Access to seasonal agricultural workers in the UK after Brexit: the Seasonal Worker Immigration Scheme and COVID-19 restrictions

Freedom of movement from the European mainland came to an end on 1 January 2021.

In December 2020 the UK government announced that the number of seasonal agricultural workers permitted to travel to the UK to help pick and package fruit and vegetables in 2021 would be increased.

Now 30,000 seasonal worker visas will be made available for 2021, enabling EU and non-EU workers to enter Britain to assist with the harvest. This will treble the number of seasonal worker visas made available in 2020.  Gillian Reid, Head of Employment at Ware & Kay Solicitors in York, Wetherby and Malton (Pearsons & Ward) explains. 

 The UK seasonal worker visa program was initially launched as a pilot in 2019 and has now been extended by a further 12 months. The extension applies to EU and non-EU workers.

The extension of the seasonal worker immigration scheme means that farms can continue to hire overseas workers to come to the UK for up to six months. 

COVID-19 restrictions

Seasonal workers coming to work on English farms will need to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test before travelling as part of new tighter travel restrictions. The test must be carried out 48-72 hours before departure and anyone with a positive result will be refused entry.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has published guidance for seasonal agricultural workers coming to England to work on farms, as well as their employers, in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Where a seasonal agricultural worker has an offer of employment for seasonal work to carry out specific activities in edible horticulture on a named farm, they will be exempt from the standard COVID-19 travel restrictions that require those entering the UK to self-isolate for 14 days.

Different rules will apply to these workers. They can start work immediately but must isolate on the farm for 14 days. The advice sets out the detail of the rules that the workers and their employers must follow, including:

• Each worker should have completed a Public Health Passenger Locator Form before travelling to the UK.
• Each employer should have provided their EU workers with a letter or email confirming the worker's personal details and where they will be living and be employed (this will be covered in a visa for those outside the EU). Workers must be resident at the farm where they will work to be exempt from the 14-day self-isolation rules.
• During the first 14 days at the farm, the workers should be put into groups, have strictly limited contact outside those groups, and only leave the farm in exceptional circumstances.

Contact Gillian Reid for tailored advice on how the Brexit transition affects your business and what we can do to help on York 01904 716000, Wetherby 01937 583210 or Malton 01653 692247 or email gillian.reid@warekay.co.uk