From grape to glass: The importance of international farm workers in the vineyard and winery industry

In a time of severe recruitment challenges and labour shortages within the UK, it can be hard to secure the talent you need for your business to survive and succeed, especially farm workers in vineyards and wineries.

One option for farms, vineyards and wineries that are struggling to recruit from within the UK is to look to recruiting farm workers internationally. Recruitment from overseas has been brought into sharp focus post-Brexit because the EU nationals often relied upon by agricultural businesses now need a visa to work in the UK (unless they have another right to work in the UK such as settled status).

Main routes for employing international farm workers

There are two main routes that farms, vineyards and wineries can use to recruit overseas farm workers:

1) Skilled Worker Visa

The main work route in the UK is the Skilled Worker visa. However, in order to employ overseas nationals on this visa, the UK company must become a licensed sponsor, which can take up to 8 weeks. Sponsors have to comply with mandatory duties such as reporting issues to the Home Office, record keeping and having the required HR systems in place.

Skilled Worker visas are only available if the role in the UK meets the minimum skill and salary level. However, the required skill level was reduced post-Brexit and Skilled Worker visas are now available for more roles. For example, managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture; farmers; and those employed in agricultural or horticultural trades are eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker route. In terms of salary, the minimum salary for a Skilled Worker role is currently £26,200 per year or the ‘going rate’ for the role, if higher. For example, the going rate for managers and proprietors in agriculture and horticulture is currently £28,000 per year.

However, agricultural and horticultural workers, labourers, pickers and process operatives (i.e. those who operate machinery or equipment) are specifically excluded as they are not considered to meet the required skill level for a Skilled Worker visa.

2) Seasonal Worker Visa

As well as the Skilled Worker visa, there is the option of a Seasonal Worker visa for seasonal work in the horticultural or poultry production sectors. This scheme is subject to a quota of 47,000 for 2023, with 45,000 of these being allocated to the horticultural sector. This covers both ornamental and edible horticulture (e.g. flowers, fruit and vegetables).

The main advantage of the Seasonal Worker visa is there is no minimum skill level so overseas nationals can be recruited in less skilled roles such as picking and processing. In addition, they are not required to pass an English language test (unlike Skilled Workers). Seasonal workers are usually required to be paid at least £10.42 an hour (i.e. the National Minimum Wage).

However, the farm, vineyard or winery does not have to become a licensed sponsor itself because Seasonal Workers are recruited through one of six approved scheme operators who act as the sponsor: Concordia, Pro Force, Fruitful Jobs, HOPS, ethero Strategic Staffing, Agri HR and Re Recruitment (poultry only). It is worth noting that Fruitful Jobs is now a B-rated sponsor which means that it cannot issue new certificates of sponsorship, it can only continue to sponsor existing workers.

You must therefore go through one of the above scheme operators if you want to employ someone on a Seasonal Worker visa. This can cause issues in terms of selecting the right candidates for the roles you wish to fill.

The main disadvantage of this route is that it is only a temporary work route. A Seasonal Worker can only work in the UK in horticulture for a maximum of 6 months in every 12 month period. A Seasonal Worker in poultry production can only work in the UK from 18 October to 31 December (inclusive) each year.

In addition to the above visas, there are some routes which allow overseas nationals to come to work in the UK without a sponsor. For example, the Graduate visa allows international students to stay in the UK to work for up to two years after they have completed their UK degree (and the similar High Potential Individual visa is available to recent graduates of top global universities outside the UK). The Youth Mobility Scheme visa allows young people from participating countries to come to live and work in the UK for up to two years.

Recruiting overseas farm workers nationals may seem like a daunting process but, with the right advice and guidance, you can secure the talent you need. For further advice, please contact Jane Biddlecombe, Senior Associate (jane.biddlecombe@parissmith.co.uk).