Woeful rates

In the April issue of the Freelance, day rates for shifts on periodicals of between £120 and £160 are not labelled as below par. In my view, they are unacceptably low. I was getting between £100 and £120 over 20 years ago for subbing and/or layout shifts on various periodicals. I consider that, taking into account overheads, etc, a freelance doing casual shifts needs to earn in three working days roughly what a full-time employee is paid per week if he/she is to net a comparable sum.

© Fraternally, Maurice Jay
Life Member

The editor writes:

• We found two rates that fit your description and are below £160 and revised their scoring. We initially rely on people's self-scoring - and it's a sad reflection on the state of the industry that people aren't rating these, er, rates as poor... Please treat this response as appearing with your letter in the Journalist.

The Rate for the Job