The Migration Advisory Committee has published a review of the seasonal agricultural worker route, concluding that people in this route are “particularly susceptible to exploitation” and that “the current enforcement landscape for Seasonal Workers is fragmented and does not offer an adequate safeguard of seasonal worker rights”.
The report looks at why the route exists, how it works, the economic and social impacts of the scheme, how employers operate within the scheme, and migrant welfare. The recommendations have been grouped into five broad themes:
1. Provide certainty around the future of the scheme – further certainty is required from government regarding the long-term future of the scheme, which can be achieved by confirming visa numbers and any further extension to the scheme on an annual basis – effectively giving employers and businesses 5 years’ notice if the scheme is to close. The criteria by which future visa numbers could be tapered must also be made clear. We do not recommend changes to the scheme’s eligible occupations.
2. Allow for a more flexible visa – greater flexibility would enable employers to plan more efficiently and for workers to maximise their earnings without adding complexity to the route. This can be achieved by shortening the current ‘cooling-off’ period from the current 6 months to 3 months and allowing workers to work any 6-month period in an individual calendar year.
3. Fairer work and pay for workers – a lack of pay data for those on the visa makes effective monitoring of pay very difficult. We recommend that Seasonal Workers are guaranteed at least 2 months’ pay in order to cover their costs in coming to the UK and reduce the risk that low-income workers are required to take. Workers are also subject to pension autoenrolment and are typically eligible for a refund of income given their limited time in the UK that is subsequently difficult to process due to only being able to do so once they have finished employment and returned to their home country. This needs to be made clearer and simpler.
4. Tighten, communicate and enforce employee rights – Seasonal Workers coming to the UK are particularly susceptible to exploitation due to the nature of the work in often isolated rural areas, frequently with little or no English. Some are concerned that if they make a complaint, they may lose their visa and significant potential earnings. This means there is an inherent imbalance of power in comparison to employers. It is positive that many employers are undertaking significant steps to improve the welfare of those on the route, but there also appear to be a handful who are not doing so. Separately we have heard of instances of migrants paying significant fees abroad to unofficial agents or taking loans or otherwise accruing large debt.
To compound matters, the current enforcement landscape for Seasonal Workers is fragmented and does not offer an adequate safeguard of seasonal worker rights. We recommend a more coordinated approach between the bodies currently involved in worker welfare and a clearer delineation of responsibility for each. Worker rights must also be clearly communicated to workers in their own language, and we highlight where better data can be used to strengthen monitoring and enforcement.
5. Give consideration to the Employer Pays Principle – Seasonal Workers currently bear the cost of both their visa and their travel to and from the UK; costs which can be considerable, and which increase the risk of debt bondage. Further work is needed to investigate how these costs might be more equitably shared along the supply chain.
None of these recommendations are new or particularly big asks. Labour’s manifesto said that they would “not tolerate employers or recruitment agencies abusing the visa system”. Implementing these recommendations would be a good place to start.
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