Variation of terms | Commissions | Rejection of Commissioned Contributions | Fees | Payment | Expenses | Copyright terms | Joint contributions | Moral rights and author credits | Definitions | Delivery of contributions | Insurance | Safety | Confidentiality | Warranties | Indemnity | Status of Contributors and Suppliers as Independent Contractors | Charitable donations | Disputes | New contributors | Release forms | Revision history
These Terms and Conditions for the Supply of Contributions to Guardian News & Media (aka the Freelance Charter), including any documents herein referred to (together “Agreement”), shall:
a) apply to all freelance Contributions provided by you to Guardian News and Media Ltd (“GNM”, “we”, “us”), which party for the purposes of this Agreement shall include authorised commissioning agents acting for and on behalf of GNM (“agents”), for use, publication and transmission in the Licensed Products; and
b) shall prevail over any other terms and conditions, whether written or oral, unless otherwise agreed in writing between you and GNM.
Please read these terms carefully. You shall be legally bound by these terms when you agree to supply to GNM content that is covered within their scope. You are advised to print off and keep a paper copy of these terms.
Some types of contributions, such as book extracts and user-generated content, have specific terms and conditions and these can be viewed here.
Variation of terms
We accept that the standard terms we seek in freelance Contributions may not always be appropriate, for example, if a Contribution has been previously published elsewhere or you have syndication arrangements that potentially conflict with our own. For the purposes of clarity to both parties, any variation of our terms must be agreed prior to publication and shall be subject to the approval of the Managing Editor or his/her nominees.
Please note there is no obligation for freelances to accept our standard terms and conditions nor for us to accept Contributions other than on our standard terms and conditions.
If you wish to discuss a variation of the terms and conditions or you have any other queries, please contact our Rights Department (rights@theguardian.com; tel. 0203 353 4575). For commissions agreed with agents, please speak in the first instance to the agent.
Commissions
At the time of commissioning or ordering in your Contribution, you and the relevant editor should agree terms, including the fee to be paid (it is acknowledged that not all content suppliers shall seek a fee for Contributions), allowable expenses, the deadline and the rights acquired. You should also agree on the main points to be covered in your Contribution, and any special requirements.
A verbal agreement to commission or deliver content is sufficient in itself. We will confirm the terms in writing either by email or by letter. Our written confirmation will contain a unique reference number or project code which you should include with your Contribution (see Delivery of contributions below) and on all correspondence and invoices (where these are required – see Payment below).
Rejection of Commissioned Contributions
If a Commissioned Contribution is rejected you should be told quickly: within two weeks for features, or the same day for news items. If you don’t hear anything, feel free to ask. Editors should not delay unreasonably or deny you the chance to offer an unwanted Commissioned Contribution elsewhere.
Where a fee was agreed, we shall pay this in full for a Commissioned Contribution that is not used, except where it fails substantially to meet the requirements agreed at the time it was commissioned. The spike fee for a Commissioned Contribution we reject usually will be not less than 50% of the agreed commission fee.
Please note that unless otherwise agreed we reserve all of the rights set out in our standard Copyright terms below in spiked Commissioned Contributions.
Fees
Please note that fees: (a) are quoted in GBP; (b) shall apply to all Licensed Products unless you were commissioned on a no-fee basis; and (c) are subject to variations that may be applied by our editorial offices in your local territory.
Commissioned written Contributions
Wordage rate: 310.68 per 1,000 words and pro-rated thereafter
Regional news agencies
Click here for rates for written Contributions from regional news agencies.
Blog posts
Commissioned or “Pick of the day”: 90.00
Commissioned pictures
Day rates: 190.00 (0-4 hours); 275.00 (4 hrs +)
Speculative pictures
News and sport images submitted on a speculative basis and reproduced the same day:
80.00 per image reproduced to a size of 5.00 sq ins
150.00 per image reproduced to a size greater than 5.00 sq ins
Stock Imagery
Reproduction fees for Licensed Products (based on the largest published size of the image in square inches taking into account all editions of one single issue of the relevant Licensed Product).
000.00 - 005.00: 61.89
005.01 - 020.00: 71.18
020.01 - 030.00: 81.85
030.01 - 050.00: 94.12
050.01 - 080.00: 108.24
080.01 - 108.00: 124.49
108.01 - 216.00: 161.83
216.01 - 432.00: 210.39
Eyewitness, The Big Picture: Negotiable
Galleries & Sideshows*: 100.00
Flash fee (use of image in video: 30.00
* The fee of GBP 100.00 is an inclusive fee for all images in galleries or slideshows from a single supplier. Where images are sourced from multiple suppliers, the applicable reproduction fee above shall be payable on each image to a maximum of GBP 100.00 per supplier, i.e. if a supplier provides more than one image in a multi-sourced gallery or slideshow then a total fee of GBP 100.00 shall be payable to that supplier.
Commissioned illustrations and artwork
Rates apply to black & white or colour illustrations and artwork
Guardian Letters page: 151.00
Guardian Comment & Debate: 312.00
Guardian Leader cartoon: 450.00
Guardian Sport illustration: 232.00
Observer quarter page: 258.00
Observer section cover: 374.00
Multimedia
For details of multimedia rates click here.
Crosswords
Genius: 209.00
Prize: 177.00
Cryptic: 167.00
Quiptic: 167.00
Quick: 35.00
Payment
Click here for details of GNM terms of payment to contributors and content suppliers.
For the avoidance of doubt, unless otherwise agreed payment shall be made within 30 days of publication of your Contribution.
Expenses
Unless otherwise agreed, you will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses wholly and necessarily incurred in the preparation and delivery of Contributions we or our agents have commissioned or you are contracted to provide. If your Contribution has not been commissioned by us or our agents but is offered to us for publication, any expenses you have incurred in relation to it will be payable at the discretion of the editor who accepts your Contribution for publication.
All expense claims are subject to vetting and approval. Settlement of claims shall be conditional upon:
a) submission of a properly itemised claim with copies of all receipts attached; and
b) receipt of claims by GNM or our agents no later than one calendar month following the date on which the expenses were incurred; and
c) attachment of your reference number or project code to all expense claims.
Where a car mileage payment is agreed this is paid at the staff mileage rate, or a proportion where an assignment is shared with other publishers.
Expenses for Contributions directly commissioned by GNM should be sent to your commissioning editor, either by email or by post to Guardian News & Media Ltd, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU.
For all payment of expenses in respect of Contributions commissioned by our agents, please follow instructions provided by the relevant agent.
Copyright terms
Standard terms for written Contributions
Standard terms for picture, illustration and artwork Contributions
Standard terms for audio, video and audiovisual Contributions
Joint Contributions
Subject to any agreement to the contrary, the copyright status of Contributions created, produced and/or undertaken jointly by staff employed by us and freelance(s) and/or news and picture agencies engaged by us shall be deemed a joint work between us and the respective freelance(s) and/or said agencies, for example jointly written articles. The copyright terms of the non-staff element shall be subject to the above Copyright terms.
Moral rights and author credits
All Contributions are subject to the Moral Rights provisions of the UK Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 as amended from time to time.
Notwithstanding these provisions, GNM endeavours to assert on behalf of its contributors their right to be identified as the author of their Contribution.
Pictures
Click here for our picture crediting policy.
Video
Unless otherwise agreed, contributors shall be credited in the credits section of the relevant video page.
Definitions
“Commissioned Contribution” means material created by you on the basis of a commission from us for transmission, publication or licensing by us. For the avoidance of doubt, in relation to pictures and video “Commissioned Contribution” includes the whole shoot and all negatives, transparencies, digital pictures, unused footage and other original material produced by the contributor during and/or as a result of the shoot.
“Contribution” means material contributed to us - whether as a Commissioned Contribution or otherwise ordered in by or offered to us for publication, transmission or licensing by us. Contributions may appear in whole or in part in any size in any part of the Licensed Products in all sections, magazines and programmes thereof and supplements thereto including special or sponsored supplements without limitation on inside pages, front pages and covers, section covers and supplement covers, in galleries, individually or in sequence, in colour or in black and white.
An “edition” means any print, electronic, audiovisual or digital version or any regional, national or international variation of a single issue of a Licensed Product and a “single issue” means each day’s, week’s, month’s or year’s (as applicable) new version of each Licensed Product.
“External Archives” means both subscription and publicly available databases such as Lexis-Nexis and the Houses of Parliament. These institutions offer access for research purposes to material from many sources including print publications. They are usually accessible on-line but also via platforms such as CD-ROM.
“Guardian Digital Network” means our digital network accessed via browsers and/or apps or any other means on any device or equipment including but not limited to desktop computers, PDAs, mobile phones and tablet devices and any other connected devices, and incorporating www.theguardian.com or any affiliate or successor websites, digital/IPTV television, RSS feeds, GNM social media presences, and any other website, app, digital product, network or channel bearing our trademarks or brands.
“Licensed Products” means the following publications and products in their various languages made available by us on a free-to-consumer or charged for basis: all formats and editions (including but not limited to print, electronic, audio, audiovisual and digital products) of the Guardian, the Guardian International, the Observer, the Observer International, the Guardian Weekly, the Guardian Digital Network, Guardian Professional products and services, all editions (including printed, electronic and audio editions) of Guardian & Observer books, and all other publications and products made available by us or licensed by us anywhere in the world.
In the case of Contributions commissioned or ordered in by GNM or their appointed agents for the purposes of commercial editorial products, including but not limited to sponsored supplements and advertorials, Licensed Products shall include all media wholly-owned by or bearing the trademarks or brands of GNM’s commercial client and/or its official social media presences.
“Newspaper Licensing Agency” (aka the NLA) is a limited company whose shareholders consist of eight national newspaper publishers. It was set up in 1996 to offer anyone - sole traders, companies, educational institutions and any other body - a one-stop shop for a licence to photocopy, digitally copy or transmit cuttings of the UK’s national news media and many regional and foreign titles, too. It has reciprocal relationships with reprographic rights organisations overseas.
“Syndication” means the direct or indirect re-licensing to third parties in English and other languages of material we have acquired for such purpose and/or published or broadcast in the Licensed Products and “syndicate” shall be construed accordingly. Under our syndication agreements, clients are permitted to integrate our content into their own platforms and products for agreed purposes which may include commercial, non-editorial purposes. Our clients are worldwide and include by way of example the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post, MSN and users of the Guardian Open Platform. Revenues can be but are not limited to subscription fees and advertising share and where they can be attributed to individual items of content contributors shall receive a share of such revenues on a net basis.
“Spot Sales” means the sale or licence to third parties in English and other languages of individual items of content we have acquired for such purpose and/or published or broadcast in the Licensed Products. We usually negotiate a licence fee for such reproduction, the licence being for agreed purposes which may include commercial, non-editorial purposes, and contributors normally receive a share of net receipts.
“Stock Imagery” means pictures, illustrations and artwork that are (i) submitted to us on or after 1 September 2009 and are not Commissioned Contributions of pictures; or (ii) retrieved from existing internal or external collections and archives, and may have been used, published or transmitted, either by us or by another publisher, on occasions prior to the relevant use in our Licensed Products.
Delivery of contributions
All Contributions should be filed electronically. Delivery instructions are set out below and in our confirmations. If electronic delivery is likely to be impractical, you should mention this to your commissioning editor.
Illustration and artwork Contributions
For all Contributions commissioned by our agents, please follow instructions provided by the relevant agent.
Insurance
Details of our insurance cover for freelances working abroad on commissioned assignments are available on request from the Company Secretary in our Manchester office. The Company Secretary must be informed if you are travelling to a war zone (or other high-risk assignment) on our behalf. Your commissioning editor should normally do this for you.
Safety
It is not our intention to expose freelances to dangerous assignments without appropriate safety training and insurance cover. If you have any concerns in this area you should consult the Managing Editor or his/her nominees before starting the assignment.
Confidentiality
You undertake:
a) to treat confidentially all documents and all technical, commercial, financial and other information which is obtained from GNM in connection with this Agreement or with the negotiations leading up to it; and
b) not to disclose to any person, without the previous written consent of GNM, the existence of any term of this Agreement (other than terms already set out in the public domain by GNM), or the existence of any information about any dispute or disagreement between the parties; and
c) to disclose such documents and information to third parties only so far as it is necessary:
i) for the performance of this Agreement; and/or
ii) to your professional advisers; and/or
iii) as required by law.
The obligations of confidentiality set out above shall not apply to any documents or information which you can show:
a) at the time of their acquisition were in, or at a later date have come into, the public domain, other than following a breach of this clause; or
b) you knew prior to first disclosure to you by GNM; or
c) you received independently from a third party with the full right to disclose.
Warranties
You hereby represent, warrant and undertake that:
a) You shall not at any time do anything to bring GNM’s brands, trademarks or reputation into disrepute; and
b) You are entitled to enter into this Agreement and you are not bound by any third party restriction not to do so, including, but not limited to, the right and authority to license the intellectual property rights in and the use of your Contribution on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement; and
c) Your Contribution shall be original and not copied wholly or materially from any other source, nor contain defamatory statements nor otherwise breach the privacy, confidentiality or other statutory or common law rights of any third-party; and
d) You shall observe the highest ethical standards in providing your Contribution under this Agreement as part of which you shall be expected: i) to abide by the Press Complaints Commission’s Editor’s Code of Practice; and ii) have full regard for GNM’s own Editorial Code; and iii) to co-operate fully in the event of a complaint about your Contribution to the Press Complaints Commission or GNM’s internal ombudsman; and iv) to inform GNM immediately of any actual or potential conflict of interest arising from any engagement or contribution or service You undertake for GNM.
Indemnity
GNM shall indemnify you against any claims of or liability to any third party in respect of defamation on the same basis as staff journalists PROVIDED THAT:
a. no gross misconduct or negligence can be attributed to you relating to the relevant material; and
b. you co-operate fully with GNM in its response to the claim; and
c. you do not engage in discussions with a complainant without GNM’s prior agreement.
Status of Contributors and Suppliers as Independent Contractors
You undertake any and all engagements under this Agreement as an independent contractor and on this basis a) your agreement to provide Contributions to GNM shall not be interpreted or construed to create an association, agency, joint venture, partnership or employer-employee relationship between you and us or to impose any liability attributable to such a relationship upon either party, including but not limited to GNM’s Sickness Policy and paid leave; and b) you agree that you shall work from your own premises in providing services to GNM and shall provide all the necessary equipment and materials to enable you to fulfil the terms of your engagement.
For the avoidance of doubt, you are not a “worker” as defined under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (as amended from time to time), and therefore you acknowledge that the provisions in those regulations relating to hours of work, rest breaks and annual leave do not apply to you.
You confirm for the purposes of the Taxes Acts, or such other appropriate legislation, that you are a self-employed person in business in your own right and you shall be responsible for all tax liabilities arising in respect of your engagement under this Agreement, and shall yourself account to the appropriate authorities for all tax, National Insurance or similar contributions payable in respect of the provision of your services to GNM under this Agreement. You undertake to advise GNM immediately in writing in the event that your self-employed status is challenged by HM Revenue & Customs or any other taxing authority.
In the event that GNM or any of its holding, subsidiary, associated or group companies (“Group”) becomes liable to account to HM Revenue & Customs or any other taxing authority anywhere in the world for any income tax, employee national insurance or any other deduction or withholding required to be made by law (including any interest and/or penalties thereon) arising in respect of payments made or to be made to you, you undertake and agree to indemnify and hold harmless GNM and/or the Group against such tax and national insurance and shall, at the written request of GNM, immediately pay GNM an amount equal to any tax and national insurance paid or payable by GNM or any other company in the Group to HM Revenue & Customs or any other taxing authority. GNM shall be entitled to set off an amount equal to any tax and national insurance or any other deduction or withholding paid by GNM or another Group company to HM Revenue & Customs or any other taxing authority against any monies otherwise payable to you.
For the purpose of these clauses, “independent contractor” shall be interpreted (as appropriate) to include all engagements made with GNM via a company or limited company. In such event, the rights of indemnity and disclosure equally shall apply.
Charitable donations
In order to comply with HMRC regulations, GNM’s policy regarding charitable donations of contributor fees is as follows:
a) contributors may receive fees themselves and make their own direct donation to a charity of their choice; or
b) contributors may request GNM to make a donation on their behalf to GNM’s nominated charity, currently the Gumbi Education Fund. Other charities may be added in the future.
Disputes
In the event of a dispute between an individual freelance and us, a joint panel, comprising where appropriate either the NUJ General Secretary or another and the Managing Editor (or their nominees), will attempt to resolve the matter amicably.
New contributors
If you want to offer us a Contribution you should consider which section of the newspapers or websites is most likely to be interested. Contact the commissioning editor for this section - ideally by phone or email - and briefly outline your idea.
The commissioning editor may offer to “take a look” at your proposed Contribution. This means that you are invited to submit it speculatively and you will be paid only if your Contribution is published.
Unless you are already an established contributor, it is most unlikely that the editor will “order” or commission a Contribution from you.
Please do not send pictures or artwork unless we request them. We do not accept responsibility for loss of unsolicited prints, transparencies, etc.
Contributions should be sent to us electronically. Other methods are possible - but only in exceptional circumstances.
We publish Contributions from all freelances on our standard copyright terms and payment is at our normal rates, unless agreed otherwise before publication. Please note that the copyright and payment terms are different for Commissioned Contributions.
Release forms
Click here for GNM’s release form containing our terms and conditions for restricted material.
This form may only be used with the authority of GNM’s Rights Department which can be contacted at rights@theguardian.com or on 020 7713 4575.
Revision history
The copyright terms of the original Freelance Charter were agreed at a Committee of Inquiry attended by Guardian News & Media Ltd, the National Union of Journalists and other interested parties in February 1999 and pertained to written contributions.
The Freelance Charter, subject to any other agreement to the contrary, was incorporated into GNM’s freelance contracts and commissions for written contributions effective 01 April 1999. Copyright terms for other content formats have been added since this date.
Click here to view all revision history relating to the Freelance Charter.
