms to allow for great-
er exibility, redistribution and adequacy, dening employment status and type of working arrangements,
and improving the portability of social security benets between employment statuses and countries. This
section rst describes key highlights before looking into specic details at the country level and conclud-
ing with some considerations.
Types of social security system coverage
This study analyses social protection coverage for CCS workers according to dierent social security sys-
tem measures which, for the purposes of this study, are categorised into three types: general, adapted
and special schemes.
●General social insurance systems are systems under which CCS workers are considered like any oth-
er worker, self-employed or employed, without any conditions being set specically for CCS workers.
●
Adapted systems are based on general systems, with either additional exibility or special conditions for
CCS workers, with regard to benets, eligibility conditions and nancing arrangements, among others.
It should be noted that special conditions may apply to eligibility for specic benets, rather than for
the system as a whole. A exible method may, for example, only be applied to determine the contribu-
tory period for eligibility for old-age pension in the case of CCS workers, but may not apply any excep-
tion to the qualifying conditions for unemployment insurance contingencies.
●
Finally, special schemes are subsystems featuring various nancing arrangements or benets. Financially,
these schemes are normally embedded in the general system, under the same social security fund and
managed either by the same agency or separately. Special schemes usually bring in new resources from
art users or broadcasters and government subsidies, making it easier for independent CCS workers
to participate. Of course, additional eorts with regard to the design and nancing are linked to a so-
cial contract in some countries where the solidarity principles vis-à-vis these occupations are deemed
fundamental.
A country mapping looking at the three types of social security schemes described above is summarized
in Annex 1.
The type of social security system covering the CCS depends largely on the social contract between CCS oc-
cupations and society. As mentioned above, general social insurance approaches may fall short of extend-
ing coverage to CCS workers and in particular to self-employed workers, unless specic adaptations are
made. Hence, schemes that are adapted to these occupations tend to have more success in bringing social
protection coverage to a signicant share of CCS workers, in particular the self-employed.
31 ILO Working Paper 28
Adapting social protection systems and relying on a variety of
financing mechanisms based on the principle of solidarity
Highlights
Adapting social protection systems
●Employment in the CCS has several characteristics; the case studies have shown how im-
portant it is to take these into account if coverage is to be extended eectively. In some
countries, this has been achieved by creating new schemes, or adapting existing ones, to
address the particular labour circumstances of CCS workers and nancing challenges. In
most cases however, only certain CCS occupations benet from these adaptations (most
often artists and authors) while other subsectors in the same category may be excluded.
France is an interesting example of how the special unemployment insurance scheme
developed for artists and technicians on intermittent contracts in the performance sec-
tor, known as “intermittents du spectacle”, integrated into the general scheme, has duly
considered the labour specicities of these workers, and notably their uctuating and var-
ied employment relationships. France is one of the few countries that provides a exible
mechanism for unemployment protection for artists and technicians under xed-term
contracts. Originally, the objective of this scheme was to level the playing eld between
long-term dependent workers and workers hired by the entertainment industry under
xed-term contracts. This specic unemployment insurance scheme can be combined with
general unemployment benets acquired through other jobs; starting after the general
unemployment benets have been exhausted.
●In other countries – particularly in Latin America – qualifying conditions are adapted to
help artists and authors access social security benets. In Argentina, any artist with 120
consecutive or non-consecutive days of work can accrue one year of service. In Uruguay,
a year of service is accrued when an artist contributes for at least 150 days. In addition,
all artists, regardless of their status (dependent or self-employed), are governed by the
Labour Code and, are therefore covered by social security law.
Solidarity-based nancing mechanisms
●To meet the challenge of extending social security coverage to CCS workers, the nan-
cial mechanisms of special schemes often include contributions from workers, user pay-
ments (such as broadcasters) and government subsidies. The objective is to increase the
umbrella of possible nancing tools, including innovative approaches that are more at-
tuned with the compensation realities of this sector. The case studies show that this can
be done by collecting contributions from artists (and their employers), but also through
user payments – based on annual total payments received for use of artistic products and
services. This is often supplemented by an additional government subsidy.
●Contributions from the users (broadcasters, producers etc.) are calculated as a share of
the total amount paid in royalties in the preceding year. Despite being an important in-
novation for the future of social security nancing, these contributions may be limited
considering the number of those covered by the scheme (e.g., Germany). Solidarity will
therefore be needed, including through additional funding from both users and govern-
ments, in particular to ensure that benets are sustainable and sucient.
●In countries where CCS workers are covered by special schemes, direct government sub-
sidies regularly cover a proportion of social insurance contributions, in addition to user
payments (this is the case in Germany and the Republic of Korea, for example), especially
where user payments are insucient. This helps to ll the gap, but often falls short of en-
suring that the social security schemes for artists and authors are nancially sustainable.
32 ILO Working Paper 28
Mandatory coverage and linking with other services and benets
●In some cases, social protection coverage is oered on a voluntary basis. This is the case
of the Republic of Korea where employment injury protection is available for artists and
authors on a voluntary basis, but coverage in practice remains limited. Interestingly, giv-
en that these employment injury protection schemes also give access to other benets
and services, such as childcare provisions and emergency loans, they have attracted in-
creasing demand from artists.
France: adapting contribution collection
The French Social Security Code introduced an adapted scheme for artists and writers, covering all contin-
gencies except for unemployment and employment injury (these are covered through a separate special
scheme described below). With regard to social protection (insurance cover for health, maternity, old age,
disability and death), writers, authors and composers of music, cinema, audiovisual and multimedia works
and photographers come under the aegis of the Association for the Management of Social Security for
Writers (Agessa). Graphic and plastic artists (painting, sculpture, illustration, engraving, tapestry, and ce-
ramics, among others) come under the remit of the House of Artists (MDA). The latest reform transferred
responsibility for the collection of contributions to the general social security collections agency, moving it
away from accredited bodies. However, the principles remain the same: adapting contribution collection to
the non-traditional sources of income of some creative occupations. The interesting feature of the French
system is its emphasis on nancing through collecting contributions from artists (and their employers), as
well as through payments received from users (such as broadcasters), adapting contribution collection to
actual sources of income: royalties, copyright fees or commissions. In 2018, through this system, close to
€300 million was collected in contributions. A recent reform will extend social security benets to artists
with low artistic income who had previously been excluded.
For authors, a fundamental feature of the French system is the denition of insurable earnings to calculate
social security contributions. Authors have three alternatives: declare monthly copyright payments (equiv-
alent to monthly wages), declare non-commercial benets, or declare total turnover. In the rst scenario,
monthly copyright payments are equivalent to monthly wages, 17.18 per cent of which will have to be paid
in contributions to the social security system. In the second, to estimate insurable earnings, 15 per cent is
added to the prots declared. Thus, if an author declared €10,000 in prots, the insurable earnings would
amount to €11,500. The writer would then be required to contribute 17.45 per cent of €11,500. Finally, in
the third scenario, the agency will deduct 34 per cent of the turnover and then add 15 per cent to calcu-
late the insurable earnings – thus if the author declared €10,000 in turnover, the insurable earnings would
amount to €7,590. The contribution would therefore be 17.45 per cent of €7,590.
In 2018, 62,365 artists were registered under the MDA. The top three occupations among them were graph-
ic designers, painters, and plastic artists, which together accounted for more than 75 per cent of all reg-
istered artists. Forty-eight per cent of artists received less than €4,392 in annual artistic income and only
8.8 per cent made more than €39,228. Before the latest reform, artists making less than €4,392 would not
have met the qualifying conditions for entitlement to social security programme coverage. However, the
recent reform has removed that threshold so that any artist can benet, regardless of income. Employers’
contributions are replaced with payments by individuals, enterprises or the State any time they broadcast
or benet from commercial exploitation of the original pieces of art produced by artists. Art users are re-
quired to pay 1.1 per cent of the prot made or the commission paid to the artist. However, in 2018, art
user contributions only reached €6.4 million, while artists contributed roughly €111.6 million. Users thus
only covered 5.4 per cent of the total contributions for artists.
In 2018, 203,097 authors and artists were registered under Agessa, most of them photographers, audio-
visual artists and writers. While only around 16,000 of them reached the income threshold to benet from
social security programmes, all of them are obliged to contribute. As already stated, a recent reform re-
moved the income threshold, enabling the benets to be extended all artists and authors contributing to
33 ILO Working Paper 28
the social security system. This will mean that coverage is extended to close to 200,000 artists. In 2018, the
French system collected more than €135 million from user tax on copyrights, a 10 per cent increase on the
previous year. User contributions account for 76.2 per cent of the total, a higher share than in most sys-
tems, where the split is usually 50:50 or 1/3:2/3. Most of the income from users comes from the Copyrights
Management Society (around 40 per cent), and the special 1.1 per cent tax paid by users (around 14 per
cent).36 It can be noted that artists under MDA contributed much more than their colleagues under Agessa.
Authors and creators of dierent artistic disciplines (music, literature, cinema, audiovisual, photography,
plastic arts, etc.) depend on organizations and specic rules for their retirement. For the basic pension,
they are attached to the general scheme for employees, but it is the Maison des Artistes or Agessa (de-
pending on the profession) which manages their aliation and their contributions.37 For supplementary
retirement, they are attached to Ircec, which manages 3 dierent occupational schemes. The regime was
reformed in 2019.38
For the complementary pension system, there are three dierent regimes:
●All artist authors contribute to the Scheme for Professional Artist Authors (RAAP).
●Dramatic authors and composers and performing arts (theater, opera, etc.), lm authors also
contribute to the Regime of Dramatic Authors and Composers (RACD).
●Authors and composers of musical works also contribute to the Scheme for Lyrical Authors and
Composers (RACL).
The rst scheme applies to all authors, who contribute if their artistic income is higher than €9,027 (in 2019).
In that case, they are required to pay 8 per cent of their insurable earnings, calculated as set out above
(authors can opt for a reduced payment of 4 per cent if their earnings are less than €27,081).39 The second
scheme is an additional pension scheme with contributions amounting to 8 per cent of the author’s licens-
ing revenues of the last three years.40 Finally, the third scheme is a supplementary old-age pension scheme
for music writers, composers and voiceover artists. It is funded through a 6.5 per cent contribution on any
licensing revenue between €2,739 and €376,368.41
Germany: a special scheme for artists42
In Germany, a special scheme for artists was set up in 1983. It has some features in common with the French
approach: the scheme aims to collect contributions from “indirect employers” by requiring enterprises that
“use” art to contribute. It also raises contributions from artists themselves, but the Artists’ Fund also receives
a government subsidy. Under the German system, participants in the Artists’ Fund receive an old-age pen-
sion, health insurance and long-term care insurance, but no access to employment injury compensation
and only limited access to unemployment insurance, unlike under the French system.
The Fund acknowledges the overrepresentation of artists among the self-employed.43 To help them par-
ticipate in the social insurance system, the Artists’ Social Security Act sets out the obligation of “users” who
benet from art and creation, to contribute as employers (amounting to 30 per cent of the total contributions).
36 According to the latest Agessa report, in 2018, authors contributed €42.3 million and broadcasters €135.6 million.
37 La retraite en claire, « La retraite de base des artistes auteurs », March 2020.
38 La retraite en claire, « La retraite complémentaire des artistes », March 2020.
39 Ibid.
40 Ibid.
41 Ibid.
42 This section of the paper is based on OECD, Germany: Social Insurance for Artists and Writers, 2018.
43 The list of occupations is very broad: acrobat, actor, art director, music arranger, author, audio designer, dancer, ballet dancer, jour-
nalist, painter, clown, musician, song writer, web designer, light technician, etc. The full list can be found in: Künstler Sozialkasse,
“Künstlerische/publizistische Tätigkeiten und Abgabesätze”.
34 ILO Working Paper 28
On the assumption that still not all the nancial requirements would be met, and therefore acknowledging
the need for further support, the Government agreed to provide a subsidy equivalent to a further 20 per
cent of the total contributions. The remaining 50 per cent would be directly paid by CCS workers, just like
any other dependent employee participating in the general social security system.
Coverage is on a mandatory basis subject to certain conditions. In particular, self-employed artists and writ-
ers must participate in the Artists’ Fund if:
●they are practising their artistic profession commercially, not just on a temporary basis, and do
not have more than one employee;
●
applicants’ artistic work ts into the Artists’ Social Security Act’s occupational denitions: artists are
dened as those who create, practise or teach music, or applied or visual arts;
44
writers are dened
as those who work as authors, journalists, publish in any other form, or teach journalism; and
●they earn at least €3,900 per year from their artistic or publishing work, except for recent mar-
ket entrants who pay low, xed monthly contributions for the rst three years of participation.45
As stated above, members of the Artists’ Fund are entitled to old age, disability and survivors’ pensions,
health insurance and long-term care insurance. Additionally, self-employed artists may opt to contribute
to the unemployment insurance scheme during the rst three months of new self-employed work and will
need to contribute for at least 12 months over the course of two years to be entitled to unemployment ben-
ets. In the rst three years of contribution, artists can opt out of the statutory health insurance scheme
and enrol for private health insurance; artists with high income can opt out at any time.
In 2018, there were around 180,000 “user” companies contributing to the Artists’ Fund.46 The current con-
tribution rate is set at 4.2 per cent of the total payments made to artists and writers. Total fees paid to
self-employed artists have quadrupled since 1991, reaching €4,000 million, meaning that over the past 10
years, users have contributed around €170 million, slightly more than the total user contributions to the
MDA and Agessa in France, but in a similar order of magnitude. Government subsidies have also quadru-
pled, from €58 million in 1995 to €226.1 million in 2019.47
44 See list in footnote 43 above.
45 OECD, Germany: Social Insurance for Artists and Writers, 2018.
46 Id., p. 139.
47 Id., p. 131.
35 ILO Working Paper 28
XFigure 3. Total fees paid to artists as declared by user companies in Germany (1991–2013, in € million)
Source: OECD, Germany: Social Insurance for Artists and Writers, 2018
In June 2016, the Artists’ Fund counted 183,796 members, around 8,000 of whom were not contributing to
the pension insurance scheme (they were either dependent employees or had a high income from their
self-employment activity).48 Self-employed artists and writers are exempt from statutory pension insurance
contributions if their earnings exceed half the maximum contribution base threshold (€56,250 in 2020).49
Around 25,000 artists and writers either have a high income, are dependent employees or have private
insurance. Artists and writers registered with the Artists’ Fund tend to declare very low incomes; in 2017,
average annual income amounted to €15,945, which is less than half the average income in Germany.50
Self-employed artists can take on additional temporary work, given them an increased combined income.
According to German labour force data, there are 1.3 million people working in artistic and creative occupa-
tions. Around 40 per cent – 520,000 workers – stated that they were self-employed (Statistisches Bundesamt,
2015). Since the Artists’ Fund has around 180,000 members, it can be estimated to cover around 35 per cent
of self-employed workers in artistic and creative occupations.
There are several potential explanations for this relatively low coverage. Some self-employed artists may
receive very low incomes from their artistic activity and would therefore be exempt from participation.
Others may opt out owing to their high incomes (this is the case for around 8,000 artists, as already men-
tioned). Lastly, others may be enrolled in social insurance through other dependent or self-employed jobs.
Another issue with this particular scheme is that performing artists tend to combine temporary contracts
with self-employed work. This mix of self-employment and dependent artistic employment means that per-
forming artists often lose their entitlement to the Artists’ Fund.
48 Id., p. 131.
49 Krankenkassen Deutschland, “Contribution assessment ceilings and calculation variables in social insurance 2020”.
50 OECD, Germany: Social Insurance for Artists and Writers, 2018, Table 5.5, p. 133.
36 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 11. Insured areas of activity and types of social insurance in Germany (2016)
Source: OECD, Germany: Social Insurance for Artists and Writers, 2018
Republic of Korea: from work injury to broader social services
In November 2012, the Republic of Korea passed the Artist Welfare Act to protect artists’ job security and
rights, since they are often excluded from employment and industrial accident insurance.51 The Minister of
Culture highlighted that a key priority of the Act was to extend employment injury insurance to 57,000 per-
forming artists.52 In eect, the law provides that the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance Act shall
apply to accidents eecting artists in the course of engaging in the arts (Article 7).53 In addition, where an
artist purchases industrial accident compensation insurance, the Artists Welfare Foundation may partially
subsidize industrial accident compensation insurance premiums to be paid by the artist (Article 7).
54
Similarly,
to the German system, the Artist Welfare Foundation was set up under the Act. The Foundation is a pub-
lic institution, which aims to promote the creative activities of artists and contribute to the development
of art by providing systematic and comprehensive support for artists’ welfare. The Foundation is respon-
sible for managing all social benets, including the contribution subsidies described below. In 2009, data
from the Korean Employment Information Service showed that there were 175,000 registered artists, with
an average monthly income of 820,000 Korean Republic Won (KRW).55 Even prior to the act, the insurance
coverage of Artist was not low compared with other countries. In 2009 for example, 98 per cent of Korean
artists had health insurance, 60 per cent had a national pension, 28 per cent had employment insurance
and 30 per cent had industrial accident insurance.56
In 2019, the Foundation received KRW31,209 million (around €23 million) in government subsidies, a relative-
ly smaller amount than that provided by the French or German governments to their equivalent schemes.
Nevertheless, the amount has almost tripled since 2014. Table 12 lists the services provided by the Artist
Welfare Foundation.57
51 Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Artist Welfare Act, Act No. 11089 of 17 November 2011. The term “artist” means a person who
earns a living by engaging in artistic activities; contributes to enriching Korean culture, society, economy and politics; and is able to
prove his/her activities in creation, performance, technical assistance, etc. in the eld of culture and arts.
52 Kim Yoon-mi, “57,000 artists to be insured against accidents”, Korea Herald, 2 November 2011.
53 Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Artist Welfare Act, Act No. 11089 of 17 November 2011, article 7.
54 Ibid.
55 Kim Yoon-mi, “57,000 artists to be insured against accidents”, Korea Herald, 2 November 2011.
56 Ibid.
57 The foundation also certies its member artists. By 2019, more than 68,000 Korean artists had been certied.
37 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 12. Services of the Artist Welfare Foundation
Benefit or Social Service Beneficiaries Details
Social insurance subsidies 10,000 artists The subsidy amounts to 50 per cent of the
national pension and employment insurance
contributions for up to 6 months. The ben-
efit is conditional on the artist enrolling in a
training course on standard contracts. Self-
employed workers would usually have to con-
tribute 9 per cent of their income to social
security. Under this scheme, they can benefit
from a subsidy equivalent to 4.5 per cent of
KRW970,000, (KRW43,650). In order to avoid
disincentivizing employed artists, they and
their employers also receive a subsidy.
Employment injury subsidy 3,235 artists had enrolled by 2019 (5 per
cent of the target population) The Government subsidizes 50–90 per cent
of the work injury scheme
Medical expenses In total, 225 artists have received this
benefit The Foundation provides support to artists
facing catastrophic medical expenses
Loans for low-income artists in
need (pilot) 1,440 artists to date The Foundation’s loan programme provides a
safety net for artists who have irregular and
low income
Legal advice Almost 1,000 reports of unfair treatment
have been filed and almost 1,500 legal
consultations have been given
A grievance system was established in line
with Article 6.2 of the Act, so that artists can
denounce any unfair behaviour or treatment
to which they are subjected during their artis-
tic activities
Prevention of sexual violence
and support for artists 71 artists have reached out and benefit-
ted from these services. Moreover, 1,750
artists have enrolled in 55 sexual violence
prevention training activities
The Foundation offers advice and support to
artists who have been victims of sexual vio-
lence
Artist training focused on en-
titlements, copyrights, and
contracts
From 2015 to 2019, more than 10,000
artists participated in these training ac-
tivities
The aim is to provide basic training to artists
on their contractual rights, and how to protect
and exploit their copyrights and royalties
Childcare 5,638 artists’ children (18,000 since the
Foundation was launched) Children aged 0–5 years can attend kinder-
gartens supported by the Foundation if their
parents (artists) have limited resources
Source: Annual Report of the Artist Welfare Foundation 2019
Argentina and Uruguay: flexibility to account for discontinuous contributions
In some countries, instead of devising special schemes, existing programmes have been made more exi-
ble to cover specic categories of CCS workers. This is often reected in the manner in which contributions
are accounted for, providing more exibility when estimating the number of years of contributions to meet
qualifying conditions, since many CCS workers tend to accumulate many time-bound contracts rather than
a single indenite contract.
In Argentina, Law No. 27.023, “The Actors’ Law” covers theatre and lm actors, musical theatre singers, as
well as directors, prompts and assistants.
58
Through the Law, a special method was introduced for estimating
the number of years of service and contributions to the social security scheme. Article 13 of the Law estab-
lishes that actors who have completed a minimum of 4 months’ or 120 days’ work will be credited with one
year of service. If the period of work completed is less than that, the total amount of monthly contributions
made will be divided by the minimum monthly contributions (based on the minimum salary). This amount
58 Art. 1: For the purposes of this Act, an actor-interpreter shall be considered to be any person who interpreting characters, ctitious
situations or situations based on real events, or who substitutes, replaces or imitates characters, as well as who substitutes, replac-
es or imitates characters, as well as those who carry out interpretations of themselves, by means of a script, book, screenplay or
ideas, in public performances or performances intended for the public, irrespective of the format and medium used to disseminate
them, whatever the place and form in which they are performed.Persons in charge of directing, assistants, chorus singers and dance
troupes shall also be subject to this law. (unocial translation).
38 ILO Working Paper 28
will then be converted into days or months worked, and will correspond to a period of service, which can
be considered towards the qualifying requirements. In this case, remuneration will be based on the av-
erage of all revenues subject to contributions, which can be no less than the average monthly minimum.
This system will only benet actors who have been employed or who have contributed as self-employed.
Similarly, Uruguay passed Law 18.384 to adapt the labour and social insurance conditions to artistic jobs.59
First, rehearsal time is recognized as service if a contract has been signed. The contract should stipulate
the start and end dates for rehearsals, the salary to be paid and the date of the show. Maximum rehears-
al time is capped at three months (Decree 452/011, article 2). When there is more than one performance
foreseen under one contract, the time between performances shall also count as service, so long as it does
not exceed 15 days. (Law 18.384, article 11(b)). Further to these provisions, the Law also provides for exi-
bility when calculating years of service for old-age pension eligibility. A year of service is recognized when
the artist has completed at least 150 working days in a year, or when he or she has had a minimum of four
contracts within the same year, so long as no more than three months have elapsed between the end of
one contract and the beginning of the next, and the average monthly income is no less than the national
minimum wage.60
Takeaways
●In order to tackle the challenges posed by extending coverage to a large share of CCS
workers, countries have adapted social protection schemes to increase the exibility of
the eligibility criteria for contributory mechanisms, making them better suitable to the
realities of CCS workers (see the cases of France, Argentina or Uruguay). In some cases
this has been done by adapting existing general systems, either by increasing exibility of
integrating special conditions, in others, special schemes have been developed, normally
embedded in the general system, but with adapted nancing arrangement or benets.
●Tailor-made approaches have proved useful to cater for these workers, broadening na-
tional solidarity (subsidies), devising alternative nancing mechanisms beyond traditional
contributions deducted from monthly wages (see below), as well as dening which ben-
ets are delivered and how, as in the case of Germany .
●
Coordination across the social protection system is also important to avoid fragmentation.
This can further aect access to social protection. Some countries have tried to follow a
coherent approach, which takes into consideration CCS workers uctuating employment
relationships. In this regard, experience from France in extending unemployment protec-
tion to xed term artists and technicians is particularly relevant. Similarly, schemes can
take into account discontinuous contributions for example by allowing for crediting pe-
riods (such as in Argentina and Uruguay).
●
Mandatory aliation can avoid adverse selection in these special schemes; also, experience
shows that voluntary schemes often do not translate into eective coverage. In Germany,
high-earning artists are not obliged to contribute to the Artists’ Fund, in France income
thresholds have been removed enabling the benets to be extended to all artists and au-
thors contributing to the social security system. Consideration and more data is needed
to ensure that artists are enrolled on a mandatory basis to ensure, on the one hand, ex-
tension of social protection, and on the other, the scheme’s sustainability and solidarity.
●The case studies not only point to the importance of ensuring that these special schemes
are adapted, they also highlight the advantage of connecting these to the general system
59 According to the Law, an artist is anyone who plays a role, sings, recites, presents, interprets or executes an artistic work in any way,
directs it or performs any activity similar to those mentioned, whether live or recorded in any way for its public or private showing.
60 Uruguay, Estatuto del Artista y Ocios Conexos, Ley 18.384 of 17 October 2008.
39 ILO Working Paper 28
to safeguard the solidarity principles on which social insurance mechanisms are built,
such as in France.
●In countries where setting up special schemes may not be feasible, consideration could
at least be given to the need to adapt qualifying conditions and benet parameters (e.g.
Uruguay), as well as adjusting nancing arrangements, enrolment and contribution col-
lection processes to the specic needs of CCS workers.
●Regarding nancing, in many cases, special schemes have been developed to rely on a
variety of nancing mechanisms including innovative approaches specic to the CCS (this
is the case in France and Germany), in particular user payments.
●
Relying on an umbrella of nancing mechanisms is essential, given that CCS workers’ con-
tributions tend to be low and irregular, which can have a signicant eect on the nancial
sustainability of a scheme and thereby on guaranteeing CSS workers their entitlements. As
such, while the principle of solidarity will be crucial to ensuring the sustainability of these
schemes, it will be equally necessary to consider additional nancing sources and inno-
vative approaches. These may include taxes on art users, for example by collecting con-
tributions from emerging online platforms for music or movies, based on the principle of
equitable nancing as a means to achieve an optimal balance between the responsibilities
and interests of those who nance and those who benet from social security schemes.
●A holistic approach would help in oering CCS workers a package of services from train-
ing to job oers and unemployment benets, as well as childcare services and old age
protection (as demonstrated in the Republic of Korea). Such integrated approaches sup-
port CCS workers in accessing social security when contingencies occur, and improve
their livelihoods and development opportunities. This holistic approach can also have a
positive impact on eective coverage.
Contractual relations
Highlights
●The case studies highlight that CCS workers are often excluded from social security leg-
islation (fully or partially); this is especially true of the self-employed. If the self-employed
are covered, it is often on a voluntary basis, and even when mandatory, they tend to
have lower levels of protection (such as being covered for fewer risks or higher degrees
of risk).61 Extending legal coverage will therefore be important. It should be noted that
while legal coverage is essential, exclusions caused by not meeting specic eligibility cri-
teria (such as the requisite amounts of income earned or time worked) have translated
into coverage that tends to be lower in practice than legal coverage rates. Social protec-
tion schemes therefore need to be adapted to overcome these implementation challeng-
es (see previous section).
●Exclusion from social security coverage may also be closely linked to obstacles caused
by labour and employment legislation. For example, if social security is limited by law to
employees, any misclassication of CSS workers as self-employed under labour and em-
ployment legislation, would prevent the application of social security law. As such, a clear
legal framework, in particular preventing the risk of misclassication of types of work62
is therefore be crucial to guaranteeing that workers benet from labour protection and
social protection, regardless of their working arrangement.
61 ILO, Extending social security to self-employed workers. Lessons from international experience, 2019, p. 2.
62 ILO, Non-Standard Employment around the World: Understanding Challenges, Shaping Prospects, 2016.
40 ILO Working Paper 28
●
In the specic case of CCS occupations, the case studies have highlighted the fundamental
challenge for labour and social security systems in setting the criteria for dening wheth-
er such occupations are carried out as dependent work, within an employment relation-
ship, or in the form of self-employment. In some countries, this issue has been addressed
by introducing exceptions for specic categories of CCS workers, and in particular by en-
suring that they are protected under labour law including through the presumption of a
contract of employment - or by creating intermediate categories (although the eective-
ness of this approach is debatable).
Legal presumption of a contract of employment
●Some countries have established that artists and technicians working in the CCS should
be legally “presumed” to be dependent workers and, therefore, that labour regulations
apply to them, even if nominally self-employed. This is the case in Argentina and Uruguay,
where this issue is regulated by laws and statutes, and in France, which provides for the
presumption of dependent employment for artists and authors.
An intermediate category of worker, who is neither dependent nor independent
●Some countries, including Germany, have established an intermediate worker status,63
known as a “quasi-employee” or dependent self-employed workers:64 a self-employed
person who has only one client, does not look for additional customers, works pre-es-
tablished hours and carries out tasks similar to those performed by their client’s depend-
ent employees.
●There is insucient evidence of the success of this approach. In Germany, for instance,
very few workers have actually been recognised as “quasi-employees”. Furthermore, a
broader debate is ongoing regarding the benets of creating such categories, which,
while perhaps more appealing nancially, tend only to provide access to a limited range
of social protection benets and risks, creating skewed incentives to hire workers under
such arrangements.65
Beyond the specic complexities of CCS occupations, many countries are trying to nd solutions to an in-
creasing erosion of the contract of employment within this sector and beyond. Over recent decades, in many
countries, reforms have been passed to add exibility to the labour market through arrangements such as
temporary contracts, agency contracts or mini-jobs. In the context of social protection, it is essential to de-
termine whether a worker is truly self-employed and independent, or in fact a dependent employee under
a dierent working arrangement as this can impact whether, and the manner in which, they are protected
under the national social protection system. Countouris (2019) argues that the erosion of the three main
pillars of the contract of employment – subordination, continuity and bilateralism – requires a fundamen-
tal reform of the scope of employment protection:
“A rst step in these proposals is to suggest a new framing concept for the application of labour rights that
would cover a broader range of personal work relations, including of course those currently covered by a
contract of employment, while excluding only genuine own account businesses. Such a framing concept
could be formulated along the idea that labour rights ought to apply to every “worker”, understood as an
“individual who (a) seeks to be engaged by another to provide labour; (b) is engaged by another to provide
63
Seth D. Harris and Alan B. Krueger, “A Proposal for Modernizing Labor Laws for Twenty-First-Century Work: The “Independent Worker ”,
The Hamilton Project, Discussion Paper, 2015.
64
ILO, Statistical denition and measurement of dependent “self-employed” workers, 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians,
10–19 October 2018.
65 European Union, Social protection rights of economically dependent self-employed workers, Directorate General for Internal Policies,
2013.
41 ILO Working Paper 28
labour; or (c) where the employment has ceased is engaged by another to provide labour, and is not gen-
uinely operating a business on her or his own account”.66
Adaptations to the social protection legal framework are important to ensure that all CCS workers are cov-
ered, including the self-employed, in particular under existing contributory schemes. In this regard, in line
with the guidance provided by the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, no. 202, it can be noted that
contributory social insurance schemes are fundamental element of national social protection systems,
alongside non-contributory schemes. They provide benets that are related to previous earnings, and tend
to provide higher levels of income security than benets provided under non-contributory, means-tested
or universal schemes. Non-contributory schemes are complementary, playing a key role in reducing pov-
erty and vulnerability, in particular to persons excluded, in law or in practice, from contributory schemes.
Especially under contributory schemes, the extension of social protection necessitates therefore that the
legal framework generally, and labour law specically, clarify the nature of the employment relationship
of CCS workers and serve to prevent the misclassication of employment. This is in line with international
standards and based on the principles of equality of treatment and adequacy of protection.
Germany: quasi-employees
Traditionally in Germany, a contract of employment presupposed worker subordination. If working conditions
were not set unilaterally by the employer, but rather by the worker, then the worker would be considered
autonomous. In 1999, a law was passed in Germany to address issues relating to dependent employment
and the emergence of “bogus” self-employment (Scheinselbstständigkeit), creating a new intermediate
category of worker, known as “quasi-dependent” or a “quasi-employee”, which would be covered by social
insurance.67 This category applies when a self-employed worker has only one client, does not look for ad-
ditional customers, works pre-established hours and carries out tasks similar to those performed by their
client’s dependent employees. This reform, however, underwent revision during the 2003 German labour
reform. By 2004, only around 20,000 self-employed workers were legally considered “quasi-employees” and
had therefore seen an extension of social security and labour rights.68
Argentina and Uruguay: actors as dependent workers
In 2015, Argentina passed the Actors’ Law, which covers theatre and lm actors, musical theatre singers,
as well as directors, prompters, and assistants (Article 1, Law 27.203).69 Articles 5 and 6 of the Law provide
that all occupations covered by the Law will be regulated by labour contracts under the Labour Code. This
means that people in these professions are always considered dependent workers, rather than self-em-
ployed or independent contractors.70
In 2008, Uruguay passed legislation on actors and related occupations, the scope of which includes any
artist who plays a role, sings, presents, acts or produces any artwork of any form, as well as anyone who di-
rects any of those activities, live or recorded, public or private (article 1, Law 18.384).71 Article 2 of the same
Law establishes that the occupations under the Law, whether dependent or independent, will be subject
to the Labour Code and social insurance regulations.
66 Nicola Countouris, Dening and regulating work relations for the future of work (ILO, 2019).
67
Bernhard Ebbinghaus and Werner Eichhorst, “Employment Regulation and Labor Market Policy in Germany, 1991-2005”, IZA Discussion
Paper No. 2505, 2006.
68 Ibid.
69 Argentina, Ley 27203 de Actividad Actoral of 18 November 2015, article 1.
70 Ibid.
71 Uruguay, Estatuto del Artista y Ocios Conexos, Ley 18.384 of 17 October 2008.
42 ILO Working Paper 28
France: Presumption of salaried status for some CCS workers regarding
unemployment insurance “regime des intermittents du spectacle”
In the 1930s, a special mechanism was introduced into the French social security system to incentivize tech-
nicians to join the lm industry, even when only oered short-term contracts. With a limited number of
skilled technicians, the industry could not provide open-ended contracts, and so convinced the Government
to introduce unemployment benets to be paid between short-term contracts, for temporary artists and
technicians in the performance industry (otherwise known as the “regime des intermittents du spectacle”).
This system covers artists or technicians working in the performing arts, lm and audiovisual production,
and who receive remuneration for this work. According to the Labour Code “performing artists” includes
the following occupations: singer (not composer), actor, choreographer, cabaret artist, musician, conduc-
tor, music director, circus artist and any other artist whose activities are acknowledged as a performance
art activity.72
The presumption of an employment relationship was enshrined in the French Labour Code in 1969; it is
presumed that the artist holds a dependent, salaried position. The Labour Code’s presumption of a sala-
ried status for the abovementioned occupations means that they come under the remit of the general so-
cial security scheme (except in the case of unemployment) and thus enjoy comparable benets to those
oered to all employees.
These workers benet from adapted eligibility conditions to access unemployment insurance benets (Aide
au Retour à l’Emploi); this is what is known as the “regime des intermittents du spectacle”.73 The system has
gone through several adjustments, especially in the past 20 years, due to concerns about its nancial sus-
tainability. This support is currently paid whenever a technician or an artist has had fewer than 507 hours of
work in intermittent contracts (or one contract) in the past 365 days.74 The daily unemployment subsidy are
calculated based on the number of days worked in the previous 365 days and the average wage received75.
The minimum daily subsidy is €44 for artists and €38 for technicians.
76
The system also allows these support
benets to be combined with unemployment benets from other jobs; they can continue once general un-
employment benets have been exhausted. In 2018, there were 274,000 performance artists and techni-
cians on intermittent contracts.77 The principal occupations among registered artists were musicians and
actors, while video and image engineers were the predominant technical occupations registered. Around
27 per cent of performance technicians and artists on intermittent contracts work fewer than 24 hours per
year. The average annual number of hours worked is around 400.78 Again, it is important to highlight that
CCS workers may work a signicant number of additional hours that are not accounted for.
Takeaways
●Broader national eorts to promote and improve labour and social protection law may
benet from a reection around misclassication of CCS workers’ employment, especially
by outlining clear criteria that help addressing situations of disguised self-employment,
such as in the case of Germany. This also means devising mechanisms to protect all work-
ers against potential misclassications of their employment relationship, in particular by
prohibiting and sanctioning any actions aiming to classify workers incorrectly.79 The use
of technology could enable these contractual relationships to be monitored more eec-
tively, allowing more oversight.
72 France, Code du Travail, Chapitre II, Section 2 of 1 February 2008, Article L 762-1, para. 3
73 Aide au Retour à l’Emploi (ARE), Annex 8 and 10 of the General Regulations annexed to the Convention of 14 April 2017.
74 Centre National de Danse, « Régime d’assurance chômage des intermittents du spectacle », Fiche Droit, Juillet 2019.
75 Ibid.
76 Ibid.
77 France, Pôle Emploi, « L’Emploi intermittent dans le spectacle, au cours de l’année 2018 », November 2019.
78 Ibid.
79 ILO, Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects, 2016.
43 ILO Working Paper 28
●Tailored legal frameworks may help in bridging protection gaps, by ensuring coverage
for CCS workers in general, as well as employed and self-employed CCS workers (see the
cases of France or Uruguay).
●Social protection legislation could, for example, guarantee that CCS workers, including
the self-employed, are covered, in particular under contributory schemes, ensuring that
any necessary adaptations are made. Innovative approaches could be tested based on
countries’ experiences with regard to occupations in other sectors or to self-employed
workers in general.80
●Legal coverage needs to translate into eective coverage in practice and be based on the
principles of equality of treatment and adequacy of protection. National legal frameworks
for social protection need to encompass non-contributory mechanisms to ensure that
CCS workers can, at the very least, be guaranteed essential healthcare and basic income
security as a right and therefore not fall into poverty or social exclusion.
Registration and broadening social security affiliation
(administrative arrangements and simplification)
Highlights
●In some cases, social security institutions have adopted innovative digital solutions such
as using SMS, digital access to artistic creation applications, or digital applications to im-
prove registration, information awareness, contribution collection and/or delivery of ben-
ets, such as in Spain. In so doing, due consideration is needed to ensure the respect of
the principles of data protection and privacy.81
●Similarly, in Ireland, a simplied procedure has been introduced for young artists under
the JobSeekers’ Allowance scheme. While normally, workers would need to enroll in train-
ing to be eligible for the Allowance, this requirement has been waived for new artists, so
that they can invest more time in their work. Reducing or simplifying specic requirements
for CCS workers’ eligibility could also be a way adapting social protection to the specic
needs of this category of workers.
●India has simplied their contribution mechanisms allowing workers to dene their own
contribution frequency, based on their income schedules. Adapting contribution pay-
ment mechanisms is thus another way to assist self-employed CCS workers in accessing
social security benets.
Spain: Capitalizing on new technology to raise awareness
In a very recent scheme aimed at supporting poor households in Spain, the social security agency sent an
SMS to a large number of identied beneciaries informing them about their entitlements and the proce-
dure involved in registering and claiming their benets.82 This shows the potential for social security agen-
cies to capitalize on new technology to simplify administrative procedures for CCS workers.
It can be noted that the use of digital technologies necessitates due regard to the need to respect the right
to privacy and the right to data protection and notably the ability for persons concerned to have control over
80 Some examples in: ILO, World Social Protection Report 2017–19: Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,
2017; and ILO, Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience, 2019.
81 ActualidadEmpleo, “El INSS anuncia que mandará un SMS a los beneciarios del Ingreso Mínimo Vital”.
82 Ibid.
44 ILO Working Paper 28
personal information and how personal data is used.83 In this regard, the European Union has been on the
forefront on regulating these rights at the regional level, notably prescribed by the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union, at its Articles 7 and 8. At the national level, a vast majority of countries have
regulated this to a certain degree.84
This may also require consultations between social security agencies, trade unions and guilds, as well em-
ployers’ organizations to promote the sharing of information and increase awareness on CCS workers en-
titlements, registration procedures, and the appropriate use of digital communication channels.
Ireland: Simplification of the JobSeekers’ Allowance for artists85
Ireland has a special type of a means-tested programme for the unemployed or partially unemployed
(both employed and self-employed). To qualify, applicants must be means tested; permanently resident
in Ireland; capable of work; available for full-time work; genuinely seeking work; and fully or partly unem-
ployed (without work at least four days out of every seven).86 While this programme may resemble a typical
unemployment scheme, it can be considered to be both broader (covering people in part-time work) and
also narrower (specically targeting workers under a certain income threshold) than other such schemes.
The weekly benet for a person aged 25 or older will be €203.
87
Given the specic labour relations governing
most CCS workers, this type of allowance may be especially useful, since it may complement their income.
Moreover, similarly to France, a specic scheme has been designed in Ireland, simplifying the JobSeekers’
Allowance for artists. Visual artists and writers can thereby access the Allowance if they are registered as
self-employed with at least 50 per cent of their income deriving from their work as professional artists. This
includes sales of artworks, books or artistic editions, royalties, bursaries and grants, income from book
readings, appearances or lecture fees, artists' fees on commissioned works, exhibitions, consultancy, fees
for participation in selection or artistic advisory panels, education and outreach programmes, design con-
sultations, art awards and prizes, artistic residencies, technical and installation support.88 The programme
normally requests beneciaries to participate in the activation programme. That requirement can, howev-
er, be waived for one year to allow artists to focus on their artistic work.89
India: flexible contributions
Over the past decade, the Government of India has made several adjustments to the non-contributory old-
age pension scheme.90 The latest reform set up the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) in 2015, a pension scheme
targeting informal and self-employed workers who do not contribute to any other pension programmes
and do not pay income tax (contributors to other programmes can join, but cannot benet from govern-
ment contributions). The old-age pension ranges from 1,000 to 5,000 Rupees per month from age 60, de-
pending on the level of contributions. In order to join the APY, the worker should be aged between 18 and
83 Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona, “Is biometric technology in social protection programmes illegal or arbitrary? An analysis of privacy
and data protection”, Extension of Social Security Working Paper No. 59, 2018.
84 Social Protection Inter-agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B), Implementation Guide, Good Practices for Ensuring Data Protection and
Privacy in Social Protection Systems, A guide for practitioners advising and working in low and middle-income countries, forthcoming.
85 The scheme includes writers and visual artists but excludes others, such as performing artists. It has been criticized by some asso-
ciations, not only for its exclusionary approach but also for questionable compatibility with the reality of artist’s work. See more on
the debate at: Kildarestreet, “Social Welfare Scheme for Artists”.
86 Government of Ireland, “Jobseeker’s Allowance – How to qualify ”.
87 Government of Ireland, “Jobseeker's Allowance – Rates of payment”.
88 Citizens Information, “Professional artists on Jobseekers Allowance”.
89 Ibid.
90 A new Social Security Code was adopted on 28 September 2020, which consolidates all legislation under a common legal framework.
It has a section (Section 6) on a social security board for unorganized workers, which could potentially benet independent CCS work-
ers. See India, The Code of Social Security, No. 36 of 28 September 2020.
45 ILO Working Paper 28
40 years and must contribute for 20 years. The Government will match worker contributions up to 1,000
Rupees a year for the rst ve years.91
A key feature of the APY is its exibility. Contributions can be made monthly, quarterly or even every six
months, making it easier for self-employed and informal workers, including those in CCS occupations, to
make contributions.92 As at March 2020, assets under APY management amounted to 105.26 million Rupees
with 21.1 million contributors.93
It can be noted that, in parallel to APY, a non-contributory subsidized old-age pension scheme for artists ex-
ists that was introduced in 1961, and renamed by the 2015 reform the “Artistes Pension Scheme and Welfare
Fund”. It continues to issue benets to the beneciaries of the 1961 scheme, as well as to new beneciary
artists each year,94 on reaching 60 years of age. In order to be eligible, artists must make contributions
deemed to be sucient and must receive a monthly income of less than 4,000 Rupees.95 The old-age pen-
sion they receive will range between 500 and 4,000 Rupees per month.96 From 2014 to 2017, 12,507 artists
were paid pensions under the “Artistes Pension Scheme”, amounting to 525.4 million Rupees in total.97 Taking
into account the number of artists in India, coverage of the “Artistes Pension Scheme” is in fact very limited.
Takeaways
Simplifying administrative arrangements, including by harnessing technology
●It is particularly important that social security aliation for CCS workers is simplied and
encouraged, and that the gains to be made by using technology and the tools of the glo-
balized world are optimized. In that regard, IT platforms could be used to facilitate CCS
workers’ enrolment and payment of social security contributions.98 Social security agen-
cies could thus consider innovative digital solutions, such as using SMS, digital access to
artistic creation applications, or digital applications for registration, contribution collec-
tion and payment of benets.
●Simplifying social protection system mechanisms and administrative procedures, like in
the case of Ireland, can also contribute to provide comprehensive and adequate protec-
tion for all, which in turn can support and protect workers and employers during life and
work transitions.99 One example of an integrated delivery mechanisms is the “single win-
dow services” or “one-stop-shops”, which have been set up to facilitate access, especial-
ly for rural populations, and to provide a complete range of benets and services at re-
duced cost.100 Examples include the mechanisms set up in India, Mongolia, South Africa
and Tajikistan. These could be adopted or replicated to close implementation gaps and
to improve communication with highly mobile CCS workers.
●Renewed partnerships with workers’ and employers’ organizations are essential to estab-
lish systems that simplify registration and increase the exibility of eligibility conditions and
91 National Portal of India, “Atal Pension Yojana, A guaranteed pension scheme of Government of India”.
92 Ibid.
93 The Economic Times, “AUM under National Pension Scheme, Atal Pension Yojana touch Rs 4.17 lakh crore: PFRDA data”.
94 The eligibility criteria focus on the person's contribution to art and letters, and other arts. This includes traditional scholars. It is not clear
if the scheme includes other types of artists, such as live performers. The criteria may exclude those artists whose work is not con-
sidered signicant, but who struggle to make enough of a living to survive.
95 Government of India, Ministry of Culture, “Scheme for Pension and Medical Aid to Artistes”.
96 Ibid.
97 Business Standard, “A total of 12507 artistes have benetted under the Artistes Welfare Fund and Pension Scheme from 2014-15 to
2017-18”.
98 Country examples for other categories of workers can be found at: ILO, Extending social security to workers in the informal economy:
Lessons from international experience, 2019.
99 ILO, Centenary Declaration for the Future of Work, ILC.108/ XV(A), 2019.
100 ILO, Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience, 2019.
46 ILO Working Paper 28
contributions (as in the case of India). Involvement of CCS workers in policy and admin-
istrative design may help in maximizing the potential benet of social security aliation.
In this regard, pilot mechanisms could be used to engage and enroll CCS workers; these
could subsequently be extended to other sectors where independent work is prevalent.
●Consultation between social security agencies and governments and CCS trade unions
and guilds, as well employers’ organizations (such as producers and broadcasters) would
ensure that their voices are heard in policy design and implementation. CCS workers and
employer representatives can also be invited to be involved in the management of social
security schemes, in line with the principle of participatory management.
Promoting information and raising awareness
●Timely and transparent information is crucial for mobile artists and cultural profession-
als, since opportunities for touring, training or working in another country may arise at
short notice. In this regard, it would be important to ensure the accessibility and sharing
of information held by social security systems.
●Coordination among national and regional administrations would provide homogenous
information on issues pertaining to mobile artists. At the national level, websites and
portals can help providing information in dierent languages
Improving the portability of social security benefits between
employment statuses and countries
Highlights
Two issues need to be considered in the context of portability: mobility of workers between States,
which requires coordination between countries to ensure portability of benets and rights; and
maintenance of rights when workers move between jobs, thereby changing their employment sta-
tus, which requires harmonization within the social security system. The principles regarding the
maintenance of social security rights, equality of treatment and portability of benets, in particu-
lar as concerns migrant workers, are upheld by numerous ILO standards. These include: The Social
Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), Article 68; the Equality of Treatment (Social
Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118), The Maintenance of Social Security Rights Convention, 1982
(No. 157) and its accompanying Recommendation, 1983 (No. 167) and the Social Protection Floors
Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202).
Geographic mobility
Certain CCS occupations are characterized by a high level of mobility across countries (see for exam-
ple in the EU). This is especially true of singers, theatre and lm actors, photographers, and other
media and audiovisual workers. Obstacles to the mobility of artists and CCS workers may include
challenges around accumulating sucient contributory density or being able to enjoy acquired
rights. It can also have an impact beyond social protection, such as for example as regards double
taxation, aecting their income, and indirectly their contributory capacity.
●In some countries, artists, such as musicians, who work abroad on a short-term ba-
sis as temporary residents, must pay contributions to social security in the country
of destination but may not actually be able to access their entitlements, especially
where their residency permits are linked to their employment. Furthermore, an art-
ist or cultural professional may pursue simultaneous activities in two or more States
(part-time) or may permanently alternate between several activities – in one or more
countries – with dierent employment statuses.
47 ILO Working Paper 28
●The European Union has established some of the most advanced rules to ensure so-
cial security coordination for sickness, maternity cover, old-age, disability and survi-
vor’s pensions, unemployment benets, family benets, and employment injury for
mobile workers and citizens within the European Union. Exemptions include social
and medical assistance. The coordination of social security systems rests on four pil-
lars: determination of the applicable legislation – a person must be subject to just
one national jurisdiction; equality of treatment, regardless of nationality – a person
working in a country should have the same rights and obligations as the nationals of
that country; exportability of benets101 – mobile workers should be able to carry their
entitlements to their country of residence; and aggregation of contributions – peri-
ods of contribution in dierent countries should be taken into account when adding
up years of service to calculate social security benets due. These core pillars are also
reected in ILO standards, as described above.
Mobility between jobs and employment statuses
●CCS workers may encounter obstacles to the enjoyment of their rights owing
●to a lack of harmonization within social security systems.. Diverse forms of employ-
ment have historically been common in the creative and cultural sector. Workers in
these occupations can be self-employed or in an employment relationship, with one
or multiple employers, in open-ended or temporary employment, often for very short
periods of time, both full-time or part-time,
●and in most cases a combination of such statutes. The increasing uidity of the em-
ployment relationships within the sector also brings about critical challenges to exist-
ing social protection systems. Harmonization, including of entitlement and contribu-
tion mechanisms under all schemes part of the national social protection system, is
therefore necessary. Unifying the dierent components of the social security system
could also facilitate the recognition of social security rights. In parallel, eective mech-
anisms that facilitate labour market transitions should be developed.
European Union: Efforts to improve portability and persistent gaps
The European Union has established a system of free movement of people within its borders, which includes
coordination between national social security systems. The European social security frameworks governed
by Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 (replacing Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71) and Regulation (EC) No 987/2009
(replacing Regulation (EEC) No 574/72) set out the principles designed to guarantee the social security rights
of mobile workers and citizens within the European Union, without interfering with national legislation. This
legal framework ensures that persons moving within the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
or Switzerland will be subject to the legislation of one country.
The rules of social security coordination apply to sickness, medical and old-age pensions, disability benets,
survivor’s pensions, unemployment benets, family benets, and employment injury. Exemptions include
social and medical assistance. The coordination of social security systems rests on four pillars.
a) Determination of the applicable legislation: a person must be subject to the jurisdiction of just
one country.
b) Equality of treatment: regardless of nationality, a person working in a country should have the
same rights and responsibilities as the nationals of that country.
101 See: Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) and Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952
(No. 102), Article 68.
48 ILO Working Paper 28
c) Exportability of benets: mobile workers should be able to carry their entitlements back to their
country of residence.
d) Aggregation of contributions: periods of contribution in dierent countries should be taken into
account when adding up years of service to calculate social security benets.
CCS occupations have specic needs and characteristics that limit the fullment of these principles. They
are more likely to fall under the two exceptions to the general rules: posting in a second country and pluri-
activity. Posting refers to situations in which a person is sent by an employer to another Member State to
perform work there as an employee, or in which a self-employed person goes to another country to work
on a temporary basis. Pluriactivity refers to situations in which a person (an artist or cultural profession-
al) pursues simultaneous activities in two or more States (part-time) or permanently alternates between
several activities in two or more States. The complexity of pluriactivity may involve an artist being self-em-
ployed in one country and being a salaried employee in another, or combining two self-employed jobs in
two dierent countries, or two salaried jobs.
This complexity means that many CCS workers may not actually enjoy their rights given the frequency of
their geographic mobility. In a European survey, 40 per cent of artists stated that they were very mobile,
while 24 per cent had worked in a country other than their country of residence more than 10 times in the
previous three years.102 Around 60 per cent of respondents relocated to other countries for short periods,
and 34 per cent stated that they stayed between a week and a month in the host country. In this regard, it
can be noted that in spite of the regulations in place, some artists who work as self-employed in one coun-
try and are employees in another are required to contribute in both. Some CCS workers are confused about
what their dierent status (employee or self-employed) may mean in dierent countries. Thus, despite all
the eorts to put mechanisms in place to coordinate social security rights and responsibilities, CCS workers
continue to face signicant obstacles. With such mobile occupations, further system integration is required.
Possible policy options include focusing on facilitating transitions between salaried employment and self-em-
ployment and combinations of both. As workers change their employment arrangements, combine sal-
aried employment with self-employment, or have multiple employers and jobs, measures are needed to
ensure continued coverage across dierent employment statuses, employers and social security systems.
Some examples could be found in broader strategies to address social security coverage for workers in
the informal economy. In Costa Rica, the general social insurance scheme, covering both employees and
self-employed workers, facilitates labour market mobility between dierent statuses; and the Philippines
have adopted a uniform system of social security numbers to facilitate the identication of workers and
the tracking of their insurance records and entitlements throughout their working life.103
The complexity of the debate around the portability of benets between dierent social security schemes
and employment statuses may benet from a more meaningful involvement of workers and employers in the
CCS. This will help reducing coverage gaps, ensuring continued protection for those moving between jobs.104
In all cases, the European Union is an example of intra-State and regional coordination. Many other coun-
tries have established bilateral or multilateral social security agreements to try to address the same con-
cerns.105 In this regard, it can also be noted that Recommendation No. 167 proposes model provisions for
the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral social security agreements regarding all contingencies, and pro-
vides rules on maintaining social security rights and exporting benets, as well as a model agreement for
the coordination of bilateral or multilateral social security instruments.
102 Maxime Demartin et al., Artists’ Mobility and Administrative Practices related to Social Security and Taxation in the European Union
(EU). An analytical report mapping obstacles and good administrative practices, (European Expert Network on Culture, 2014).
103 ILO, Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience, 2019, p. 111.
104 ILO, Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects, 2016.
105 Kenichi Hirose, Social security for migrant workers: a rights-based approach (ILO, 2011); ILO, ISSA and ITC, Extending Social Protection
to Migrant Workers, Refugees and their Families: ILO Guide for Policy-makers and Practitioners, Forthcoming.
49 ILO Working Paper 28
Takeaways
●The issue of portability is part of the broader debate concerning the capacity of a social
security system to harmonize dierent entitlements and contribution systems across dif-
ferent types of contracts and throughout the employment life of a worker. This includes
moving between independent and dependent employment or from one country to an-
other, so as to guarantee protection throughout their active lives and in old age.
●Social dialogue is crucial to ensure stronger coordination between the various social pro-
tection mechanisms and institutions and eective delivery, facilitate the portability and
transferability of entitlements across schemes, and avoid duplication and coverage gaps.
106
Reforms are ongoing to simplify and registration and payments, but more eorts are need-
ed to combine mechanisms linked to employment or residence, and bringing emerging
forms of employment in the CCS within social security coverage.107
●Through workers’ unions and employers’ organizations in the CCS, it may be possible to
ensure specic needs of their sector are reected in discussion and reforms. In that regard,
existing studies in other sectors show joint eorts made in Bangladesh, Canada, Croatia
and Ghana to reduce fragmentation, strengthen internal coordination between dierent
institutions and between central and local levels of government, and ensure a more inte-
grated and comprehensive approach to social security, which could serve as examples.108
●
Coordination among countries and between dierent social security schemes would help
in ensuring CCS workers’ mobility and portability of their rights and entitlements. These
mechanisms may need to be adapted to workers with multiple employers, uctuating
employment status and geographic mobility.
●
Coherence between social security legislation and residence requirements would be need-
ed, as well as expanding the use of bilateral and multilateral agreements, which would
help in coordinating the portability of social security benets between States (e.g., in the
European Union).
106 ILO, Report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions, ILO/108/III/B, 2019, chapter 11.2.
107 ILO, Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects, 2016.
108 Ibid.
50 ILO Working Paper 28
X3 Policy approaches to increase coverage,
adequacy, adaptability and portability of social
protection systems
While the previous section identies case studies and discusses ndings around the dierent aspects of
social protection coverage for workers in the CCS, this section summarizes policy options based on these
ndings, linking these to the current social protection debate.
Several approaches analyzed appear to have proved useful in increasing coverage of social security sys-
tems to workers in the CCS and guaranteeing that they can receive their entitlements in practice. To begin,
CCS workers with an employment relationship need to have the same rights and benets as employees.
In addition, other approaches, as follows, could be considered in supporting the extension of social pro-
tection coverage, taking into account the diverse employment characteristics of this sector, and notably
the fact that CCS workers are often self-employed, may not be governed by an employment relationship
or are in disguised self-employment: 109
●Social protection systems, and contributory mechanisms in particular, that have been adapted to the
income and employment patterns of CCS workers – notably by increasing the exibility to meet eligi-
bility requirements – provide avenues for extending social protection(as in the case of India, Argentina
or Uruguay). This is especially helpful when CCS workers are casual, on-demand and temporary. In such
cases, access to social protection for self-employed workers in the CCS has been supported by estab-
lishing contribution rates adapted to their contributory capacities.
●A exible contribution collection schedule helps in adjusting the system to the uctuating income pat-
terns of certain types of CCS workers (as in the case of Uruguay or Argentina). This could include annu-
al, rather than monthly, income, lump sum or quarterly contributions, as well as the option of deferring
contributions during interruptions in employment.
●Special schemes that are adapted to the specic needs and organization of work of CCS workers, while
remaining linked to the general system, have been able to cover CCS workers (such as in France). In
other cases, some Governments have taken steps in adapting qualifying conditions and benet param-
eters, as well as adjusting nancing arrangements, enrolment and contribution collection processes, to
meet the specic needs of CCS workers without creating a separate specic scheme (as for example, in
Germany). In all cases, adapting the social protection system to the characteristics of CCS workers has
been key, for example making eligibility criteria of contributory mechanisms more exible and/or tai-
lored to the particular circumstances of this sector. Coordination within social protection systems, be-
tween schemes, and between contributory and non-contributory systems is also essential, as means
to ensure full and adequate coverage of all CCS workers.
●
Relying on a variety of nancing mechanisms, based on the principle of solidarity, has been very helpful,
including by prioritizing mandatory contributory schemes, complemented by measures to subsidize the
contributions of CCS workers with limited contributory capacities. Additional and innovative nancing
sources, such as collecting contributions from art users and art-related enterprises (including broad-
casters and art galleries), have proved key in this respect, such as in the case of Germany.
109 For a broader discussion on possible policy innovations, see: Christina Behrendt and Quynh Ann Nguyen, “Innovative approaches
for ensuring universal social protection for the future of work”, Future of Work Research Paper No. 1, 2018.
51 ILO Working Paper 28
●Current developments in Germany, Uruguay or France, show that social protection rights for all CCS
workers need to be anchored in a strong legal framework that extends coverage to all types of em-
ployment relationships and that claries the nature of the employment relationship of CCS workers
and prevents potential misclassications of employment. Legal coverage needs to be accompanied by
eective coverage in practice and schemes adapted to address implementation challenges. In this re-
gard, Table 13 below identies coverage challenges for CCS workers under existing social protection
schemes, and some possible solutions.
●Simplifying administrative and nancing arrangements is essential to extend coverage (as in the case of
France, India, Ireland, Uruguay). The potential of digital technology, such as digital or mobile registra-
tion should be harnessed, and information channels should be made more accessible (such as in Spain).
●
Some of the challenges identied call for schemes to be better adapted to workers with multiple employ-
ers, uctuating employment status and geographic mobility, ensuring that eective mechanisms are
developed to facilitate labour market transitions and ensure the portability of rights and entitlements
(e.g., France). Taking into account that CCS workers are often required to travel between countries, co-
ordination mechanisms between States are of particular importance, including notably, bilateral and
multilateral agreements (see for example coordination rules established under the European Union).
●The involvement of CCS trade unions and guilds, as well employers’ (such as producers and broadcast-
ers) organizations, through social dialogue processes and participatory management, is essential to
ensure their voice is heard in policy design and implementation.
In order to ensure adequacy, country case studies show the need to complement coverage eorts with
measures to provide guaranteed minimum benets, in line with international social security standards.
Furthermore, many observers agree that universal social protection can only be achieved through a com-
bination of contributory and non-contributory (tax-nanced) social protection mechanisms.
●Tax-nanced schemes play an important role in ensuring that everyone enjoys a basic level of protec-
tion, in particular essential health care and basic income security. This is especially important for those
who are not covered by any other social protection mechanisms.
●Contributory mechanisms are vital for providing adequate benets; they tend to oer broader scope
and higher levels of protection.
If existing forms of social protection are weakened in favour of private or individual savings mechanisms
with limited potential for risk-pooling and redistribution, levels of coverage and benet may be eroded.
Vulnerable groups of workers will be unable to accrue sucient entitlements under private arrangements,
owing to their work and income patterns. Existing lessons from international experience around the exten-
sion of social security to specic categories of workers point out to the likely negative eect this may have
on inequalities, especially gender inequality.110
110 ILO, Extending social security to workers in the informal economy: Lessons from international experience, 2019.
52 ILO Working Paper 28
XTable 13. Gaps in coverage of categories of workers and actions to prevent their exclusion
Factors determining coverage or exclusion Actions put in place to ensure effective coverage for this group
Part-time workers. Covered if thresholds for minimum
working hours/days or earnings are met. In case of
multiple employers, specific regulations may apply.
Marginal part-time work is often excluded or may be
covered through special regulations.
Set lower thresholds for working hours or earnings. Allow practical
solutions for workers with multiple employers, and for those com-
bining part-time dependent work and self-employment. Facilitate
coverage for marginal part-time workers through adapted social in-
surance solutions or a combination of social insurance and tax-fi-
nanced mechanisms. (See the case of France)
Temporary workers. Covered if thresholds for mini-
mum duration of employment are met. Casual work-
ers are often excluded.
Set lower thresholds for minimum duration of employment to ex-
pand legal coverage. Allow for more flexibility with regard to the
number of contributions required to qualify for benefits. Allow for
interrupted contribution periods (x number of contributions in y
months). Enhance portability of entitlements between different so-
cial security schemes to facilitate mobility between jobs. Simplify
administrative procedures for registration and contribution pay-
ments. (See the case of Uruguay or Argentina)
Dependent self-employment. Covered if self-em-
ployed workers are covered, or if specific measures
are taken to prevent misclassification and ensure ad-
equate protection.
Prevent the misclassification of workers and ensure adequate pro-
tection for those in dependent self-employment including through
criteria to identify such categories of workers. Simplify adminis-
trative procedures for registration and contribution payments.
Ensure non-discrimination and equal treatment. Adapt social se-
curity mechanisms to the needs and circumstances of self-em-
ployed own-account workers. (See the case of Germany, Argentina
or France)
Based on ILO, Non-standard employment around the world: Understanding challenges, shaping prospects, 2016.
53 ILO Working Paper 28
Concluding remarks
Workers in cultural and creative occupations face signicant obstacles in accessing social protection, in
large part related to their labour specicities and the fact that social protection mechanisms may be insuf-
ciently adapted to meet the sector’s needs. The paradox with regard to these occupations is that, while
workers are likely to face higher risks, from a social protection perspective they are frequently less protect-
ed than other groups.
Challenges include the interrupted or intermittent nature of work; irregularity of earnings; unaccounted
work periods, such as study or rehearsal; variety in employment relationships; uctuating, unclear or mis-
classied employment status; geographic mobility; and the variety of work arrangements in the sector.
For various reasons, this can translate into social protection coverage being either insucient or lacking al-
together. In some cases, social protection systems may exclude certain categories of CCS workers from the
purview of legal frameworks, or coverage may be voluntary, as is often the case for the self-employed. This
is particularly relevant given that, in many countries, the proportion of CCS workers who are self-employed
is higher than the proportion of workers who are self-employed in the economy as a whole. Ambiguity re-
garding employment relationships and uctuating employment statuses can also aect the application of
social security law. Legal frameworks therefore need to include workers in all forms of employment and
be able to clarify the nature of the employment relationship of CCS workers.
Regarding portability, both in relation to geographic mobility and mobility between jobs and employment
statuses, eorts to extend coverage for CCS workers, need to be made alongside broader social protec-
tion reforms that ensure transferability of rights and entitlements between jobs and employment status-
es. International labour standards set out key principles and even provide model bilateral and multilateral
agreements, which can be of use in this regard.111 This would help all workers to contribute to, and bene-
t from, social protection by preserving their entitlements across jobs and contracts and between salaried
work and self-employment, while facilitating labour market transitions and labour mobility.
Even where legally covered, these obstacles may translate into a lack of coverage in practice, for example in
relation to a low contribution density due to interrupted employment histories and erratic ows of income,
or the impossibility of combining dierent contributory periods accumulated into dierent schemes be-
cause of uctuating employment statuses, geographic mobility and fragmented social protection systems.
Limited contributory capacity, linked to the project-based or short-term nature of their contracts and low
incomes, as well as complex or unclear employment relationships, limit these workers’ access to short- and
long-term social security programmes.112
The broader debate around the increasing uidity of employment relationships and the emergence of new
forms of employment adds to the challenges of extending coverage and ensuring access to adequate so-
cial protection benets for these workers. As such, it will be important to adapt social protection systems
to the specic needs and organization of CCS work.
111 See notably: the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), Article 68; the Equality of Treatment (Social
Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118), The Maintenance of Social Security Rights Convention, 1982 (No. 157) and its accompanying
Recommendation, 1983 (No. 167) and the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202).
112 Short-term schemes traditionally include coverage for maternity, employment injury and unemployment. For most of these, work-
ers must have been contributing at the time of the event. If CCS workers are not employed and contributing when pregnant or in-
jured, they will therefore not benet from the social insurance schemes. Long-term schemes refer to old-age or disability pensions.
Similarly, a CCS worker who has not met the qualifying conditions (normally a particular number of years of contribution) will not be
entitled to a pension.
54 ILO Working Paper 28
A variety of nancing mechanisms based on the principle of solidarity set out in international social secu-
rity standards, as well as innovate nancing approaches, will be necessary. Eorts in Germany and France
to obtain contributions from culture and arts users (such as radio broadcasters and art galleries) are an
interesting development, which other countries could explore, and which could potentially be extended
to other sectors.
Employers’ and workers’ organizations in the CCS will also need to commit to addressing issues around le-
gal exclusion, costs and inadequate nancing arrangements, lack of compliance and lack of organization.
In this context, eective social dialogue including collective bargaining can ensure negotiated solutions to
eliminate social protection gaps for CCS workers as set out in Recommendation No. 202.
The majority of countries have two main types of social security schemes: a) contributory (typically social
insurance) schemes, and b) non-contributory schemes, either in the form of social assistance targeted at
persons of low income, or universal or categorical schemes oering basic levels of protection to large parts
of the population. In some cases, CCS workers may nd themselves in the “missing middle” 113 between
these two types of schemes: less likely to have full-time and long-term employment relationships and of-
ten on low or irregular income, they may not have built up sucient entitlements for social insurance, but
at the same time are “not poor enough” to qualify for social assistance.
Many CCS workers, especially those in more exible forms of employment or the self-employed, have ei-
ther insucient or no cover, or receive benets that are not adequate to meet their needs. It will therefore
be necessary to develop and maintain comprehensive social protection systems that encompass both con-
tributory and non-contributory mechanisms.
In particular, these systems should include national social protection oors in line with the guidance set
out in Recommendation No.202 to ensure that low-income and vulnerable groups of CCS workers have ac-
cess to at least a basic level of social protection, especially if they are not covered by existing contributory
schemes. This will also require adapting contributory schemes and tailoring solutions to extend coverage
to CCS workers, including innovative nancing mechanisms, such as taxes on art users, while ensuring re-
spect for the principles of risk sharing, equity and solidarity, among others, as set out in ILO international
social security standards, and notably Convention No. 102.
Considering the wide range of types of employment and the diversity of working arrangements in the CCS,
solutions need to be adapted to the challenges faced by workers in this sector. Understanding the chal-
lenges and adapting the systems to the solutions proposed for protecting creative workers and ensuring
their coverage will inform the industry and its stakeholders. Experiences identied in some countries with
regard to extending social protection to particular occupations or employment statuses could be used to
bridge social protection gaps in the CCS,114 and to inform the ongoing debate about the future of work and
achieving universal social protection, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and inter-
national social security standards.
113 ILO, World Social Protection Report 2017–19: Universal social protection to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, 2017.
114 These examples are referenced from: Christina Behrendt and Quynh Ann Nguyen, “Innovative approaches for ensuring universal
social protection for the future of work”, Future of Work Research Paper No. 1, 2018.
55 ILO Working Paper 28
Annex
Annex 1 – Social security systems in selected countries
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Argentina Mandatory coverage
Adapted: sets out specific
years of service for artists
It covers the following ben-
efits:
old-age pension
disability allowance
survivor’s pension
maternity cover
family allowance
unemployment benefit
employment injury benefit
(The executive branch de-
termines the particular con-
ditions for the application
of the Employment Injury
System to artists (art. 15 Law
27203))
*Healthcare is provided un-
der Law on the National
Health Insurance System
(No. 23661)
Actors’ Law, No. 27203 (2015) An actor shall be any person
who portrays characters in
fictional situations or based
on real events, or who sub-
stitutes, replaces or imitates
characters, as well as some-
one who portrays him or her-
self, using a script, book or
ideas, in public performanc-
es, regardless of the format
and medium used to dissem-
inate them and the location
and means of conducting
such performances.
Likewise, any individu-
al responsible for directing,
prompting or assisting direc-
tion or prompting, members
of a chorus or dance compa-
ny, shall also be the subjects
of this Law.
Article 13. For the purposes
of accrediting years of service
with contributions required
by law 24241, its amend-
ments and addenda, to access
the Universal Basic Benefit,
the Compensatory Benefit,
the Additional Benefit for
Permanence and the Old-Age
Benefit, the services defined
in article 12 will be calculated
as one (1) year of service with
contributions, provided that
within a calendar year there
have been four (4) months
of work, or equivalent to one
hundred and twenty (120)
consecutive or nonconsecu-
tive effective working days,
during which remuneration
has been accrued and the re-
spective contributions have
been integrated.
56 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Canada Adapted: Special adapta-
tions have been made to take
into account certain types of
artistic income that, depend-
ing on how they are distribut-
ed, may have an effect on the
benefit amounts.
Status of the Artist Act, 1992: An Act set-
ting out the status of the artist and profes-
sional relations between artists and pro-
ducers in Canada
The law recognises the rights of artists and
producers to associate freely and gives
artists' associations the right to negotiate
collective agreements. Its impact is limit-
ed, however, by the fact that its jurisdic-
tion is limited to areas under the remit of
the Federal Government to the exclusion
of private producers, who are increasingly
numerous.
Independent contractors
who:
(i) are authors of artistic,
dramatic, literary or musi-
cal works within the mean-
ing of the Copyright Act, or
directors responsible for the
overall direction of audiovis-
ual works;
(ii) perform, sing, recite, di-
rect or act, in any manner, in
a musical, literary or dramat-
ic work, or in a circus, variety,
mime or puppet show; or
(iii) contribute to the creation
of any production in the per-
forming arts, music, dance
and variety entertainment,
film, radio and television, vid-
eo, sound-recording, dubbing
or the recording of commer-
cials, arts and crafts, or visual
arts, and fall within a profes-
sional category prescribed by
regulation.
Freedom of Association
8. An artist is free to join an
artists’ association and par-
ticipate in its formation, activ-
ities and administration.
57 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
France
(mandatory)
Adapted scheme (a separate
special scheme is provided
on unemployment benefits)
whereby the State contrib-
utes funding to social se-
curity provision for artists,
authors and broadcasters.
There are also exceptions
for performance artists and
technicians on intermittent
contracts.
This scheme includes the fol-
lowing benefits:
old-age pension
sickness benefit
healthcare insurance
disability allowance
survivor’s pension
maternity cover
Excluded from unemploy-
ment benefits, except for
support for returning to work
allowance
Authors and artists do not
benefit from general cover-
age for industrial accident
and illness but they can sub-
scribe to voluntary health in-
surance.
Social Security Code, article L.382-1 on au-
thors and artists 1) Writers
2) Authors and music com-
posers
3) Graphic and plastic arts
4) Cinema and television
5) Photography
Artists who write literary,
dramatic, musical choreo-
graphic, audiovisual and cine-
matographic works, as well as
producing graphic art, plastic
arts and photography, subject
to the following provisions,
have an obligatory affiliation
to the general social securi-
ty system for social insurance
and receive family benefits
under the same conditions as
other employees.
58 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Germany
(mandatory)
Special scheme for artists
and authors funded by the
State, as well as broadcasters
and users of art.
It includes:
old-age pension
sickness benefit
healthcare insurance
disability allowance
survivor’s pension
maternity cover
Independent artists and au-
thors who have artists’ so-
cial insurance enjoy the same
protection as salaried artists
with regard to old-age pen-
sion, sickness, healthcare,
disability allowance, survi-
vor’s pension and materni-
ty cover.
German Artists' Social Security Act
(Kunstlersozialversicherungsgesetz) (1981) All self-employed artists and
writers Artists and writers have ob-
ligatory affiliation to the gen-
eral old-age pension scheme,
under the same conditions as
all employees.
India Voluntary coverage
Special Scheme. While ul-
timately the system will be
general, for the coming 15
years, some artists will bene-
fit from the non-contributory
Artistes Pension Scheme and
Welfare Fund.
No.2-1212017-P. Arts
Government of lndia
Ministry of Culture (2017)
A person's contribution to art
and letters must be of signif-
icance. Traditional scholars
who have made significant
contribution in their field
would also be eligible, not-
withstanding the absence of
any published works.
Personal income of the ap-
plicant (including income
of the spouse) must not ex-
ceed Rs.4,000/- (Rupees
four thousand only) per
month or annual income of
Rs.48,000/- (Rupees for-
ty eight thousand only)
[This excludes the Artistes
Pension amount already re-
ceived by a beneficiary from
the Government (concerned
State government, union ter-
ritory administration and/or
Ministry of Culture)].
In any circumstances, the
contribution of Central
Government and state gov-
ernment/union territory ad-
ministration altogether will
not exceed Rs.4000/month
per beneficiary and will be no
less than Rs.500/month per
beneficiary.
59 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Ireland Voluntary coverage
Adapted. The main system is
general, but a recent reform
provides flexibility for artists
to enjoy a specific benefit:
JobSeekers' Allowance
Jobseeker's Allowance for self-employed
artists Artists are given a 12-month
window to focus on building
up their work before they are
subject to labour market ac-
tivation. Applicants must sat-
isfy all of the other qualifying
conditions of the pilot initia-
tive including a means test.
A declaration must be pro-
vided from the Visual Ar tists
Ireland body or the Irish
Writers Centre. The artist/
writer must be registered
as self-employed with the
Revenue Commissioners.
They must demonstrate
that 50% of their income
the preceding year derived
from their Art. One year Job
Seekers Allowance without
"activation", means that they
do not have to seek/accept
other Job offers. They must
prove that they are genuinely
seeking work.
60 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Peru General
Mandatory
Artists’ Law (Nº 28131)(2003) Artist (article 2 of the law):
any natural person who rep-
resents or performs an
artistic work, with or with-
out text, using their body or
skills, with or without
instruments, which is exhib-
ited or shown to the public,
resulting in an interpreta-
tion and / or execution that
can be disseminated by any
means of communication or
fixed on suitable support,
created or to be created.
These may include: sing-
er, musician, actor, dancer of
any type;
Conductor or musical ensem-
ble of any type;
Interpreter and performer of
folklore works of any type;
Director of scenic, theatrical,
cinematographic, television
and similar works.
. Technician (article 1.2 of the
law): Technicians in the arts
industry are included in the
scope of the Law
These may include, among
others: prompts, director's
assistant, camera opera-
tor, director of photography,
sound and image editor, sce-
nographer, stage manager,
makeup artist, special effects
designers and lighting tech-
nicians in stage, theatre, film
and television productions,
cabarets, circuses or other
performances; stagehands.
Artists are subject to the gen-
eral pension and healthcare
schemes, as well as those
stipulated in Law 28131.
Some exceptions apply for
foreign artists (Law 28131, ar-
ticle 39)
Article 34: The Artists' Rights
Solidarity Fund (covers accu-
mulated vacation pay, July &
December bonuses and com-
pensation for length of ser-
vice. It will be funded by the
employer, contributing 2/12
of the monthly pay
61 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Republic of Korea Special scheme for artists
and authors whereby the
State provides, as well as the
broadcasters or art users,
provides funding
Main benefits include (see
others in the relevant sec-
tion):
National pension and em-
ployment insurance. Medical
expenses.
Employment injury
(The Industrial Accident
Compensation Insurance Act
shall apply to accidents af-
fecting artists in the course
of engaging in the arts, where
an artist purchases industrial
accident compensation in-
surance, the Korean Artists
Welfare Foundation (Article
8) may partially subsidize in-
dustrial accident compensa-
tion insurance premiums to
be paid by the artist.
Artists’ Welfare Act, 17 November 2011
(Amended by Act No. 12136, Dec. 30, 2013,
Act No. 13970, Feb. 3, 2016, Act No. 15568,
Apr. 17, 2018)
Person who earns a living by
engaging in artistic activi-
ties, contributes to enrich-
ing Korean culture, society,
economy and politics, and is
able to prove his/her activi-
ties in creation, performance,
technical assistance, etc. in
the field of culture and arts,
as prescribed by Presidential
Decree.
Article 7 (Protecting artists
from accidents occurring in
course of their professional
activities)
(1) The Industrial Accident
Compensation Insurance Act
shall apply to accidents af-
fecting artists in the course of
engaging in the arts, to com-
pensation for them, etc.
(2) Where an artist purchas-
es industrial accident com-
pensation insurance pursuant
to paragraph (1), the Korean
Artists Welfare Foundation
referred to in Article 8 may
partially subsidize industrial
accident compensation insur-
ance premiums to be paid by
the artist.
Article 8 (Incorporating,
etc. Korean Artists Welfare
Foundation)
(1) A Korean Artists Welfare
Foundation (hereinafter re-
ferred to as the “Foundation”)
shall be incorporated to effi-
ciently implement artist wel-
fare projects.
62 ILO Working Paper 28
Country Social security system Statutes and legislative framework Scope Observations
Uruguay Voluntary coverage
Adapted: specific determi-
nation of years of service for
artists
Actors and related trades will
be governed by the Labour
Code and the Social Security
Code regardless of their em-
ployment status: dependent
or self-employed
It covers the following ben-
efits:
old-age pension
sickness benefit
healthcare insurance
disability allowance
survivor’s pension
maternity cover
family allowance
unemployment benefit
employment injury benefit
Statute of the actors and related occupa-
tions (Nª 18.384) in 2008 Anyone who plays a role,
sings, recites, presents, inter-
prets or executes in any way
an artistic work, directs it or
performs any activity similar
to those mentioned, wheth-
er live or recorded in any way
for public or private exhibi-
tion. Related trades are un-
derstood as those activities
derived from those defined
in the previous paragraph
and that involve a creative
process.
Article 11. (Calculation of ser-
vices). For the purposes of
calculating services and de-
termining eligibility condi-
tions of the pension, pension
and transitional allowance for
partial disability, considera-
tion will be given to the time
taken to prepare for the activ-
ity will be considered, apply-
ing the following rules:
A) The time taken to rehearse
for the staging, execution, in-
terpretation or maintenance
of the work will be calculated
as service time.
B) In the event of entering
into a single contract that in-
cludes several actions, the
period between one action
and another will be consid-
ered part of the contract
term, provided that it does
not exceed fifteen days.
C) In the event that the sum
of the calculable periods in
the calendar year is equal to
or greater than 150 working
days, a full year of service will
be calculated.
D) In the event that this is
fewer than 150 days, a full
year of services will also be
calculated for those who have
held a minimum of four con-
tracts in the year, provided
that between the end of one
and the beginning of anoth-
er there is no period greater
than three months and that
the monthly average remu-
neration provided for in the
contracts is not less than the
national minimum wage.
63 ILO Working Paper 28
Annex 2 – Social protection responses to COVID-19 in selected countries
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
Argentina Informal workers
Domestic workers
Micro-
entrepreneurs
1) Native or naturalized
Argentinean and resi-
dent, with a legal resi-
dence in the country of
not less than 2 years.
2)Between 18 and 65
years old.
The owner or his/her
family group should not
have income from:
a) Have no income from
dependent employment
in the public or private
sector.
b) Pay Monotax of cat-
egory C or higher, or be
self-employed.
c) an unemployment
benefit.
d) Retirements, pen-
sions or withdrawals
that are contributo-
ry or non-contributo-
ry national, provincial,
municipal or from the
Autonomous City of
Buenos Aires.
e) social plans, com-
plementary social sal-
ary, “We Make Future”,
“Boost Work” or other
national, provincial or
municipal social pro-
grams.
The Family Emergency
Fund is compati-
ble with the collec-
tion of the Universal
Child Allowance, the
Pregnancy Allowance
and the “Progresar”
programme.
10,000
Argentinian Pesos
(€122.9)
Zero interest loan
for people who pay
Monotax and for
self-employed work-
ers under the condi-
tions established by
the Head of the Cabinet
of Ministers and the
Central Bank of the
Argentine Republic
with a 100% subsidy of
the total financial cost.
64 ILO Working Paper 28
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
Brazil 1. Proof of performing
artistic and cultural ac-
tivities in the 24 months
immediately prior to the
date of publication of
the Law;
2. Not having active for-
mal employment;
3. Not having social se-
curity or assistance
benefits or beneficiaries
of unemployment in-
surance or a federal in-
come transfer program,
except for the “Bolsa
Família” programme;
4. Per capita monthly
family income of up to
half the minimum wage
or total monthly fami-
ly income of up to three
minimum wages, which-
ever is greater;
5. In 2018, have earned
a maximum taxable in-
come of R$ 28,559.70;
6. Be enrolled, with the
respective approval
of the enrolment, in at
least one of the regis-
ters provided for in arti-
cle 7, paragraph 1 of this
Law; and
7. Not be a beneficiary
of the emergency aid
provided for in Law No.
13,982, of April 2, 2020.
R$600 (around
€100) a month up
to 3 months
Monthly subsidy for the
maintenance of artis-
tic and cultural spaces,
micro- and small cul-
tural enterprises, co-
operatives, institutions
and community cultur-
al organizations that
had their activities in-
terrupted due to social
isolation measures
R$3,000 -
R$10,000
(€500–€1,600)
Public notices, pub-
lic announcements,
prizes, acquisition of
goods and services
linked to the cultur-
al sector and other
method of mainte-
nance for agents,
spaces, initiatives,
courses, productions,
development of cre-
ative economy and
solidarity economy
activities, audiovis-
ual productions, cul-
tural events, as well
as artistic and cultur-
al activities that can
be broadcast over
the Internet or made
available through so-
cial networks and oth-
er digital platforms
100 (minimum)
France Temporary artists
and technicians in
the performance
sector, working on
intermittent con-
tracts: All workers,
technicians and
entertainers, regis-
tered as job seek-
ers. For anyone
benefitting from
the rights provided
for in appendices
8 and 10 to the un-
employment insur-
ance regulations,
there is a particu-
lar update proce-
dure.
Unemployment
benefits for the
entertainment
sector to be ex-
tended until
August 2021 will
apply to perform-
ers and techni-
cians with inter-
mittent contracts,
who need to ac-
crue a certain
number of hours
to be eligible for
financial aid.
• Target: up to 10 em-
ployees, turnover < €1
million, and profit un-
der €60,000
• Requirements: loss
of 50% of turnover in
April 2020 compared
to April 2019, or the av-
erage monthly turnover
in 2019, or administra-
tive closure.
Up to €1,500
Euro for mi-
cro-enterprises
or the self-em-
ployed. An ad-
ditional €5,000
can be add-
ed by regional
governments.
65 ILO Working Paper 28
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
Germany Short-time work:
temporary re-
duction of regu-
lar working hours
due to a significant
loss of working
hours. As a result,
employees work
fewer hours than
agreed in their em-
ployment contract.
This can also mean
that employees in
short-time work
temporarily do
not work at all. In
this case, the term
“zero short-time
work” is used.
At least 10 per cent of
employees have lost
more than 10 per cent
of their wages.
Employees have re-
duced overtime and
positive time credits
(with certain excep-
tions).
60 per cent of
the net wages as
short-time ben-
efits (employees
with at least one
child: 67 per cent).
For employees
whose pay is re-
duced by at least
half in the re-
spective calendar
month, the follow-
ing applies:
From the fourth
reference month,
the short-time
work benefit is 70
per cent of the net
salary (employees
with at least one
child: 77 per cent).
From the seventh
reference month,
the short-time
work benefit is 80
per cent of the net
salary (employ-
ees with at least
one child: 87 per
cent).
Pandemic-related in-
vestments in cultural
institutions are planned
to support cultural in-
stitutions and actors
in reopening and re-
suming operations.
The funds will primarily
benefit institutions the
regular operations of
which are not financed
primarily by the pub-
lic sector, as well as so-
cio-cultural centres. For
example, the installa-
tion of protective devic-
es, the optimization of
visitor control and the
modernization of venti-
lation systems are sup-
ported.
Maintaining and
strengthening the cul-
tural infrastructure
and emergency aid in-
tended to support the
many small and medi-
um-sized, privately fi-
nanced cultural insti-
tutions and projects in
resuming their artistic
work and awarding new
contracts to freelancers
and solo professionals.
Additionally, support
for federally funded cul-
tural institutions and
projects for regularly
funded cultural institu-
tions to compensate for
COVID-19-related loss
of income and addi-
tional expenditure. The
Federal Government
contributes its share of
the financing to institu-
tions and projects sup-
ported by states or mu-
nicipalities.
€830 million Promotion of alter-
native, also digital,
offers.
€150 million euros are
available for alterna-
tive, especially digital
offers. This benefits
projects in the context
of Museum 4.0 as well
as many new formats
of the federal digitiza-
tion effort for promo-
tion, networking and
communication in the
cultural sphere.
150
66 ILO Working Paper 28
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
Republic of
Korea All artists, includ-
ing freelance art-
ists
Emergency Loan:
Cancelled performances
are considered a proof
of artistic activities
Creative fund: selection
process
Young artists support:
identification of those
most impacted and vul-
nerable to the impact of
the pandemic
Artists’ employment
insurance scheme (in
force since December
2020): In order to re-
ceive unemployment
benefits and childbirth
allowances artists need
to fulfil the minimum
criteria for period of in-
surance payments (9
out of 24 months) and
minimum employment
period (3 out of 24
months)
Loan: USD 8,000,
interest (1.2%),
overall loan: USD
5.9 million (cover-
ing 1090 artists)
Creative fund:
USD 2,500 per
person. (7,535
artists for a total
of USD 18.8 mil-
lion, first half of
2020)
Young artists:
USD 833,000
subsidy
Subsidies to Production
and promotion budget
for performances
Consultation on grants,
as well as legal and
accounting adviso-
ries are offered to art-
ists and small and
medium sized enter-
prises in each sec-
tor through channels
such as the Korea Arts
Management Service
(performing and visual
arts); Korea Craft and
Design Foundation
(crafts); and the Korea
Creative Content
Agency (cultural indus-
tries).
Up to USD 16.7k
per theater, to-
tal of USD 3.4
million for 200
theaters
Investment facilita-
tion in the cultural
industries through
“Fund of Funds”, to
encourage venture in-
vestment.
The MCST is also
working to facilitate
funding on content
production by provid-
ing incentives for in-
vestments.
Subsidies for venue
rental fee
Subsidies for produc-
tion budget
Grants for streaming
online performances
Subsidies ven-
ue rental (USD
3.3 mil. for 800
shows)
Production
budget (USD
4.7 mil. for 110
shows),
Grants for
streaming on-
line perfor-
mances (USD
250k for 15
shows)
67 ILO Working Paper 28
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
Spain Workers who, as
a consequence
of the COVID-19
health crisis, can-
not continue car-
rying out the work
activity that led
to their inclusion
in the general
scheme as artists
in public shows,
provided that they
are not receiving
or have chosen to
the ordinary con-
tributory unem-
ployment benefit
provided for in ar-
ticle 262 and fol-
lowing of the re-
vised text of the
General Law on
Social Security.
They cannot be
affected by pro-
cedures for the
suspension of
contracts and re-
duction of working
hours regulated by
the Royal Decree-
Law 8/2020, of
March 17, of ex-
traordinary urgent
measures to face
the economic and
social impacts of
COVID-19.
The benefit will be
incompatible with
any income de-
rived from activi-
ties on their own
account or on be-
half of others, or
any other benefit,
minimum income,
inclusion income,
social salary or
similar aid granted
by any public ad-
ministration.
At least 20 days of so-
cial security contribu-
tions in 2019.
€735 a month for
up to 4 months
if the number of
days of contri-
butions in 2019
was from 20 to
54 days (up to 6
months if it was
more than 54
days)
A set of guarantees has
been approved, with
an endowment of up to
€100,000 million, al-
though the first tranche
activated amounted
to €20,000 million, of
which 50% will be re-
served to guarantee
loans to self-employed
workers and SMEs.
These guarantees will
be managed through
the Official Credit
Institute and will sup-
port the financing
granted by credit insti-
tutions, financial cred-
it institutions, elec-
tronic money entities
and companies and
self-employed payment
entities. The objective
is to cover new loans
and other forms of fi-
nancing and renewals
granted by financial in-
stitutions to companies
and the self-employed
to meet the financing
needs derived, from,
among others, payment
of wages, invoices, need
for money or other li-
quidity needs, including
those derived from ma-
turities of financial or
tax obligations.
With this set of guaran-
tees, the Government
is offering companies
in the CCS and sports
sector an opportunity
to access economic li-
quidity. The CCS con-
sists predominantly of
a combination of small
and micro-companies
(only 0.7% of compa-
nies have more than 50
workers).
68 ILO Working Paper 28
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
Switzerland Cultural work-
ers, defined as
self-employed
Swiss residents,
whose main job
is in the cultural
sector
Higher income values
rule out emergency aid. Maximum of
CHF196 a day,
up to an annu-
al income of
CHF60,000 (sin-
gle person) or
CHF80,000 (mar-
ried couple). For
each additional
family member
to be support-
ed, an additional
CHF15,000 can be
added to the in-
come limit
Financial support is
available as compensa-
tion for losses. Financial
assistance is availa-
ble to cultural compa-
nies and professionals
who have been forced
to cancel or postpone
events and projects or
to close businesses.
Compensation for can-
cellation covers a maxi-
mum of 80% of the fi-
nancial loss incurred.
Any loss of profit is not
compensated.
CHF145 million
United
Kingdom Creative prac-
titioners whose
main work is fo-
cused on the fol-
lowing art forms
and disciplines:
music
theatre
dance
visual arts
literature
combined arts
museums practice
libraries (activi-
ty that helps de-
liver the Universal
Library offers).
This work includes:
choreographers,
writers, transla-
tors, producers,
editors, freelance
educators in the
disciplines and art
forms we support,
composers, direc-
tors, designers,
artists, craft mak-
ers and curators.
Up to £2,500
(€2,760) The Arts Council’s
full package will pro-
vide financial sup-
port to more than 800
organizations that
it supports in its na-
tional portfolio, which
includes the Southbank
Centre, Yorkshire
Sculpture Park, and
the Whitechapel Art
Gallery. A further £50
million (US$58.5 mil-
lion) is being made
available to organiza-
tions that do not re-
ceive regular funding
from the Arts Council.
£90 million
(€99 million)
69 ILO Working Paper 28
Direct support to artists Financial support to cultural enterprises Cultural promotion (activities)
Country Beneficiaries Eligibility conditions Benefit level Details Amount Details Total budget
(€million)
United States
of America Self-employed,
part-time, inde-
pendent contrac-
tors and gig work-
ers
1) Is not otherwise eligi-
ble for, or has exhausted
all rights to, unemploy-
ment benefits; and
2) is unemployed, par-
tially unemployed, or
unable to work because
of any of the following
COVID-19-related cir-
cumstances:
a. the individual has
been diagnosed with
COVID-19 or is seeking
diagnosis;
b. a member of the indi-
vidual’s household has
been diagnosed with
COVID-19;
c. the individual is pro-
viding care for a family
or household member
who has been diag-
nosed with COVID-19;
d. the individual is the
primary caregiver for
a child or other house-
hold member who is
unable to attend school
or another facility that
has been closed due to
COVID-19;
e. the individual can-
not reach their place of
employment as a result
of a COVID-19-related
quarantine;
f. the individual was
scheduled to begin em-
ployment and does not
have a job or is unable
to reach that job as a di-
rect result of COVID-19;
g. the individual has be-
come the primary sup-
port source for a house-
hold because the head
of the household has
died as a direct result of
COVID-19;
h. the individual has
been forced to quit a
job as a direct result of
COVID-19; or
i. the individual’s place
of employment is closed
as a direct result of
COVID-19.
US$600 per
week up to 13
weeks under the
new Pandemic
Emergency
Unemployment
Compensation
(PEUC) pro-
gramme
This includes US$75
million each for the
National Endowment
for the Arts and the
National Endowment
for the Humanities;
US$50 million for the
Institute of Museum
and Library Services;
US$25 million for the
Kennedy Center; and
US$7.5 million for the
Smithsonian Institution.
70 ILO Working Paper 28
71 ILO Working Paper 28
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to those experts who contributed to the preparation of this paper. Quynh Anh
Nguyen, Kroum Markov, under the direction of Christina Behrendt from the ILO Oce in Geneva, played
an important role in providing inputs and improving the technical quality of its content. Sincere apprecia-
tion is due to Carlos Carrión Crespo and Pascal Annycke for peer reviewing the paper. Any errors are the
sole responsibility of the authors.
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