The Guardian ends casual status
The Guardian announced last month that it would no longer use casual staff, ending a practice that has existed for several decades.
The 370 journalists who have undertaken casual work for the news platform in the past 14 months will be replaced with 45-55 ‘rota shortfall’ staff, mostly part-time and on both fixed and full-time contracts. These positions will initially be offered to existing casuals. They will be further augmented by 40 digital apprentices that have recently been advertised.
The Guardian has agreed to pay compensation to those casuals who do not take up new roles with the paper. The NUJ will provide legal advice to members on whether their best interests are served by accepting this package, or pursuing compensation by other means.
The NUJ Guardian chapel has met with the paper’s management to discuss this change and the way in which the new roles will operate.
As a result of these talks, the number of roles created has increased from the original proposals, and greater functional specialisation among the rota-shortfall staff has been agreed.
Chapel members welcome the abolition of the practice of annual ‘stand down’, that required casuals to have a non-working month each year. Welcome too, is the end of a ‘two-status’ workforce.
Concerns remain, however, that the new roles will be insufficient to undertake the work that is currently undertaken by casuals. The shortfall is as much as 30%, and the proposed staffing levels have not been agreed. The NUJ will closely monitor implementation.
Editorial teams are also concerned about the lack of consultation before the changes were announced. The union believes more transparency and deeper engagement are needed in order to deliver this important change in the right way.
The NUJ has urged management to engage further with team leaders to agree a way forward, and understands that work is now taking place.
The union will only give its final agreement to the changes once members confirm their concerns have been addressed.
An NUJ Guardian chapel representative said:
“Changes to freelance and casual terms must be negotiated between the paper's NUJ chapel and its management, and the union is determined to ensure that any reforms deliver on its priorities - equal treatment for all, an end to stand down, and secure jobs for as many as want them. Some agreement on these points already exists, but the details are vital. Too few new roles will unfairly impact on existing staff. The NUJ Guardian chapel is committed to ensuring that does not happen."
The Guardian has indicated that reform to working practices for other non-employed roles will follow in subsequent phases.