Arts Council England has launched its first-ever Freelancers’ Handbook, a free digital resource designed to support creative and cultural freelancers while also providing guidance for the organisations that work with them.
Developed in response to findings from the 2024 Cultural Freelancers Study, the handbook was created by freelancers, for freelancers, and addresses some of the key challenges facing the sector today.
The publication covers a wide range of practical topics including contracts, fees, funding, tax, business development and professional wellbeing. It is accompanied by a new Resources Directory featuring paid work opportunities, funded programmes and skills development training.
The handbook was co-edited and written by independent cultural consultant Rachel Mapplebeck and has been designed for the estimated 30% of the cultural workforce operating as freelancers.
Alongside advice and guidance, it includes practical tools such as fee calculators, a contracting checklist, invoice guidance, email templates and pay negotiation tips, as well as information on professional associations, unions and wellbeing support.
Arts Council England has also introduced a Freelancer’s Fair Work Pledge and a checklist for organisations, promoting fair pay, clear contracting, appropriate crediting and greater inclusion and accessibility for freelance workers.
The resources were shaped by insights from more than 5,000 cultural freelancers who participated in the 2024 Cultural Freelancers Study. The accompanying Resources Directory will be updated regularly with new employment, funding and training opportunities.
The initiative forms part of Arts Council England’s wider commitment to supporting individual practitioners, including plans for a new Service for Individuals, which is expected to begin rolling out in 2027/28.
Darren Henley, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, said: “Creative professionals are the hearts and minds that power the arts, museums and libraries across England. So it’s vital that we invest in their future. These new tools provide support both for individuals and for the organisations that work with them. Our sector is strongest when we all work together, so I hope that these new resources will play a part in building a fair and sustainable cultural sector where everyone belongs and has the opportunity to flourish.”
Yasmin Khan, Director of Individual Practitioners, said: “The Freelancers’ Handbook and Resources Directory are a direct response to what cultural freelancers told us they need. Supporting individual practitioners is central to our work, and this is a key step in strengthening how we champion and empower freelancers as a vital part of our cultural sector.
“We know this work is not finished. The handbook and directory are living resources that will continue to evolve. We encourage freelancers and organisations to engage with them, share their experiences, and come to us with suggested improvements to them over time for the benefit of the whole sector and the public it serves.
“We’re hugely grateful to everyone involved including the writer, contributors, designers, and the thousands of freelancers whose voices and experiences have shaped this work.”
Rachel Mapplebeck, Cultural Consultant, and Co-Editor and Writer of the Freelancers’ Handbook, said: “Freelancers keep the cultural sector running, yet too often the guidance meant for them is written from the sidelines. The new Freelancers’ Handbook is different: it’s shaped by freelancers’ own experiences, and it gives honest information and guidance about the realities of fair pay, contracts, wellbeing, building a sustainable career and more. As a freelancer myself, I understand how invaluable this practical advice will be. I hope the Freelancers’ Handbook helps people across the cultural sector – both freelancers and the organisations they work with – feel more informed, supported and confident in how they work.”
Leila d’Aronville, Founder of North East Cultural Freelancers and newly appointed Freelance Champion for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: “Freelancers are the creative backbone of our cultural sector, yet too often they are expected to navigate complex systems, shifting opportunities, and fragmented information entirely on their own. This handbook arrives at exactly the right moment! A single, trusted place where freelancers can find the networks, funding routes, guidance and peer insight that usually take hours of searching across multiple platforms. And that is when they know where to look.
In a landscape where many juggle several projects at once, access to clear, reliable information isn’t a luxury, it is essential support. By bringing together knowledge from across the freelance ecology, this handbook helps freelancers feel less isolated, more connected, and better equipped to thrive.”
More information can be found here.
