The Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (“CIISA”) has published its ‘Standards’, setting out the minimum standards of behaviour expected across the creative industries.

We have commented previously on CIISA’s work here and here. It was established in 2022 following a range of high-profile allegations being raised about behaviour within the creative industries, and received the support of many individuals and industry organisations.

CIISA’s stated aim is to “uphold and improve standards of behaviour across the creative industries and to prevent and tackle all forms of bullying and harassment, including bullying and harassment of a discriminatory nature”. While not currently ‘live’, it ultimately intends to offer services such as advice and support to those raising concerns about behaviour, early dispute resolution and mediation services, and investigations.

The Standards represent a critical step in the CIISA’s work. Developed with the input of industry professionals and following a period of consultation, they aim to provide a “framework for a single, unified vision of professional standards of behaviour within the creative industries, [outlining] what a safe and inclusive working ‘environment, that treats people with dignity, looks like”. They are also designed to be “scalable to any size of organisation, production or project”.

Four Standards are identified, and are accompanied by specific action that various people within organisations should take:

 1. Safe Working Environments

The Standards set out that “while some work might involve high- pressure situations, everyone working in the creative industries must be able to do so in a professional environment, free from exposure to psychological, sexual and physical harm”.

All individuals within the workforce are expected to know what a safe working environment looks like and act accordingly.

Senior leaders are expected to take measures to prevent harassment and other harmful behaviour by, for example, providing adequate training and resources to their workforce, ensuring that the workforce has access to adequate support (proportionate to the size of the organisation or project), and making sure that individuals are not subjected to the misuse of confidentiality clauses or NDAs.

According to the Standards, managers “set the tone by promoting and embedding a culture where the welfare of the workforce is protected and respected”. To achieve this, they are expected, for example, to model the highest standards of behaviour, to be as transparent as possible in their dealings with their team, and to “support individuals with enhanced responsibilities for supporting others (where applicable) – such as wellbeing facilitators, access co-ordinators, occupational health specialists and safeguarding and whistleblowing officers – to meet the responsibilities that come with the enhanced role”.

 2. Inclusive working environments

All members of a workforce are expected to know what discriminatory behaviour looks like, that it is not acceptable, and to act accordingly. They should be able to seek support if they are subjected to such behaviour, and expect that action is taken against the perpetrator, whether that be by way of training, disciplinary action, or termination.

Senior leaders are expected to provide sufficient training and resources so that the workforce knows what discriminatory behaviour looks like and the consequences of such behaviour. Meanwhile, managers should promote and embed a culture of inclusivity and support the implementation of any accessibility requirements for their team.

3. Open and Accountable Reporting Mechanisms

The CIISA declares that “everyone working in the creative industries should feel confident that any concerns they raise will be taken seriously, looked at fairly and with empathy, and resolved at the earliest opportunity, regardless of whether the working relationship is ongoing or has ended. They should know how to raise a concern, with the entity that contracted them in the first instance whenever possible, and be able to do this easily and without fear of being victimised, silenced or experiencing adverse outcomes for their career. A desire for anonymity by the person raising the concern should be respected”.

Workforces should not be forced to agree to confidentiality clause or NDAs which deter or prevent them from reporting harmful behaviour or seeking support, and should be able to raise concerns “through a variety of safe and structured mechanisms that include protections from retaliation/victimisation and forced confidentiality”.

Senior Leaders are expected to play their part by ensuring that the workforce is aware of reporting mechanisms, having appropriate policies and processes in place, and taking swift, clear, and appropriate action to address any concerns. For their part, managers should foster a culture of speaking up, ensuring that members of the workforce know how to report a concern, and taking appropriate action when concerns are raised.

4. Responsive Learning Culture

According to the CIISA, a responsive learning culture enables a workforce to “see concerns raised as an opportunity not just to address harmful behaviour, but also to capture learning and to act on it, in order to continuously improve culture around such behaviour and the way concerns are handled”.

Individuals should be able to provide feedback in appropriate forums about their experiences of harmful behaviour in the hope of contributing to positive change in the future. Senior leaders should encourage openness, regularly gather and keep records of feedback, and foster trust that such feedback will lead to meaningful change, whilst managers should remove any barriers to openness and create an environment where team members can share their perspectives.

Next Steps

The CIISA states that it intends to produce tailored, practical guidance on how organisations can meet the Standards, as well as provide training to help organisations embed them in their work. It will also support organisations to ‘self-assess’ their progress, publish reports on overall progress, and explore “providing accreditation for key roles relevant to embedding safe and inclusive working environments”.

The CIISA also plans to provide an independent reporting mechanism for individuals and organisations to report in confidence any concerns about compliance with the Standards and, “in due course… look to introduce services aimed at resolving concerns where possible, where no other existing routes are available… [making] sure it does not duplicate existing routes to resolution”.

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