Working Conditions | Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint

This briefing on Working Conditions (Chapter 2) was edited and coordinated by Creative FLIP and forms part of 10 policy briefings in the discussion paper ‘Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint‘ published by Culture Action Europe. Read the Sector Blueprint to discover other briefings on:

• Artistic Freedom
• Artistic Research, Culture and Innovation
• International Cultural Relations
• Culture and Health and Well-Being
• Culture and Sustainability
• Cultural Participation
• Access to Cultural and Arts Education
• Culture and Security
• Culture and Digital

download the sector blueprint

Context

The topic of working conditions is a continuing saga of sector needs and ambitions to improve the precarious living conditions of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors versus the willingness of the European Commission and EU Member States to take decisive actions in the right direction. Despite strong recommendations from the OMC Working Group in July 2023 advocating for a distinct status for artists, and the European Parliament’s legislative initiative in November 2023 calling for a directive on working conditions, the Commission’s response in February 2024 fell short.

It proposes a High-Level Round Table on the topic, a mutual learning workshop on social security for artists and other mapping exercises but does not mention any concrete steps towards binding improvements on working conditions. There remains an urgent need for a clear framework to ensure fair working conditions for all artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors, including those who are at risk or displaced, with disabilities, Indigenous, from outermost regions and overseas territories, or with parenting or caregiving responsibilities.

Proposals

We propose a Charter on Working Conditions (adopted as a Communication of the Commission), an essential first step toward a directive. This Charter will include a modular Framework and launch a multi-annual Consultation Process to develop and maintain its content. While not legally binding, the Charter would carry both moral and political weight: by signing it, both the Commission and Member States would commit themselves to upholding its principles and taking responsibility for fair working conditions across the EU. Endorsements could also come from social partners and other European networks and organisations, while at the national level, the charter could be supported by employers and other cultural operators who collaborate with artists or commission their work.

The Charter will aim to:

• provide guidance for actions to improve the working conditions of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors by outlining principles and examples of good practices to follow;
• collect good practices from Member States on specific topics, including for use in Mutual Learning Workshops;
• be adaptive. Its modular structure allows for new topics to be added as the Charter evolves over time;
• be flexible allowing it to be applied at both EU and national levels;
• enable a non-compulsory but coherent framework on working conditions, which helps to structure and simplify policy discussions.

Fair Pay, Fair Share, Fair System—these three principles form the foundation of the Charter on Working Conditions. Fair Pay means that all artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors should be able to earn a decent living from their professional work. Fair Share encourages discussion about the division of proceeds among artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors in different contexts, whether national, regional, sectoral, or even at the project level. Fair System refers to the various parts of the cultural sector ecosystem and a fair distribution of proceeds across the value chain, from concept and production to distribution and reception.

The principles of Fair Pay, Fair Share, and Fair System cut across all topics of the Charter. Upholding these principles is also proposed as the basis for mandatory social conditionality in EU culture programmes, such as AgoraEU.

The Charter would include two key components:

1) The Framework

The Framework will focus on the following key topics:

• A clear definition of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors whom the Framework applies to.
• Fair Pay: Ensuring that artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors earn a decent living from their professional work in their country of residence and/or abroad.
• Fair Labour Relations: creating equal conditions for all types of contracts, whether permanent, fixed-term, temporary, part-time, remote, trainee, or self-employed.
• Fair Social Security: providing protection for all artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors against financial risks like illness, old age, workplace accidents, and job loss; preventing poverty and ensuring decent standards of living.
• Fair Taxation: designing taxes (incl. on income and turnover) that reflect the actual labour situation of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors.

Fair pay, labour relations, social security, and taxation must be addressed both at national and EU/international levels, while recognising the specific mobility needs of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors, including income stability, international collaboration, and knowledge sharing.

The Framework will follow a consistent structure across all topics, comprising five key components:

• Priority: a clear priority for each topic that aims to improve the working conditions of artists and workers in the cultural and creative sectors. Each priority demonstrates how it contributes to a fairer system.
• Good practices: concrete examples of existing practices and approaches that help advance the priority and support mutual learning. These examples will be collected from Member States and other relevant stakeholders.
• References to EU regulations, directives, and decisions that support the priority and validate the identified good practices.
• References to national legal frameworks and information providers (such as Mobility Information Points) that support the priority and its implementation at the Member State level.
• Indicators at the EU and/or national level that allow for tracking progress in relation to each priority. These indicators will be developed in parallel with the priorities and may include newly created ones or those selected or aggregated from existing statistical sources, such as Eurostat.

2) The Consultation Process

The consultation process, organised by the European Commission, will engage stakeholders in a structured way and propose a stock-taking event every two years to monitor progress and new developments at both EU and national levels.

This process may include the following steps:

• Launch of an Expert Working Group, consisting of independent experts and representatives of artists’ organisations at the EU level (and, on a voluntary basis, representatives from the national level, such as former members of the OMC group on working conditions). It would be tasked with producing a draft Framework for consultation, including proposals for indicators for each topic. This group should be supported by extensive expertise, research, and evidence accumulated over the years by numerous organisations across the EU (see Annex A).
• Several rounds of consultation with artists’ organisations (including those involved in international and national fair practice initiatives), social partners, and other European networks.
• Presentation of a draft Charter on Working Conditions, along with a two-year programme of actions, such as Mutual Learning Workshops and an initial round of indicator measurements.
• Following the Charter’s adoption, a biannual stock-taking conference would be held to track progress and highlight new developments at both the EU and national levels.

Annex: Resources

1. Council Recommendation on Access to Social Protection for Workers and the Self-Employed (2019/C 387/01), Council of the European Union, 2019.
2. Culture statistics — gender equality, Eurostat, 2025.
3. Database of Collective Agreements and Social Dialogue Initiatives in Live Performance, Pearle* — Live Performance Europe, European Arts and Entertainment Alliance, 2025.
4. Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions in the European Union, 2019.
5. EU logs lowest gender gap in cultural employment in 2024, Eurostat, 2025.
6. European Commission response to the European Parliament resolution on the Social and Professional Situation of Artists and Workers in the Cultural and Creative Sectors, 2024.
7. European Parliament resolution: EU Framework for the Social and Professional Situation of Artists and Workers in the Cultural and Creative Sectors, 2023.
8. Fairness Codex — Art and Culture in Austria, Austrian Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, 2022.
9. Guidelines on the Application of Union Competition Law to Collective Agreements Regarding the Working Conditions of Solo SelfEmployed Persons (2022/C 374/02), European Commission, 2022.
10. Improving Access to Social Protection for Artists: Thematic Discussion Paper for Mutual Learning Workshop on ‘Access to Social Protection for Artists’ (Muszyński, K.), European Commission, 2025.
11. OMC Report: The Status and Working Conditions of Artists and Cultural and Creative Professionals, European Commission, 2023.
12. The Dutch Fair Practice Code, Kunsten ’92, 2017.
13. The Ultimate Cookbooks for Cultural Managers, European Festivals Association, Pearle* — Live Performance Europe.
14. This is How We Work: Exploring the EU’s Varied Labour Frameworks, Creatives Unite / Creative FLIP, 2025.

Culture Compass for Europe

The Culture Compass for Europe released by the European Commission in November 2025 announces the proposal of an EU Artists Charter (Q2 2027) that will “outline fundamental principles, guidance, and commitments for fair working conditions in the sectors.” Within this context, an EU high-level exchange will be organised involving diverse stakeholders and social partners, whose outcomes will also contribute to the design of the charter. Additionally, a new EU structured dialogue is announced with cultural and creative stakeholders, which will track the progress of the actions and goals of the Culture Compass.

The Culture Compass is accompanied by a draft Joint Declaration entitled “Europe for Culture – Culture for Europe” to be agreed upon and signed by the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Article 4 stresses that “everyone has the right to fair, just, healthy and safe working conditions, including artists and cultural professionals who are at the heart of our cultural and creative sectors and industries.” As part of this, the draft includes commitments to promoting the fair remuneration and social protection of artists and cultural professionals, while also supporting their collective bargaining rights, their health and well-being, and the rights of people with disabilities.