Creativity is more in demand than ever in the creative sector
The Corona crisis and lockdown are hitting hard, especially in the cultural and creative sector. A sector that has traditionally had a precarious balance sheet with little fat on its bones. On top of that, most core activities are now cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. Concerts, exhibitions, performances, educational activities… human interaction and social gathering is at the heart of these. The entire ecosystem of the sector is at risk. And with it, all those who contribute to the sector are also without income. From small local initiatives to big international events: they are cancelled indefinitely. How is this dealt with?
The serious threat to the cultural field has not gone unnoticed by national governments. Several sector-specific initiatives are also emerging at the European level. Unfortunately, the bridging factor of culture is missing in these Corona times. There are notable differences between how national governments respond to these ‘special’ times. Cultural workers – as well as others holding multiple jobs – are being asked to juggle advanced organisational skills. And even more so if they operate across borders.
De Dutch Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Ingrid van Engelshoven, has taken several measures to support the cultural sector. They are generic measures mainly aimed at preserving the sector’s ecosystem. The measures offer a short-term perspective. However, compensation for cultural workers is not specifically addressed. Most work assignments in the cultural sector are on a freelance (ZZP) basis. Now it just so happens that in case of such force majeure, there is no breach of contract, nor can compensation be claimed. This also means that workers in the cultural and creative sector fall under the general support rules for entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs can apply for an allowance to compensate for damages incurred, known as Contribution Damages COVID-19 (TOGS).
And should cultural self-employed people really run into trouble, there is a final safety net in the form of the monthly social assistance: temporary bridging scheme for the self-employed (TOZO), which is said to be processed and provided faster.
Certainly, the social safety net and also the one-off payment of €4,000 is a nice gesture and can alleviate urgent bottlenecks. However, it is forgotten for a moment that in practice these ‘entrepreneurs’ will have a much longer ‘lockdown’ . Cultural life will recover more slowly, if intact. Moreover, it ignores the specific ‘hybrid’ work environment that cultural workers face. A person can act as a freelancer , work part-time as a teacher in a municipal school or private organisation, and so on. Something that Minister Van Engelshoven seems to be aware of , as shown in this recent interview on 14 March 2020, but so far does nothing with. This is also of the key points in the plea that the Council for Culture last week to the Dutch minister-President Mark Rutte sent.
A different sound can be heard in neighbouring countries that do not follow this one-size-fits-all approach.
Belgium seems to be taking a more differentiated approach. Depending on the capacity of the job – whether an employee, a self-employed person or a civil servant – the Belgian government proposes different income replacement options. In principle, temporary unemployment benefits can be applied for when the employment contract is interrupted and – now in Corona time – when the employment contract is terminated. Cultural workers who freelance or combine several jobs in Belgium are, in principle, entitled to these temporary Corona unemployment benefits. Nevertheless, those who combine multiple jobs face a challenging puzzle to solve. There is also a real risk of some falling between two stools. For example, if a job is cancelled without a contract of employment being signed in advance (common in practice), cultural workers cannot fall back on temporary unemployment or other benefits. If they are also not entitled to regular unemployment benefits (because they may not have worked enough in employment in the past), these workers will be left empty-handed. A somewhat unfortunate situation after all. So various initiatives have emerged, from individual crowdfunding projects to industry interest groups, such as the solidarity-based project Plan Corona.
A generous gesture to the cultural sector that has so far not been emulated been emulated is the approach used in Germany. The German government has clearly stated that the “cultural and creative industries need massive support “. And they are doing just that across the country. All Bundesländer have taken special measures for the cultural sector.
Knowing that the cultural sector is, by definition, based on social interaction and has high cross-border mobility, it is striking that the transnational aspect is hardly mentioned. Cultural workers often combine several jobs working in different places at the same time, performing, teaching, developing new productions… and not infrequently crossing borders in the process. If someone works in Belgium and Germany, can they apply for temporary unemployment benefits in both countries? And what if an international concert tour of the cities of Berlin, Paris and London is cancelled, can those involved claim compensation in all these countries? (See here for a general overview of the proposed measures in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands). And if we assume for the sake of convenience that a cultural worker can claim compensation from the various places and organisations of work: Should these be offset against each other? And would tax have to be paid at the end of the year? The question, then, is where. Artists (and athletes) often fall under special tax regimes and thus have to pay taxes where they perform.
Fortunately, there seems to have been an initial awareness regarding cross-border issues. The Dutch government has announced that the TOZO will also apply to self-employed people living in the Netherlands while having their business abroad or vice versa.Nevertheless, there are still many unanswered questions. For now, some may be lucky, but most will probably miss out (so far). One thing is certain, culture workers have a tough nut to crack when figuring out to what extent they are entitled to some extra back support in these Corona times.
Written by Eva van Ooij, LL.M., PhD candidate at the Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility / ITEM and Department of International and European Law of Maastricht University