Workers in the arts and entertainment sector (AES)[1] often lack effective access to social protection. The insufficient extent of coverage in many countries stems from the deficiency of social protection schemes to address and accommodate the specificities of AES work. These include diverse forms of employment, including self-employment, temporary or...

The Argentinian law No. 27203 defines the scope of actions of an actor-performer and equates them. Further, it introduces a special method to estimate the number of years of service and contributions to the social security scheme (Article 13). Link to Ley...

The mainly mandatory scheme for artists was set up in 1983 and accommodates a broad list of occupations. Under the Artists’ Social Security Act, persons who benefit from art and creation are obliged to contribute as employers. These contributions are subsidized by the Government. The rest is paid by...

The amendment of September 2020 reforms and consolidates India’s social security laws with the goals to extend social security to all employees and workers either in the organised or unorganised or any other sectors and for matters connected therewith or incidental...

The Atal Pension Yojana, which was set up in 2015, targets informal and self-employed workers who do not contribute to any other pension programmes and do not pay income tax. The key feature for this target is the flexibility of the scheme. Contributions can be made monthly, quarterly or...

Korea adopted the Artist Welfare Act in 2011 with the purpose to legally protect the professional status and rights of artists; to promote the creative activities of artists; and to contribute to artistic development by providing artists with welfare support services (Article 1). Link to the Artist Welfare Act...

With Law 18.384 Uruguay adapted the labour and social insurance conditions to artistic jobs. The law defines the scope of actions of performance and extents coverage for all activities which are carried out in dependence, e.g. the law recognises rehearsal time as service if a contract has been signed...

Lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of theatres and cinemas, and the suspension or cancellation of movie, television and music productions. Many workers in the industry lost their jobs and had no social protection to help them. A new ILO study shows that extending...

This policy brief outlines the challenges in extending social protection to the cultural and creative sector (CCS), which were exposed by the COVID-19 crisis. These include, inter alia, legal and de facto exclusion due to the specificities of CCS work such as fluctuating employment status, irregular incomes, intermittent nature...

The ILO Working Paper examines social protection schemes covering workers in the cultural and creative sector (CCS). After an overview of economic and employment trends in the CCS, the working paper reviews policy and legal frameworks in selected countries that have pursued specific solutions to extend social security to...

The report provides an overview of the characteristics of the live performance sector including its transnational dimension and analyses it against the backdrop of social security law and labour law. It identifies the challenges for the application of both legal regimes and ends by providing an overview of possible...

The UNESCO report identifies which cultural and creative industries have been disrupted the most by the pandemic and attempts to measure the economic impact of COVID-19 on the cultural and creative sector. Looking ahead, the report explores some of the newer ways in which digital technologies are being used...

The OECD Policy Response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lays out how the cultural and creative sector is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and identifies factors that make the effects long-lasting. It describes the fragility of the cultural and creative sector and the inadequacy of social protection schemes to offset...

The Global Commission on the Future of Work acknowledges States’ opportunities to shape the transition of the world of work to the better, including the extension of social protection. With regard to working conditions like fluctuating employment status or geographic mobility, which also characterize AES work, it declares the...

A reference for the development of social security systems, Convention No. 102 is the flagship of the up-to-date social security Conventions since it is deemed to embody the internationally accepted definition of the very principle of social security.  Convention No. 102 is unique for both its conceptual formulation of social security,...

Recommendation No. 202 is the first international instrument to offer guidance to countries to close social security gaps and progressively achieve universal protection through the establishment and maintenance of comprehensive social security systems. To this aim, the Recommendation calls for (1) the implementation, as a priority, of social protection...

From a rights-based perspective, the level of benefits provided must be adequate. According to the CESCR’s General Comment 19 (para 22), “Benefits, whether in cash or in kind, must be adequate in amount and duration in order that everyone may realize his or her rights to family protection and...

A human rights-based approach to social protection requires grounding social protection systems in a strong legal and institutional framework. This should ensure both programme stability and the recognition of beneficiaries as rights holders. The need to provide for strong legal frameworks that clearly lay out entitlements, rights and obligations...

Non-discrimination and equality are core elements of the international human rights normative framework. Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) states that every human being is entitled to all rights and freedoms “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or...

Meaningful and effective participation of rights holders must be a key component of any social protection system. This is what builds trust and public support behind schemes and ensures that there is a sense of ownership. The participation of right holders is important during the social protection policy making...