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Around 10% of respondents to the 2022 Defra Seasonal Workers survey were unhappy with their hours (free text responses indicated this may be was due to a lack of hours rather than the reverse). On the other hand, too many hours could have a negative impact on workers such as being exhausted which is potentially dangerous. A recent survey reports workers receiving less hours than they expected or working too many (over 70 hours a week).
- As we describe in Chapter 2, transfers may be driven by either the employee (including for welfare, social or pay reasons) or the employer.
- While the employers we spoke to said they accepted their duty of care, they commented that it could be hard to find appropriate support services at the weekend and bank holidays.
- Previously, farms were able to meet their seasonal labour requirements using EU workers who were allowed under Freedom of Movement (FoM) to live and work in the UK.
- Sudden changes to the rules were also said to be hard to plan around, including the unexpected cost of increased wages and need to match recruitment to available work as a result of the introduction of 32 hours per week mandatory pay.
Pre-sessional programmes
Where one or more operators has confirmed that they are unlikely to meet their full individual allocation, these places can be redistributed to other operators, although this means that the number available in theory in the overall quota may also not be available in practice. Reflecting russian translation of personal letter in the uk in the Seasonal Worker Visa (SWV), the Home Office and Defra are jointly responsible for delivering the route. The Home Office leads on immigration policy and operational delivery of the visa, while Defra selects, manages and monitors scheme operators, along with gathering stakeholder insights on the route. Compliance and enforcement responsibilities are discussed below and are shared between a number of different actors.
Diplomas
Of the employers who said they had domestic workers complete the recruitment process, several shared experiences of workers dropping out in the first weeks (as shown in the case study below). For example, 1 employer reported that no UK workers had stayed long enough to receive a £500 4-week retention bonus. The ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign to recruit British workers during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the difficulty of maintaining domestic workers in seasonal roles. Whilst the campaign had initially increased the UK share of the workforce from 1% to 11%, this effect was not sustained; one employer CfE response confirmed that most workers they gained through this initiative left site once restrictions were lifted. National Farmers’ Union Scotland (NFU Scotland) reported to our CfE that 77% of employers responding to their internal survey agreed that roles covered by the scheme met their needs. Several horticulture employers said that being able to fulfil such roles was important in guaranteeing the production of food, as was set out in Chapter 1, and said that without Seasonal Workers product lines would be dropped, production would fall, or the business would become unviable.
Although not technically a progression visa the US H-2A visa classification can be extended in-country for up to 3 years (in increments of up to 1-year), after which there is a 3-month ‘cooling off’ period. Employers utilise these extensions to progress workers into more skilled roles, including with supervisory responsibilities, within their occupation. In our 2022 Annual Report we emphasised the impact that ending EU Freedom of Movement would have in increasing shortfalls in seasonal labour, and employers’ intentions to use the Seasonal Worker Visa (SWV) as an alternative route to recruit migrant workers.
Holders of the Baccalaureat General (School Certificate) are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without prior completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways. We will consider students who have taken GCE A Level examination, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) for entrance to onto our undergraduate programmes. Holders of the Shahadat-al-thanwiia-al-a’ama are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate courses without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways. Holders of the Tawjihi are not normally eligible for direct entry onto our undergraduate programmes without completion of a suitable foundation programme, such as one of our foundation pathways. Holders of the Chinese High School Certificate/Senior Middle School Graduation and a suitable foundation programme, and holders of two/three year Diplomas, with a good performance (80% average or above) from a recognised institution, will be considered for entry to undergraduate programmes.g