Equal Opportunities, Diversity & Inclusion Policy

NOCTURN Creative Limited
Last updated: January 2026

1. Purpose and commitment

NOCTURN Creative Ltd is a dance and digital arts organisation working at the intersection of contemporary performance, technology and community storytelling. Equality of opportunity and the active inclusion of voices that have historically been underrepresented in the arts are central to how we work — they shape who we engage, what we make, and the conditions we set for the people we work with.

This policy sets out our commitments to those we employ or engage on a freelance basis, to the participants and audiences who shape our work, and to the partners and suppliers we collaborate with. It is intended to be a living document, reviewed annually and revised in response to what we learn.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

  • All Directors, employees, freelance artists, technicians and producers engaged by NOCTURN Creative Ltd

  • Participants, contributors and audiences for NOCTURN’s projects and programmes

  • Partner organisations, suppliers and collaborators with whom we work

3. Legal framework

NOCTURN operates within the Equality Act 2010, which protects against discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. We treat these protections as a minimum threshold and seek to go further wherever our resources and influence allow.

4. Recruitment and engagement of staff and artists

NOCTURN’s recruitment and freelance engagement processes are designed to be open, fair and accessible:

  • Roles are advertised publicly wherever practical, and we make particular effort to circulate opportunities through networks that reach artists from communities historically underrepresented in dance and digital arts.

  • Selection is based on relevant skills, experience and creative fit — not on personal characteristics protected under the Equality Act 2010.

  • Application processes are kept proportionate, with flexibility on format where this supports accessibility (for example, accepting video applications or holding conversations in place of written submissions).

  • We commit to acknowledging applications and providing feedback wherever reasonably possible.

5. Pay, conditions and Fair Work

NOCTURN is committed to fair pay and working conditions in line with Fair Work First principles. In practice this means:

  • Pay rates are set at or above sector minimums published by the relevant industry bodies, including ITC/Equity for performers, lead artists and choreographers; the Musicians’ Union for composers and musicians; and the a-n Artists Union (AUE) for visual artists.

  • Contracts and engagement letters clearly set out scope, duration, deliverables and rates of pay before work begins.

  • We do not use zero-hours contracts.

  • We support flexible working arrangements where this allows artists to balance commissioned work with caring responsibilities, ongoing artistic practice, or access needs.

  • Travel and subsistence are reimbursed at HMRC approved rates.

  • Channels for voice are kept open: we welcome challenge and feedback from freelance team members about how a project is being run.

6. A safe and respectful working environment

NOCTURN does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, bullying or victimisation in any form. We expect everyone we work with — staff, freelance artists, partners and participants — to treat one another with dignity and respect.

Where our projects involve intimate, embodied or emotionally exposing material, we engage specialist support to protect everyone in the room. This includes Intimacy Directors for work involving physical closeness, and partnerships with safeguarding specialists (such as Switchboard) for projects engaging participants who may have experienced minority stress, marginalisation or vulnerability.

7. Participants and audiences

The communities NOCTURN engages — including LGBTQ+ people, older participants, those who have experienced minority stress, and people in places less well served by mainstream arts provision — are central to the work we make. We commit to:

  • Engaging participants from genuinely diverse backgrounds, including explicit inclusion of trans and non-binary people in all participatory work that addresses queer experience.

  • Building access provision into project budgets from the start, not as an afterthought — including captioning, BSL interpretation where relevant, sensory accommodations, and personal access cost support where these are needed by participants or team members.

  • Listening to participants about what they need, and being honest about what we can and cannot offer.

  • Using language in our communications and creative work that is respectful, current and chosen by the communities we work with.

8. Partners and suppliers

Where we have meaningful choice, NOCTURN works with partners and suppliers whose values align with this policy. We are clear with partners and commissioners about our expectations on fair pay, dignity, safeguarding and inclusion, and we accept the same expectations placed on us.

9. Responsibilities

Overall responsibility for this policy rests with NOCTURN’s Artistic Director/Director of Nocturn Creative Limited.

Day-to-day responsibility for embedding it across projects sits with the Project Lead or Producer for each piece of work. All NOCTURN team members — employed and freelance — are responsible for upholding it in their own conduct and for raising concerns when they arise.

10. Concerns and complaints

NOCTURN Creative Ltd is a sole-director organisation. We are honest about the limits this places on internal complaints handling, and provide clear external routes for anyone who has a concern.

Anyone — staff, freelance team member, participant, audience member, partner — who has a concern about how this policy is being upheld may raise it through any of the following channels:

Directly with the Artistic Director, John Darvell, where the concern is one that can be resolved through conversation

Through their trade union representative, where they are a member (Equity, the Musicians' Union, BECTU, a-n AUE)

Through ACAS for employment or freelance engagement disputes (acas.org.uk)

Through the project's safeguarding partner where one is in place — for example Switchboard for projects engaging LGBTQ+ participants, or OurStory Scotland where they are co-delivering work

Through the host venue's safeguarding lead, for concerns arising during activity at a partner venue

Through the Equality and Human Rights Commission for concerns relating to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 (equalityhumanrights.com)

For concerns relating to work funded by Creative Scotland, through Creative Scotland's complaints process

Where a concern is about the Artistic Director personally, the complainant is encouraged to raise it through one of the external routes above. NOCTURN commits to engage in good faith with any external process that arises, including providing relevant documentation, attending meetings, and accepting findings.

Concerns raised directly with NOCTURN will be acknowledged within five working days, taken seriously, and addressed proportionately and confidentially.

11. Monitoring and review

NOCTURN reviews this policy annually, drawing on:

Reflection from completed projects, including feedback from participants and freelance team members.

Sector guidance, including Creative Scotland’s Equalities, Diversity and Inclusion expectations and updates from peer organisations.

Changes in equalities legislation and case law.

Where projects involve substantial participant engagement, we will gather feedback on inclusion, access and experience as part of evaluation, and use that learning to revise this policy and our practices.

Signed on behalf of NOCTURN Creative Ltd:

John Darvell

Artistic Director and Founder

NOCTURN Creative Ltd

Date: 01/01/2026