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Equity and Society of London Theatre (SOLT) have reached a negotiated agreement on pay and conditions for the West End following a period of intense talks. Equity members will vote on whether to accept or reject the offer in an online ballot which opens today (Monday 13 July) with the result due on Wednesday 29 July. Equity is recommending acceptance.
The offer is a three-year deal, spanning April 2026 – April 2029. Equity members wanted to achieve improvements in both pay and work-life balance, and this offer provides significant enhancements in both areas.
On pay, the offer provides an increase of at least 13.5% to minimum rates over the period (Year 1: 6%; Year 2: 5%; Year 3: inflation +0.5%). There are also new payments for responsibilities of fight captains and social media reps, and increased stage management differentials.
On work-life balance and related working conditions, the offer provides more holiday (up by two days by year 3 from 28 to 30 days), more maternity, adoption and paternity paid leave, more paid leave if injured on a show, inclusive wigs, hair and make-up provision, more accessible casting and auditions, and progress towards a 5-day week in rehearsals.
The offer follows an indicative ballot of Equity members, in which 98% said they were willing to take industrial action to achieve better pay and conditions. Intense negotiations followed the ballot result, with a vastly improved offer secured which now addresses many of the areas previously untouched, along with improvements to pay. The new offer is being recommended by Equity, meaning a statutory ballot for strike action is very unlikely, unless members reject the offer.
Around 3,000 Equity members will get a vote on the offer, including performers and stage management currently working on the West End and also those who have worked on the West End in the past three years (since the agreement was last negotiated).
