Seasonal migrant workers in Scottish agriculture: research report

Appendix J: Comparison of results with Thomson et al. (2018)

Similarities

1. Retaining access to this seasonal labour is felt by employers and stakeholders to be critical to the industry.

2. There has been a long-term decline in the availability and willingness of the local Scottish and wider UK labour pool to work seasonally on farms.

3. There is huge value placed on the seasonal EU workforce by employers.

4. Without access to migrant labour, horticulture businesses reported a high likelihood that they would either downscale their business or cease production.

5. The use of a large scale seasonal migrant workforce is concentrated on a small number of very intensive horticulture units.

6. Recruitment agencies used by the industry.

7. The key motivation for non-UK seasonal workers choosing to work on Scottish farms were earnings potential.

8. Most seasonal workers directly employed on farms rented accommodation (usually in caravans) from their employers.

9. Informal social networks have been an important source of introduction to businesses, alongside recruitment agencies.

10. Key challenges that workers faced whilst in Scotland included missing friends and family, language, workloads, fatigue and the Scottish weather.

11. Importance of returnee workers was stressed by employers.

Differences

1. It was conservatively estimated in 2018 that there were 9,255 seasonal migrant workers engaged in Scottish agriculture during 2017 (including 900 employed directly by labour providers).

2. In the current research, moving round of labour between farms seemed less possible due to current visa restrictions. Previously, evidence was found of a proportion of this workforce moving between English and Scottish businesses in line with peak harvest seasons.

3. In 2018, the decline in non-UK workers' effective 'take-home' wage, caused by a weakening of Sterling, was considered a challenge by most workers, with some saying it may affect their decision to return to Scotland in the future.

4. In 2018, the influence of Scottish Agricultural Wages Board was particularly noticeable regarding overtime, with many businesses generally restricting the number of hours worked by workers to minimise overtime.

5. Uncertainties due to EU Exit were more apparent in the 2018 report. In 2018, many workers in interviews mentioned the attractiveness of other countries (in particular Scandinavia and Germany), where there were fewer uncertainties and high rates of pay.

6. In 2018, many farmers and stakeholders viewed a new visa/permit scheme for seasonal migrant workers as critical to ensuring ongoing access to sufficient worker numbers.