Download a pdf version of this policy here.
ABOUT SQIFF
SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival) was formed with the aim of adding to the exciting and growing amount of queer film stuff happening around Scotland. Since 2015, we have held an annual Festival in Glasgow alongside providing year round events across various locations. SQIFF aims to build community through queer films. Our goal is to get people watching, talking about, and making more queer films. We want to screen movies that people might not otherwise get a chance to see and create inspiring and informative events across Scotland. Moreover, we want to support marginalised groups within the LGBTQIA+ community by providing a networking system for queer filmmakers, as well as filmmaking workshops for audiences wanting to start on the medium. We want to challenge inequalities and barriers to accessing the arts.
This HR & Recruitment Policy outlines SQIFF’s commitment to ensuring the fair work of its staff.
This HR & Recruitment Policy includes information on:
- Policy Statement
- Purpose
- Principles
- SQIFF’s commitment to ensuring safe environments for Trans, Non-Binary and/or Gender Diverse People, and people of the Global Majority
POLICY STATEMENT
Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) is an organisation committed to embedding fair, kind and equitable HR and Recruitment practices in the area of LGBTQIA+ film exhibition. As such, SQIFF intends to ensure such HR and Recruitment approaches are centred in all its activities.
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to lay out how a wide range of issues should be handled by SQIFF, with clear responsibilities laid out for both the employee/freelancer and employer. How SQIFF approaches these issues plays a key role in ensuring equity and consistency across the organisation. This policy intends to provide clear guidance on expectations, procedure and SQIFF’s stance on a particular subject. This policy makes SQIFF responsible to the public as well its employees, for acting on those commitments, as well as effectively communicating and implementing them.
PRINCIPLES
1. Recruitment
- All recruitment processes will be open to any candidates, without discrimination.
- Selections for interviews will be made against criteria listed in the person description, with recognition of any commitment to ensure interviews for marginalised candidates where appropriate and where listed in the job description.
- All recruitment candidates will be informed if they have or have not been successful in reaching the interview stage for an applied position.
- All interview candidates will receive the interview questions in advance of the interview.
- All interview candidates will be offered the opportunity to outline any accessible amendments or provisions SQIFF can provide to support their experience throughout the recruitment process, including interviewing.
- General feedback is offered to all interview candidates. Upon request further feedback is available.
- Successful candidates will be offered positions with a window of time to accept, refuse or request more information.
- SQIFF reserves the right to offer fixed-term freelance contracts to individuals without a formal interview process.
2. Beginning Employment
- Upon starting, new starters will receive information on their working hours, line manager and role expectations, within the format of a working contract.
- All contracts will be signed by both employee/freelancer and the employer (likely to be SQIFF’s Director on behalf of the organisation).
- All employees/freelancers will be encouraged to provide SQIFF with a completed access rider identifying individual access requirements. This will be a safely kept document only accessible to the individual’s line manager and SQIFF’s Director. SQIFF will make every effort to support individuals in creating an accessible working environment, and will remain transparent about when this is not possible.
- All efforts will be made to support new starters in becoming acquainted with SQIFF’s processes, organisational culture and team members.
3. Working Hours
- Working hours will be agreed in individual contracts.
- Employees/freelancers are welcome to deliver on these hours across the week, in communication with SQIFF’s Director and/or their line manager.
- SQIFF supports a flexible working method, in which individuals are encouraged to have agency over how, where and when they deliver their working week.
- With the nature of delivering a yearly festival, SQIFF often experiences busy and quiet periods. We support all SQIFF employees/freelancers to navigate this appropriately, i.e. work fewer hours during less busy periods to balance against busier periods, such as during festival delivery.
- SQIFF supports a healthy working culture in which employees/freelancers are not expected to work outside of their contracted hours.
4. Flexible/Hybrid Working
- SQIFF has an office at Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), where all SQIFF employees/freelancers are welcome to work.
- In some instances it will be required for employees/freelancers to be present at CCA for team meetings. In these instances, meetings will be arranged and agreed ahead of time to accommodate individual schedules and availability.
- SQIFF employees/freelancers are welcome to work from home where this is preferred. SQIFF employees/freelancers are also welcome to devise a hybrid working pattern which utilises both home office and SQIFF’s office.
5. Sickness and Leaves of Absence
- SQIFF employees/freelancers are encouraged to utilise SQIFF’s flexible working approach to take time off if unwell.
- As individual contracts will state, if a freelancer requires a prolonged leave of absence, this can be arranged in agreement with SQIFF’s Director.
- In instances where a freelancer is unable to work due to illness or prolonged leave of absence, SQIFF will make every effort to support this individual, whilst also consulting with them to appoint another freelancer to deliver this work.
- In instances of maternity, paternity or otherwise necessary periods of absence, SQIFF will make every effort to agree a period of unpaid leave with individuals where appropriate.
- Whilst all of SQIFF’s core team are employed via freelance contracts, this policy will not be updated to include sickness and leave of absence rights for employees until SQIFF is in the position to hire employees on a salaried basis.
6. Payment
- As stated in individual contracts, all employees/freelancers will be paid the agreed fee on an arranged timetable.
- All fees are payable by invoice addressed to SQIFF, with the address listed across its contracts.
- Unless stated and agreed otherwise, over-time is not payable. Freelancers are encouraged to balance their working time in accordance with the SQIFF schedule and ongoing busy/quiet periods.
7. Termination of Contract
- As listed in individual contracts, SQIFF reserves the right to terminate a contract should the agreement of terms within the contract be breached.
- As believers in Fair Work, SQIFF will make every effort to avoid terminations of contract using conversation and mediation where appropriate. Please refer to our Fair Work Policy to see our full statement and measures.
8. Use of this Policy
- As with all other policies, this HR and Recruitment policy is intended to be used in conjunction with SQIFF’s other policies in relation to other areas of HR and Recruitment, including but not limited to: Safeguarding, Care and Wellbeing, Equalities and more. Please refer to specific policies to see our full statement and measures.
COMMITMENT TO TRANS, NON-BINARY AND/OR GENDER DIVERSE PEOPLE AND PEOPLE OF THE GLOBAL MAJORITY
We are committed to providing an environment that is welcoming, accessible and inclusive for all attendees, staff, guests and volunteers, in person and online. In particular, SQIFF works to provide the safest environment for Trans, Non-Binary and/or Gender Diverse People and people of the Global Majority.
Please refer to SQIFF’s Trans, Non-Binary and/or Gender Diverse People Statement and Anti-Racism Policy to see our full statement and measures.
We welcome any comments and suggestions that can help us to develop our HR & Recruitment Policy: [email protected].