Thinking Differ­ently about Labour

The combined impact of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic have changed the agri­cul­tural labour land­scape in the UK. Sectors reliant on migrant workers have been badly hit, with the NFU reporting that in the first half of 2022 £22m of fruit and vegeta­bles were wasted due to work­force short­ages. Govern­ment statis­tics from 2023 show that the overall agri­cul­tural work­force in England constricted by 2.9% year-on-year, with an 11% decrease in casual workers.

The require­ment for visas, plus economic growth in their home coun­tries, has meant that UK farming work is less attrac­tive to  Eastern Euro­pean migrants who have long been a vital labour pool for sectors like horti­cul­ture and inten­sive dairying. The former – along with the poultry industry – has seen an exten­sion to the seasonal workers visa scheme, but the overall change in employ­ment options and patterns mean that busi­nesses have to adapt in order to remain viable. So what are some of the alter­na­tive options?

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Changing The Mindset On Staff

Taking a different approach to recruit­ment and reten­tion of staff is about more than just job adverts, says Paul Harris of employ­ment specialist Real Success. “People are put off working on farms by percep­tions around long hours, dirty and some­times dangerous working envi­ron­ments, or a belief that you have to have worked in farming to get a job in farming,” he says.

“At inter­view they are discour­aged by poor commu­ni­ca­tion, a lack of struc­ture, a poor first impres­sion of the farm or a sense that the farmer is just looking for a ‘worker’ rather than someone they can invest in. They leave for the same reasons, but the biggest reason is poor commu­ni­ca­tion – usually from the farm owner or manager.”

Working condi­tions can be improved through having better staff rooms and accom­mo­da­tion, the right tools for each job, and a health and safety culture rather than just compli­ance.

Paul recom­mends that farmers think about job descrip­tions and person spec­i­fi­ca­tions, and reflect on why the previous employee left, before rushing to place an advert. “Be aware that sites like Indeed adver­tise to anyone searching for a role, whereas  Face­book posts tend to have a more restricted audi­ence. If you are genuinely prepared to take someone on without expe­ri­ence, make sure this is stated clearly and ideally towards the begin­ning of the advert.”

Adjusting the struc­ture of the role may help make it more appealing. Tradi­tional rotas of 10 10-hour days followed by a two-day break are still common but must change. “It’s unsus­tain­able – the next gener­a­tion simply don’t want to work these sorts of hours.

“Those who are struc­turing their farms to reduce the working week – such as 40 hours over five days followed by two days off – are much more attrac­tive. Using part-time staff to do basic jobs or to cover week­ends often works well, but it requires farmers to think differ­ently about staff and how many they need,” notes Paul. “It doesn’t have to cost more money, but it does cost more time in managing more people and having slightly more complex rotas.”

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Inclu­sive Farms

Disabled people are over­looked by employers, and combined with a lack of acces­sible work­places, face dispro­por­tionate levels of unem­ploy­ment. “Some 90% of blind and 78% of autistic people are unem­ployed,” says Mike Duxbury, farmer and founder of Inclu­sive Farms. “The figure for blind people hasn’t changed for 65 years. It’s shocking – and disabled people are desperate to work.”

Mike, who was regis­tered blind at the age of six, trained as an animal nutri­tionist and spent time in the corpo­rate world before setting up the first Inclu­sive Farm in  Bedford­shire. The farm – which runs pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, goats, and smaller animals for work expe­ri­ence – was set up in 2021 by Mike and his partner. He is now repli­cating it in Scot­land through a part­ner­ship with the MacRobert Trust. “It was a green­field site which I devel­oped from scratch,” he explains. “In 2024 there are still many assump­tions about what a disabled person can do, and  most projects have been set up by able-bodied people thinking they know what a disabled person needs.

“We tackled it the other way round. It is now fully acces­sible to all, be they in a wheel-chair, using aids like crutches, pushing a pram, or autistic. Inclu­sive Farm is a fully working live­stock farm – it is not a care farm.” Most of the adap­ta­tions Mike has made are fairly simple; all gates are wide enough for wheel­chair access and are the same size. He has mats on the floor in live­stock pens so that he and others with visual impair­ments can feel the change in flooring and iden­tify where to put bedding. Every pen is fenced slightly differ­ently so that workers and visi­tors can iden­tify what each pen is by touch.

“We are trying to achieve a working farm which can be managed easily by all who want to use it,” says Mike. “One of the chal­lenges is machinery; most trac­tors are not acces­sible and are not set up in a way that is simple to use. The tech­nology is there for cameras and sensors but they are not  readily avail­able.

“Agri­cul­ture is a dangerous sector and we are likely to see more disability in the industry. It’s impor­tant that manu­fac­turers start thinking about their trac­tors and farm machinery and how acces­sible they are.”

Every week 22 students visit Inclu­sive Farm to gain expe­ri­ence in farming and animal handling. By working on the farm they build confi­dence and skills, which Mike hopes will start to change the statis­tics on un-employ­ment within the disabled commu­nity.

“Ulti­mately I just want people to get into mean­ingful employ­ment, be it in agri­cul­ture or other­wise,” he says. “We need to give people more self-esteem, confi­dence, and hope. Disabled people are enti­tled to work, have a nice life, have a family, go on holiday, and be a part of society.”

Mike offers visits and consul­tancy to farmers and other employers who want to make their busi­nesses more acces­sible, or cater to diverse needs. “We have to move on from where we are now and we can get over these chal­lenges if we work together. The first thing is to get people thinking – the more you think and the more you ask the more we will get done.”

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Recruiting Mili­tary Veterans

Nearly 16,000 service members will leave the mili­tary in the next year, and many will seek employ­ment in the land­based sector, says Jamie Crisp, CEO at High­Ground. “Veterans often seek work in farming and growing due to the appealing nature of the rural envi­ron­ment and the tangible, rewarding work it offers.

“Working outdoors and engaging in phys­i­cally active, mean­ingful tasks can signif­i­cantly improve mental health and well­being, providing a ther­a­peutic benefit that comple­ments their tran­si­tion. This influx of veterans presents a unique oppor­tu­nity for the agri­cul­tural and rural indus­tries to harness their valu­able skills and expe­ri­ences.”

These skills include fast learning, work ethic, commu­ni­ca­tion, problem solving, and the ability to work both in a team and on their own, notes Jamie. In addi­tion, veterans often have medical training, offroad driving expe­ri­ence, an excep­tional under­standing of health and safety, are comfort­able working outdoors, have good navi­ga­tion skills and are used to pushing them­selves out of their comfort zones.

When employing veterans farmers need to consider their working back­grounds and adapt accord­ingly. “Providing clear, struc­tured training and support can help them adapt to their new roles,” explains Jamie. “Recog­nising their need for a sense of purpose and cama­raderie can enhance job satis­fac­tion. Manage­ment styles that value direct commu­ni­ca­tion, respect, and oppor­tu­ni­ties for lead­er­ship will resonate well  with veterans.”

There are many ways to get job oppor­tu­ni­ties in front of service leaders, he adds. “Firstly, farmers can partner with organ­i­sa­tions like ourselves. They can also adver­tise job oppor­tu­ni­ties on plat­forms dedi­cated to veterans, like mili­tary job boards and veterans’ support groups.

“Addi­tion­ally, partic­i­pating in career fairs and work­shops aimed at service leavers, like Career Tran­si­tion Part­ner­ship road­shows and British Forces Reset­tle­ment  Services can help reach this skilled work­force. Employers can also engage with specialised land-based recruit­ment compa­nies and the Career Tran­si­tion Part­ner­ship team to find suit­able candi­dates.”