Using National Lottery and UK Government Funding, the BFI funds a wide range of partners, organisations and individuals to deliver projects and activity. We will refer to them here as ‘awardees’.
We expect all of our awardees to act in a way that supports the wellbeing, equitable and lawful treatment of everyone they interact with, from their own employees and suppliers to members of the public.
All awardees are contractually required to deliver their projects in accordance with all relevant UK legislation and conduct business legally, ethically and with the highest level of integrity. We refer all funding applicants to the BFI’s principles and guidance for tackling and preventing bullying, harassment and racism in the screen industries and ask that they have, or intend to put in place, an anti-bullying and harassment policy for their organisation or project.
Contacting someone about a concern or issue with a BFI awardee or partner
If your concern involves a criminal matter, or the safety of an individual, we advise that you contact the police immediately.
Further, the BFI is not a regulatory body and we do not have the power to resolve employment issues or disputes in other organisations, even if that organisation receives funding from the BFI. If your concern is about an employment issue that impacts you directly, you should follow the procedures within the company you work for. You can also contact Acas for further support and guidance.
We recommend that you contact the awardee delivering the project or activity first, to give them an opportunity to resolve things quickly. You can copy in the BFI contact for the programme, which can be found on our funding pages, or opps@bfi.org.uk.
If you feel unable to contact the awardee directly, or if you’re unhappy with the response you received from an awardee, you can forward your concern to the BFI Operations, Partners & Projects team (opps@bfi.org.uk) who will forward your email to the relevant person in the BFI.
If you contact the BFI or an awardee with any other concern or issue about a project or activity, you should give as much factual detail as possible and be clear about the outcome you are hoping to achieve.
We’re keen to assist in restoring positive working relationships and, where possible, will consider acting as an intermediary to assist communication between the parties involved. However, we are not formal mediators and can only look at these requests on a case by case basis.
If your concerns relate to projects or activity taking place within another organisation, the BFI is limited in the action we can take unless the awardee has clearly breached our funding conditions:
- BFI National Lottery funding conditions
- BFI general funding conditions, which cover all other public funding
If we’re unable to take direct action, we’ll look at other ways to assist you in finding a resolution to your concern, which may include advising you on other available support.
What happens after you contact the BFI with a concern about an awardee
We’ll send you an acknowledgement we’ve received your concern and may ask you for further information.
The relevant staff members within the BFI will consider the information you have provided and determine if it may constitute a breach of funding conditions.
We’ll contact you to tell you how we propose to proceed with the information you have given us.
If we’ve decided to contact the awardee with the information you’ve given us, we’ll ask your permission before contacting them. You can let us know if you want to remain anonymous although in some cases this may limit our ability to take any direct action with the awardee.
We’ll send you a summary of findings and any decision reached by BFI on the concerns you have raised.
This process is separate to the BFI formal complaints procedure.
Organisations that provide resources and support
Industry bodies that can provide support include:
Acas (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)
An independent and impartial organisation providing information, advice, training, conciliation and other services for employers and employees to help prevent or resolve workplace problems.
Acas can be contacted on their free confidential helpline: 0300 123 1100.
You can also find advice on bullying and harassment on their website.
The Film & TV Charity
Specialises in providing support to everyone working behind the scenes in film and television, covering a wide range of issues, including bullying and harassment, legal advice and debt.
Their helpline number is 0800 054 0000.
Use their website to find more information, including other ways to contact them.
Protect (formerly Public Concern at Work)
Protect provide confidential advice to workers who are unsure of whether or how to raise a public interest concern.
For whistleblowing advice, you can call them on 020 3117 2520.
More information about the services Protect provide can be found on their website.
The Equality & Human Rights Commission
An independent statutory body with the responsibility to encourage equality and diversity, eliminate unlawful discrimination, and protect and promote the human rights of everyone in Britain.
You can find guidance on discrimination and human rights on their website.
CIISA (Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority)
Upholding and improving standards of behaviour across the creative industries.
CIISA are not yet taking cases, but do have useful resources and links on their website.
Safe In Our World
A charity dedicated to supporting positive mental health and wellbeing for people working in the video games industry.
Find more information and advice on the Safe in Our World website.
Next steps
If you feel that the BFI, or the awardee, have not resolved your concern, you may wish to progress it to a formal complaint with the organisation concerned.
Most organisations have a published complaints procedure which will outline the process and how long it will take to respond to you.
If you want to make a formal complaint about the BFI, you can find our complaints procedure online.