APA rates
APA crew rates
The current APA recommended rate for UK commercial crew, and when it next changes. These are the figures TimeMachine applies to your days.
On the September 2025 APA card, a Director of Photography (DoP) has a basic day rate band of £908 to £1,516; the September 2026 card raises the maximum to £1,561 from 1 September 2026.
A Gaffer’s basic day rate on the September 2025 APA card has a maximum of £568, rising to £585 on the September 2026 card from 1 September 2026.
The September 2025 APA card gives a Lighting Technician (spark) a maximum basic day rate of £444; from 1 September 2026 the September 2026 card raises it to £457.
A 1st Assistant Director’s basic day rate has a maximum of £785 on the September 2025 APA card, and £809 on the September 2026 card from 1 September 2026.
A Camera Operator’s basic day rate band on the September 2025 APA card runs from £514 to £637; the September 2026 card raises the maximum to £656 from 1 September 2026.
For a Sound Mixer (sound recordist), the September 2025 APA card gives a basic day rate band of £525 to £649, with the maximum rising to £668 on the September 2026 card from 1 September 2026.
The card gives a minimum and a maximum for most grades, and crew negotiate within that band. The table below shows the maximum for every one of the 65 roles, on both cards.
These figures are from the publicly available APA Recommended Crew Terms, September 2025 and September 2026 cards. TimeMachine is an independent tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Advertising Producers Association (APA).
Which card is current
The card in force is the APA Recommended Crew Terms, September 2025. It runs until 31 August 2026. The next card, September 2026, takes effect on 1 September 2026. The APA reviews and republishes the rates once a year, always from 1 September.
From day rate to hourly rate
Two numbers drive everything. Your basic day rate is what you agree with production. Your basic hourly rate is exactly one tenth of it, not one eleventh, even though a basic day is eleven hours. Double time is twice the hourly rate, triple is three times it, and overtime is the hourly rate multiplied by a coefficient. Once the day rate is set, every other figure follows from it. There is more on this in how APA rates actually work.
The three overtime grades
Each role sits in one of three overtime grades, and the grade sets the multiplier: time and a half, time and a quarter, or flat time with no uplift. The card states which grade each role is in, and as a rule the higher the day rate, the lower the multiplier. There is more on how the grades work in how APA overtime actually works. Directors and producers have no overtime grade at all.
The rate table
Both cards are shown, so you can see what changes. The September 2026 column takes effect on 1 September 2026.
| Department | Role | Sept 2025 | Sept 2026 | Overtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direction & Production | Director | £933 | £961 | none |
| Direction & Production | Producer | £933 | £961 | none |
| Direction & Production | Production Manager | £609 | £627 | × 1 |
| Direction & Production | Production Assistant | £428 | £441 | × 1 |
| Direction & Production | Production Runner | £238 | £245 | × 1 |
| Assistant Directors | 1st AD | £785 | £809 | × 1 |
| Assistant Directors | 2nd AD | £435 | £448 | × 1.5 |
| Assistant Directors | 3rd AD | £326 | £336 | × 1.5 |
| Assistant Directors | Floor Runner / AD Trainee | £238 | £245 | × 1 |
| Script Supervisor | Script Supervisorcontinuity | £558 | £575 | × 1.25 |
| Locations | Location Manager | £580 | £597 | × 1.25 |
| Camera | DoPDirector of Photography, DP | £1516 | £1561 | × 1 |
| Camera | Camera Operator | £637 | £656 | × 1.25 |
| Camera | Focus Puller (1st AC) | £558 | £575 | × 1.25 |
| Camera | Clapper Loader (2nd AC) | £435 | £448 | × 1.5 |
| Camera | DITdigital imaging technician | £512 | £527 | × 1.25 |
| Camera | Senior Video Operator | £503 | £518 | × 1.25 |
| Camera | Video Operator | £391 | £403 | × 1.5 |
| Grip | Key Grip | £558 | £575 | × 1.25 |
| Grip | Non-Key Grip | £511 | £526 | × 1.25 |
| Lighting | Gaffer | £568 | £585 | × 1.25 |
| Lighting | Best Boy† | £512 | £527 | × 1.25 |
| Lighting | Desk Op | £512 | £527 | × 1.25 |
| Lighting | Lighting Technicianspark | £444 | £457 | × 1.5 |
| Lighting | Trainee† | £250 | £250 | × 1.5 |
| Rigging | Advanced Rigger | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Rigging | Basic Rigger | £345 | £355 | × 1.5 |
| SFX | SFX Supervisorspecial effects supervisor | £1516 | £1561 | × 1 |
| SFX | Sr. SFX Technician | £649 | £668 | × 1.25 |
| SFX | SFX Technician | £519 | £535 | × 1.25 |
| SFX | SFX Assistant | £435 | £448 | × 1.5 |
| SFX | Model Animator | £796 | £820 | × 1 |
| SFX | Model Animator Asst | £558 | £575 | × 1.25 |
| Art Dept | Art Director | £852 | £878 | × 1 |
| Art Dept | Asst. Art Director | £568 | £585 | × 1.25 |
| Art Dept | Stylist | £628 | £647 | × 1.25 |
| Art Dept | Props Buyer | £568 | £585 | × 1.25 |
| Art Dept | Master Propsprops master | £506 | £521 | × 1.25 |
| Art Dept | Props | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Art Dept | Props Assistant | £310 | £319 | × 1.5 |
| Art Dept | Scenic Artist | £714 | £735 | × 1 |
| Art Dept | Home Economist | £649 | £668 | × 1.25 |
| Construction | Construction Manager | £532 | £548 | × 1.25 |
| Construction | Master Painter | £497 | £512 | × 1.25 |
| Construction | Painter | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Construction | Master Carpenter | £497 | £512 | × 1.25 |
| Construction | Carpenter | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Construction | Master Plasterer | £497 | £512 | × 1.25 |
| Construction | Plasterer | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Construction | Standby Construction | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Construction | Stage Hand | £359 | £370 | × 1.5 |
| Construction | Labourer | £299 | £308 | × 1.5 |
| Sound | Sound Mixersound recordist | £649 | £668 | × 1.25 |
| Sound | Boom Operator | £519 | £535 | × 1.25 |
| Sound | Sound Maintenance | £423 | £436 | × 1.5 |
| Sound | Sound Assistant | £391 | £403 | × 1.5 |
| Costume | Costume Designer | £674 | £694 | × 1.25 |
| Costume | Wardrobe Buyer | £674 | £694 | × 1.25 |
| Costume | Wardrobe | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Hair & Makeup | Chief Make Up Artist | £649 | £668 | × 1.25 |
| Hair & Makeup | Make Up | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Hair & Makeup | Chief Hair Designer | £649 | £668 | × 1.25 |
| Hair & Makeup | Hairdresser | £386 | £398 | × 1.5 |
| Other | Driver | £299 | £308 | × 1.5 |
| Other | Covid Supervisor | £435 | £448 | × 1.5 |
| No roles match. Try a different search, or clear the filter. | ||||
The overtime column shows each role's standard coefficient. Directors and producers have no overtime. Production managers, assistants and runners are shown at × 1, but their overtime is not a single multiplier: it is your basic hourly rate on a weekday, one and a half times it on a Saturday, and twice it on a Sunday or bank holiday.
Where the figures come from
Almost every row here is the APA card rate. Two are marked † because they are not: Best Boy and Lighting Trainee are TimeMachine defaults, not card grades. Best Boy's figure matches the card's Programmable Lighting Desk Op grade exactly on both cards, £512 then £527, and the card has no separate Best Boy grade. Lighting Trainee is not an APA grade at all, and its £250 is a TimeMachine default. Rigging is a third case, just below: those rows show the card rate, but the app applies the higher Bectu figures.
Rigging
The two rigging rows in the table above are the APA card figures, both Grade I, and they rise with the 2026 card like the rest. Riggers on commercials generally work to the higher Bectu rate instead, and that is what TimeMachine applies: Master Rigger £675, Advanced Rigger £515 and Standby Rigger £515. Mind the overlap in names: an Advanced Rigger on the card is the rate shown above, but on Bectu an Advanced Rigger is £515, and it is the Bectu figure the app uses.
For the full card and anything not shown, go to the APA's published Recommended Crew Terms. TimeMachine calculates your working day automatically from your call, lunch and wrap using these rates, applying overtime and break penalties as the card sets them.
TimeMachine is an independent tool for UK film and television crew. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to the Advertising Producers Association (APA). It references the publicly available APA Recommended Crew Terms as a rate reference only. The rigging figures the app applies are Bectu rates, not the APA card, as explained above. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.