Government pilot aims to raise awareness of agricultural
minimum wage in Lincolnshire
A new government campaign to raise awareness of the Agricultural
Minimum Wage amongst workers and employers launched at the
beginning of February in Lincolnshire.
The pilot awareness-raising campaign, run by the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Department for
Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), is specifically intended to
inform agricultural workers and their employers of their rights and
responsibilities regarding the Agricultural Minimum Wage and to
provide information on the new Pay and Work Rights Helpline.
The helpline is designed to answer any questions on the
government enforced employment rights:
- minimum wage - national and agricultural
- agency workers’ rights
- gangmasters
- working time limits
Call the Pay and Work Rights Helpline on 0800 917 2368 (text phone
0800 121 4042) or visit www.direct.gov.uk/payandworkrights
to get further advice, report an abuse of your rights and seek help
on getting it resolved. All calls are treated in confidence.
The Agricultural Minimum Wage applies to workers employed in
agriculture and horticulture anywhere in England and Wales,
including temporary migrant workers.
Agricultural Minimum Wage entitlements are:
- a minimum wage of at least £5.81 an hour; this could be more
dependent on your grade
- right to overtime pay if working more than eight hours a day or
39 hours a week; and
- right to have no more than £31.57 a week deducted from pay for
accommodation provided by an employer
- You’re also entitled to other rights relating to sick pay.
We want to ensure that all agricultural workers’ rights are
protected, so please do call the helpline today to make sure you
are getting what you are entitled to. For assistance on other
employment rights not covered by the helpline, please contact
Acas.
Supporting quotes if appropriate:
Lord Young, Minister for Employment Relations said:
“Workers and employers across all industries need to know about
entitlements when it comes to pay and work. For those working in
rural areas and sectors where those working legally tend to be more
transient or seasonal, the need to communicate workers’ rights
becomes increasingly important.
“We know that some businesses are not fully aware of their
rights but we also know that bad practice exists in a minority of
businesses and these businesses end up with an unfair advantage
over the majority operating within the law.”
Farming Minister Lord Davies said:
“Farm workers carry out many varied and valuable jobs – and to be
able to get on with those jobs, both employers and employees need
access to support and advice about workers’ conditions and rights.
This is a great resource which will be of great value to all those
who work on farms, and to the farm businesses that employ
them.”
Notes to Editors
1. The helpline proposal was an outcome from Pat McFadden’s
Vulnerable Worker Enforcement Forum which reported last year.
This work is overseen by the Fair Employment Enforcement Board
(FEEB) which includes the CBI, TUC, Federation of Small Businesses
(FSB), Unite, Citizen Advice Bureau (CAB), Recruitment and
Employment Confederation (REC), and representatives from the
enforcement agencies.
2. The helpline number is 0800 917 2368. The textphone
number is 0800 121 4042. Information is also available on
direct.gov.uk/payandworkrights and
businesslink.gov.uk/payandworkrights
3. The National Minimum Wage is enforced by HM Revenue and
Customs, the Agricultural Minimum Wage by the Department for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Working Time (48 hour
average working week) by the Health and Safety Executive (and local
authorities), Employment agency standards by BIS’s Employment
Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) and Gangmaster licensing by the
Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA). The wider set of employment
rights (e.g. holiday pay, grievances) is enforced through
application by an individual to an employment tribunal.
4. Free advice on wider employment matters is available
from Acas, the employment relations service. Their helpline,
08457 47 47 47, gives confidential, impartial advice and guidance
on a wide range of work rights. Acas also helps employers and
employees settle claims to employment tribunals.
5. The over arching awareness raising campaign is in the
second of its three years. The first year targeted agency
workers, and led to an increase of 300 per cent in calls to the EAS
helpline.
6. A ‘vulnerable worker’ is defined as someone who has
little knowledge of their rights, finds it hard to access advice,
and does not have the capacity to protect themselves against rights
abuses.
7. The Fair Treatment at Work Survey, published by BIS on
11 September 2009, provides further information on people’s
knowledge and awareness of employment rights. It supports the
view that there are a number of vulnerable groups who are less
aware of their rights than the general population.
8. Lincolnshire’s agricultural workforce was estimated at
around 15,400 by the June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture
(2008).
9. The results of the pilot will then inform the strategy
for engagement with the agricultural industry on a national scale
later in 2010.
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