Letter

21st February 2015 

To whom this may concern

I am writing to inform you why, for your job, which you specify as an apprentice digital video production producer, you simply cannot request for an employee under the specified requirements as it is both highly offensive to anyone whom may view it and goes against legal issues relating to employment. I am going to explain the issues with your job request, how it goes against the Equality Act and other legal issues, how it breaks certain codes of practice and work policies, as well as any ethical issues.

Contracts are legal agreements that relate to your terms of employment and all employers and employees have one. The contract covers mainly the employment conditions – these are something that both an employer and employee agree upon at the start of an employee’s employment. This is usually where the contract is found and states that an employee is allowed employment for a certain amount of time, as long as the employee does not violate any terms of the contract. A contract may also cover; rights, responsibilities and the duties of both the employee and their employer. 

A Confidentiality clause, also known as a confidentiality agreement, is a smaller contract between two or more parties in which all participating parties promise that all discussed information will remain secret. 

The Equality Act (2010) states that any discrimination based on the grounds of age, gender or race is illegal and anyone who breaks the act is subject to punishment under the law. This act is enforced in many ways both inside and outside of court, including an increasing protection for people of ethnic minorities. Equal opportunities legislation is part of the Equality Act (2010) and states that everyone should have equal opportunity to work regardless of characteristics, such as; ethnicity, age, sex and social class. 

Employer’s liability is a type of business insurance that states that all employers are legally obliged to pay compensation costs or legal fees if an employee happens to fall ill or injure themselves at work. Employees rights are a list of rights that apply to all employees. This includes the right to be paid minimal wage and the right to leave under certain conditions such as maternity. 

Health and safety legislation places a duty on all employers, as listed under the act, “to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work" of all their employees. 

The problem with your application process is that the person applying for the job would not be protected from any illness or injuries caused during the development of the video, as at this point they would still be unemployed by you. This goes against employee’s rights and employers liability which states that insurance must be given for any injuries or illness suffered whilst producing work for an employer, and also violates the health and safety legislation as it states that you must ensure the health, safety and welfare of anyone doing work for your company/business.

A trade union is an organisation whose members consist mainly of workers. A trade unions main aim, most commonly, is to protect its members in the workplace. Most trade unions work independently, separate from any employer. Trade unions aid workers in many ways such as working to improve working conditions and pay for employees as well as improving the quality of public services and may even take part in political campaigning.

Codes of practice are not part of the law. They exist usually to protect the consumer or citizen. Policies and procedures are created by employers and are often specific to individual institutions. 

The representation you requested for your video is bias, as you mention wanting to have “female victims and male offenders who will talk candidly to the camera.” This raises two issues. The first issue concerns gender discrimination as you have made no reference to wanting male victims and female offenders included in the video. This would portray the male gender in a negative light. The second issue concerns the mental health and the well-being of those being interviewed, as not everyone is going to willingly want to speak thoroughly about their experience. The video as a whole would inaccurately portray the experiences of rape and having everyone speak “candidly to the camera” would not be at all accurate to how people would wish to talk to people about a disheartening experience. You also mention the use of a “popular music soundtrack.” However, this raises yet another issue as it would portray the music’s artist in a way they would perhaps not wished to be viewed. As a final point, you ask for “teenagers” to be interviewed and this may raise a lot of social concerns as to the way young males may be viewed by the people in the community.  

The Ofcom broadcasting code is made up of ten main sections. However, I am going to talk about the two that your job advert raises the most issues with. The first section I am going to talk about is protecting the under-eighteens. This section states that “Material that might seriously impair the physical, mental or moral development of people under eighteen must not be broadcast.” Your video could very likely impair both the mental and moral development of people under eighteen, especially since you requested that the applicant “should interview teenagers.” The second section regards harm and offence. This section states that “Factual programmes or items or portrayals of factual matters must not materially mislead the audience.” You ask that the applicant “should complement the interviews with re-enactments and dramatizations.” These dramatized re-enactments could mislead the audience to think about certain groups or individuals such as male teenagers in a negative light, which goes against what is stated within the code. This could also go against the Obscene Publications Acts as the act states media that “tends to deprave and corrupt” should not be publicised. 

In relation to the BBFC, I believe your requested video should be certified at a rating of 15 (suitable only for 15 years and over). This is because the video would include possible imitable behaviour, possible use of foul language, strong possible use of threats and of violence.

Yours sincerely

Haldane McHugh

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