Responses to our CfE included ideas such as compensation if the minimum period of work is not met or access to other types of work if seasonal work is insufficient. The fact that several large organisations we spoke to were covering further costs from employees as a way to gain a competitive edge in recruitment suggests that it may be feasible for some employers to contribute towards an overall EPP. https://notes.io/w8ca7 Making this a formal requirement for all employers could, however, have consequences for certain employers’ use of the scheme.

OUR SERVICES
We have found some evidence that there is limited scope within the sector for pay increases that would be significant enough to encourage domestic participation in seasonal work. The table below shows some key labour market statistics for the LAA with the highest number of farms that use the SWS (Unitary Authority data is presented where LAA are unavailable). As seen in the case study at the end of this section, the converse (being near a town or city with a population of younger casual workers) was key for those employers who were not struggling with recruitment. One should be cautious about deriving strong conclusions from the analysis below, as some of the areas specified are relatively large and likely to have variation of local labour market conditions within area. We observe from Defra’s surveying of farmers that in 2023 the agricultural workforce across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland was c.412,000, of which c.53,000 (around 13%) were defined as “seasonal, casual or gang”.

Economic impacts of the scheme: Sector
In Ireland, for example, a horticultural pilot scheme will take place in 2025 as a result of increasing difficulties in sourcing seasonal agricultural workers from within the EU. Officials cite increased competition for workers from other European countries, and a reduction in the numbers of EU seasonal workers from Eastern Europe where domestic economic development has reduced the attractiveness of seasonal work abroad. Similarly, Poland – for many years a sending country for agricultural workers – has since 2018 operated its own Seasonal Worker route. We currently have a reasonably ‘tight’ labour market (where vacancies are high relative to unemployment), but this is not the main cause of employers’ difficulty filling seasonal worker roles.


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The Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme has short term (seasonal) placements for up to 9 months, or a multi-season placement up to 4 years with a visa condition attached which requires workers to return home for a minimum of 2 months every year.
The employer then had to factor in a reduced workforce at the end of season, while the workers may have missed out on a period of earnings.
This situation was recently clarified by the Home Office, prior to which scheme operators had interpreted the 32-hour per week requirement as applying only to the time workers were actually with producers on site.


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Some organisations have called for remediation for those who have paid illegal recruitment fees. We agree with the Independent Review that these should be in place in all key source countries and would encourage the new government to follow the same approach. Those requesting an increased visa length tended to specify 9 months as desirable in horticulture, although there was demand from mushroom growers for a specific scheme that could last up to 2 years. The House of Lords Horticulture Sector Committee has said that a 9-month visa would lower recruitment and training costs for growers, increase efficiency, and help to retain talent on UK farms.
On the PALM scheme employers are able to access funding support to provide further training of temporary workers covering employability and life skills, but the UK scheme does not focus on providing personal development programmes. Whilst the previous government had stated no current plans to reform the apprenticeship levy, we suggest access to this funding for interested employers should be considered, to allow them to offer educational opportunities on the SWS, such as in English Language if they wish to do so. The SWS may have an impact on the agriculture sector’s automation transition, a process of replacing labour with technology seen as key to improving the sector’s productivity and competitiveness. In general, we believe that the availability of workers is likely a disincentive to automate, as suggested by the evidence provided by Calvin et al., (2022), Lewis (2011) and much of the theoretical literature. Guidance states that there should be “a clear employer transfer pathway” and transfers should not normally be refused. Workers are able to request a transfer from scheme operators, and employers are unable to deny this if it is granted.
However, not all horticulture employers can currently provide even a full 6 months’ work and therefore would not be able to offer 9 months. Any extension of the scheme would therefore need to be considered against the probabilitythat there would be increased employee transfers between employers with shorter seasons in order to provide work across the whole period. Similarly, scheme operators have told us that they do not think they could secure 32 hours work per week for all workers over a 9-month duration given that demand fluctuates sharply. Therefore, without a minimum guarantee of weeks work, any extension of the visa may result in more workers being sent home without recouperation. https://www.openlearning.com/u/falkenbergvinding-r19i8k/blog/TitleExpertEnglishToDanishDocumentTranslationServices Scheme operators have suggested that an extension of the visa length to 9-months would not be financially viable if they have to cover the cost of workers receiving the required 32 hours pay per week in the UK for a minimum weeks guarantee, when workers are without an employer.