Bectu, the union for the creative industries, has launched pay rate guidance for art technicians working in the UK that has helped the union since our initial 2023 rate guidance was released to establish recommended rates of pay and help address low pay and pay discrepancies across the sector. This has been achieved with great success over the last two years; although it still requires some improvement, it is showing progress. 

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This pay rates guidance is designed to help art technicians to negotiate fair rates for work.

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These are recommended professional rates agreed upon by members of Bectu’s Art Technicians Branch based on research conducted with 100+ people working in the sector. These rates are not agreed with any venues or employers. It is the individual's responsibility to negotiate their rate of pay with an employer. Advice on how to do this can be found on our Resources page.​ 

 

We are asking our members to pledge not to work below the Minimum Professional Rates listed below to ensure we can establish these as the minimum professional rates for the art technical industry. 

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2025 RATE GUIDANCE SURVEY

From our survey which was open to all to complete, we received 118 responses. 55.08% were non-members, 44.92% were members.  Thank you to everyone who contributed.

 

Roles we requested information about were and have been included in the following when there were more than two responses given for a role:

• A trainee role assisting an installation / de-install of art or packing & shipping - not included as not enough data received 

• A role packing and shipping art in prep for install / unpacking following de-install

• An art technician who conducts or oversees Condition Reporting

• A show-change where you’ll be installing, deinstalling, packing, moving etc

• An experienced role assisting an installation or de-install of art

• An experienced role managing a team of technicians on an installation / de-install of art

• A trainee freelance role fabricating art

• An experienced freelance role fabricating art

• An experienced freelance role managing a ‘fabrication’ team

• Something else (say more below) - these results were not consistent in any way so were not included

 

REGIONS

We received data on London, South East, South West, East Midlands, West Midlands, North West, and Scotland. 

 

Unfortunately, we did not receive enough data for Wales, the North East, and Northern Ireland to be able to present rates for these areas. 

 

People were able to complete one survey submission for multiple regions when inputting the rates; therefore, the number of surveys entries completed is 118.

 

All data was compiled by region and roles. 

 

ROLES

For each role, we collected data through the survey on the following three pay rates. They reflect a 'day rate' of 8 hours maximum as well as minimum food and rest breaks of 15 minutes morning and afternoon and 30 minutes lunch. 

​The rates provided are based on what people are being paid and their perspectives on what they should be getting paid when factoring in their own tool costs, travel expenses, lack of holiday and sick pay etc. : 

 

1. THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM DAILY-RATE that a PROFESSIONAL at your level should accept. 

We would advise members that the acceptance of any offers of work below the “Minimum Professional Rate” will undermine your professional standing - this should be the minimum professional rate for this kind of work. 

2. STANDARD GOING DAILY RATE is the daily rate workers would generally expect to work for. 

 

3. THE BEST ACHIEVABLE DAILY RATE

The "Ideal Rate" is the daily rate that we aspire to. Workers should ask for this rate in negotiations as we know some people are achieving it already. This is an aspirational rate that we would hope to work towards for all art technicians

 

We compared the data to find the median, also examining the highest and lowest rates for each role which was then used to inform the ratification process to agree as a union on what our rate guidance would be. 

 

RATIFICATION PROCESS

To ratify the figures, we presented the median, lowest, and highest rates alongside our existing guidance (where one was already in place). Each role was then discussed in detail, with members working in that area invited to share their insight and experience. This ensured that the figures were grounded in both real-world practice and collective knowledge.

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Where the existing guidance no longer reflected current industry standards, adjustments were proposed. After open debate, a new figure was put forward and voted on by the branch. The agreed rate then became the updated union guidance for that role.

This ratification process means that our rate guidance is:

• Evidence-based – drawing on collective data gathered from members.

• Member-led – shaped by the expertise and experience of those working in the field.

• Democratically agreed – formally adopted through discussion and vote.

 

By following this process, we ensure our pay guidance is both fair and representative, and that it carries the strength and legitimacy of union consensus.

 

We are asking our members to pledge not to work below the Minimum Professional Rates listed below to ensure we can establish these as the minimum professional rates for the art technical industry. 

 

If you would like help negotiating your pay rates please see information regarding this HERE.