Proposed changes to the seasonal worker visa route

On 16 July 2024, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) – the independent, non-departmental public body that advises the government on migration issues – published its review of the Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS).

The report seeks to strengthen the seasonal worker scheme through a series of recommendations structured around five broad “umbrella” themes.

1. Provide employers and workers certainty around the future of the scheme.
2. Allow for a more flexible visa that would enable employers to plan more efficiently and for workers to maximise their earnings.
3. Fairer work and pay for workers – including a guarantee of at least two month’s pay in order to cover the costs associated with coming to the UK.
4. Tighten, communicate and enforce employee rights, considering seasonal workers coming to the UK are particularly vulnerable to exploitation.
5. Consideration of an “employer pays” principle, which would mean employers paying for workers’ visas and travel to and from the UK – these costs currently fall on the workers themselves.

About the review

The MAC’s review was initiated and carried out during 2023 when the Conservative party was in power. Although there has since been a change in government, the fact that the focus is strengthening workers’ rights means the Labour government will likely be sympathetic to the review’s recommendations.

Both main parties had committed to reducing immigration during the general election campaign, particularly for low-wage jobs. However, it is recognised that this type of seasonal work is physically demanding, low-wage, and often in rural locations far from population centres, meaning the recruitment of workers from the domestic market can be challenging.

Without the SWS, there would likely be a shortage of local seasonal labour, and this would have a knock-on impact on the farming sector and the UK’s food security.

The current Seasonal Worker Scheme

The SWS is for workers who have a job offer in the UK to do seasonal horticulture or poultry production work with a sponsor who is an approved scheme operator and holds a valid temporary worker sponsor licence for the seasonal worker route.

The government has authorised six recruitment companies, known as ‘scheme operators’, to arrange seasonal worker visas. These companies are endorsed by The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and licenced by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority.

Farmers cannot sponsor seasonal worker visas directly. They must hire their overseas workers through these companies, while also demonstrating that they are actively trying to recruit UK-based workers as well.

The SWS is designed to allow overseas workers to undertake work in specific sectors provided all eligibility requirements are met:

• A person on the seasonal worker horticulture work route can stay in the UK for a maximum period of six months in any 12-month period.
• A poultry production worker can stay in the UK for a period of time beginning no earlier than 2 October and ending no later than 31 December each year.

The SWS is not a route to settlement and applicants cannot be joined by dependent partners and children.

Earlier this year the Home Office announced that it proposed to extend the SWS for a further five years to 2029, to give businesses time to plan effectively, to invest in automation, and to move away from a reliance on migrant labour. In this current year, there are 43,000 visas available for the horticulture and agricultural sector with a further 2,000 visas available for poultry production.

Immigration advice

Our specialist immigration and rural business teams are here to support those working in the agricultural, horticulture, seasonal and farming sectors. If you need advice on this issue, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

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