Children’s acting agency ‘may have broken the law’

Martin Shipton

A prominent children’s acting agency based in Swansea, which has helped young performers clinch roles in Harry Potter and Hunger Games, could have broken UK agency law by effectively charging actors training fees for the opportunity to secure representation, it has been alleged.

In May the entertainment industry’s online news website Deadline published an investigation into areas of concern relating to Mark Jermin Management (MJM) and the Mark Jermin Stage School (MJSS), both of which are owned and operated by Jermin.

The school admitted to Deadline that it had mishandled some self-tape auditions and misstated its power to cast children in major productions.

Now Deadline has revealed how MJM encouraged multiple young people to attend paid-for acting classes, provided by its sister company MJSS, if they wished to be represented by the agency.

The Deadline story states: “UK law prohibits entertainment agencies from charging upfront fees for representing their clients. Agencies are only permitted to make money by charging a commission on the fees their clients earn from acting work. Agency law experts said Deadline’s findings raised questions about whether MJM breached these regulations.”

A spokesperson for Jermin strongly denied that representation had “ever been contingent upon the purchase of training services.” Jermin declined to comment on specific examples, with his lawyer stating that it was “impossible” for him to address the allegations because Deadline had refused to hand over copies of the original emails. Deadline did not disclose the original messages for source protection reasons.

Since its investigation was published in May, Deadline has obtained further evidence of at least two other instances of self-tape audition issues. This includes an incident in January, when a disabled actor felt misled by MJM after being asked to record a self-tape audition and post about it on social media, even though he had not been called to audition by the casting team.

Through his attorney, Jermin admitted to mistakes in his company’s dealings with the disabled actor. “We recognise that further concerns and allegations have been raised following recent reporting and we take them extremely seriously,” Jermin’s spokesperson added. “However, we deny unequivocally allegations of deliberate wrongdoing, unlawful conduct or systemic misconduct.”

Jermin has engaged an external consultant to review processes at MJM and MJSS with a view to making improvements. Jermin’s lawyer declined to identify the consultancy or its terms of reference.

Deadline has obtained emails and messages spanning a four-year period from January 2021 to October 2025 in which MJM employees, including Jermin himself, told individuals enquiring about representation that the agency prefers to take on new talent through acting classes.

UK law generally prohibits agencies like MJM from charging upfront fees and prevents them from making the provision of representation conditional upon the use of other services, such as acting classes.

The messages show that MJM repeatedly told students and parents that it “scouts” new clients from lessons. On other occasions, the company was more direct. In one 2023 email, an MJM representative told a parent that the company “only represents” young actors “who regularly train and attend our classes.” Separately, in a 2022 WhatsApp message, Jermin stated that actors “need” to attend a course to be considered for MJM’s new voice work division.

Deadline reported how it has also received testimony from a dozen current and former Mark Jermin Stage School students/parents, who said it was their understanding that they needed to pay for lessons to be considered for representation. “If you weren’t in the classes, there was no chance you would be signed,” one person alleged.

Deadline presented the evidence to three lawyers and two industry experts, all of whom have an understanding of the relevant UK agency law. They said the messages were grounds to suspect that MJM could be in breach of Regulation 5 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003, which states that agencies must not make work-finding services conditional upon work-seekers using other services.

The regulations are enforced by the Fair Work Agency, which has the power to inspect agencies. If an agent is found to have flouted the law, they could be fined if they do not put their house in order, though this is rare. The Fair Work Agency declined to comment on MJM, but said it would examine any relevant complaints.

‘Open and shut’

Paul Maynard, a partner in employment law at Gaby Hardwicke Solicitors, told Deadline: “On the evidence I have seen, and from Regulation 5, this agency is in breach of the regulations. It seems pretty open and shut, and I can’t see any exemption within the regulations.”

In a statement, Jermin’s spokesperson said that MJM denies “unequivocally allegations of deliberate wrongdoing, unlawful conduct or systemic misconduct. In particular, we strongly reject any suggestion that representation by Mark Jermin Management has ever been contingent upon the purchase of training services.”

Jermin declined to engage with the specific examples presented by Deadline. His lawyer said that it was “impossible” for his client to address the allegations because Deadline had declined to hand over unedited copies of the original emails for source protection reasons. The attorney claimed that a document prepared by Deadline detailing the messages had been edited “significantly,” including quoting extracts “entirely out of context.” Deadline does not accept that any messages were edited to change their meaning.

Jermin has also previously “emphatically denied” any unlawful charging. “MJM does not charge, and has never charged, any individual to be managed or represented by it,” his lawyer said in a letter to Deadline in March, adding: “Never has it ever been put to students participating in stage school classes operated by TMJSS that they may be represented by MJM at some point in the future provided that they continue paying to participate in those stage classes.”

Unhappy

However, Jermin’s spokesperson said: “We understand that some individuals may have had experiences that they were unhappy with and, where mistakes have occurred, we regret any distress caused and remain committed to reviewing and improving our processes. To this end, we have retained the services of an independent consultant who will be reviewing all our processes.

“Over more than 30 years, we have supported aspiring performers and their families through an industry that is highly competitive, subjective and often challenging. While individual concerns should always be listened to and considered carefully, we believe it is important that isolated incidents and disputes are viewed fairly and in their proper context.

“We remain committed to operating professionally, transparently and in the best interests of those we support. We will continue to listen, learn and strengthen our processes where appropriate, while remaining focused on helping young performers develop and succeed.”

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