FREELANCE POLICY
Eric Longa is run by Patricia Langa. Patricia Langa’s pronouns are she/her/they/them.
This policy tells you what you need to know about working with Eric Longa. It explains the way we work, our expectations, and what we are doing to make sure you feel safe and confident working with us. It also tells you to who to contact about different things and what to do if you have any concerns or complaints. We are trying to create the best possible working environment for people who work with us.
Who to contact:
Contact Patricia Langa at patricia@ericlonga.com to:
- To talk about letters of agreement and social media.
Contact Juliana Kilburn at finance@ericlonga.com to:
- To talk about invoices and payments.
You can get in touch with Patricia Langa about any other concerns or questions too.
When working for Eric Longa, it is recommended that you take a note of any issue or concern you experience and when/where it happened, no matter how small, in case it builds up. If you prefer, you can mention it to Patricia Langa and a note will be made. No action will be taken until you request this, but it could help you if you need to make a complaint.
Patricia Langa likes to check in and check out for 10min before and after work to understand how everyone is feeling before you start and to reflect individually or together on any issues or concerns that may have come up.
Health & Safety
We will do everything we reasonably can to ensure your safety while working for us. As a freelancer, you are also responsible for your own and others’ safety while working. If you are involved in an accident while working for Eric Longa, you must tell us and we will make a note of it. It is your responsibility to have your own public liability insurance.
To find out more, please see our full Health & Safety Policy.
Letters of Agreement
We will write you a Letter of Agreement for freelance work with Eric Longa. These are formal agreements which help us all be clear about what work you are expected to do and what we will pay you. We will ask you to sign the Letter of Agreement and we will sign it too.
Expectations of freelancers working with Eric Longa
It is important to us that freelancers coming to work with Eric Longa use respectful language and correct pronouns. Please be responsive to people in the space, thoughtful about their wellbeing and open to comments or requests around the language you use.
Eric Longa will not accept any discriminatory, hateful or abusive language. Director Patricia Langa reserves the right to call this out and terminate the contract.
Please read our statement of values before working with us: https://www.ericlonga.com/policies/statementofvalues
Access Riders
If you would like to send us your access rider, we would be happy to receive it and would do our best to make sure we can meet your needs. If we do not think we can meet all your needs, we will be honest about that and will talk to you about what we can do to make sure you are able to work with us safely and comfortably.
Studio Environment
We aim to work in rehearsal and performance spaces which are kept at a warm temperature, and are clean and dry, with drinking water, changing facilities and toilets (male, female and gender-neutral) available. We sometimes have to work in environments that cannot meet these standards, for example community venues. If this happens, we will check that you feel comfortable about what we are asking you to do in these spaces.
We aim to let you know about the amenities and accessibility in the working space we plan to use. We will ask if you have any specific access needs and will make changes to the space to meet these needs or find somewhere else. We will not ask or expect you to work in a place that does not meet your access needs.
If you are worried or uncomfortable about any environment, we bring you into, please talk to us and we will do what we can to ensure your safety and wellbeing.
Warm-Up
We aim to lead a warm-up which makes you feel ready for the rehearsal, or show you are doing. If you would rather do your own warm-up, that is fine too. Before start working together we will ask your needs in that subject to make sure we start the process appropriately already from the beginning. Please feel free to tell us what works best for you, your body, and your practice.
Scheduling
We aim to give you a clear working schedule as early as possible and to tell you if anything changes along the way. This includes dates of work as well as the timetable for each working session. We know that it is important for freelancers to be able to make different jobs work around each other. We aim to be flexible about your other work commitments as much as we can and ask that you keep in touch with us if there might be a clash of dates.
During each working session, we understand the importance of knowing what is expected of you and when, so that you can pace your physical and mental energy. Each session’s timetable will include clear break times. If you need a break outside of these times, please just ask us as and when you need to. As part of scheduling information, we aim to tell you in advance who else will be at each session. For example, this might be a designer, a photographer or any other guest we invite into the space.
Documentation and photographic consent
We will ask you to sign a consent form for the use of photographic and documentation of you in regard to any Eric Longa project. If you wish to make any changes to this form, please talk to us about that.
We will always ask if we need to use an image of someone who is no longer performing that work. We will credit you within photos and images wherever possible and will ask venues and organisations using them to do the same. If you have said that you are happy for us to use a photo or image but later change your mind, we will remove the photo or image from our website or social media if you ask us to. We will ask venues or organisations we are working with to remove them from their platforms too.
Fees & Invoicing
Eric Longa Ltd employs everyone on a freelance basis. When you work for Eric Longa you need to take responsibility for paying your own taxes and National Insurance contributions. You also need to arrange your own public liability insurance. Please tell us if you are VAT registered. If you need any advice about any of these things, please ask us.
We aim to pay fees more than or equal to ITC/Equity guidelines. This will depend on your level of experience and what rate you usually charge for your work. Wherever possible, we try to pay everyone the same, putting equal value on everyone’s time and skills. Your fees will be clearly agreed in advance and explained in a Letter of Agreement, or in writing if we aren’t using an agreement. If we are waiting to hear about a funding application to be able to go ahead with the work and fees, we will tell you this.
We aim to ask for an invoice from you as soon as possible after work is complete. You should send your invoice to Juliana Kilburn (finances@ericlonga.com). If work is divided over a period, a schedule of payments will be agreed and set out in your letter of agreement. Your invoice should include your name and contact details, the date and nature of the work completed, the agreed fee and your bank details. It should also include your Unique Taxpayer’s reference number and a statement saying that you are responsible for your own National Insurance contributions. It should be addressed to:
Eric Longa Ltd, 17 F Shaftesbury Road, N19 4QW, London.
Payment will be made as soon as possible after we have received your invoice. We aim to pay you within 14 days but will pay late fee charges after 30 days. If you send your invoice before work is complete, the 30 days will begin once we’ve agreed the work is complete.
We will do our best not to overlook any payments, but feel free to remind Juliana if you are waiting for your payment or if you need it soon.
Finally...
As a small not-for-profit organisation, we hope you will understand that the aims of our freelance policy are made in good faith, but that it may be impossible for us to meet all of these aims all the time. We are doing lots of work to learn how our company should work and whether we need more people to help us manage everything. We are always open to suggestions and feedback about your experience of working with us.
We will keep reviewing this policy to change things as we learn more. Thank you!
Date of last policy review: 13.01.2025
Date of next review: 13.07.2025
Signed: Patricia Langa
Position: Director of Eric Longa