More details have been made available about how to find the workers you need for the season ahead
This time last year, the situation was dire. There were an estimated 500,000 vacancies across the food and drink supply chain, and no details were forthcoming from government on whether there would be a seasonal workers scheme that would allow poultry businesses to bring in temporary staff from overseas to cover the busy Christmas period.
The Government’s points-based immigration system came into effect at the start of 2021, which ended free movement between the UK and EU. It meant points are assigned for specific skills, qualifications, salaries or professions and visas are only awarded to those who gain enough points. Immigrants now have to meet criteria including earning a minimum of £25,600, and speaking English. Many poultry roles fall outside this threshold.
The Government said the change in policy had been designed to “end the reliance on cheap, low-skilled labour coming into the country”, but the result was many businesses had hard decisions to make. In the end, there was a seasonal scheme, but it was only announced in November, and many poultry businesses had to cut back on production as a result.
Production at larger turkey businesses was slashed 20% last Christmas due to a lack of people to process them, and there were overall vacancies of 16% in the poultry industry, according to the British Poultry Council.
This year, it appears some lessons have been learnt. The Government announced in the summer that the seasonal worker visa scheme for poultry has been confirmed until 2024, following efforts by the NFU to engage with Defra and the Home Office.
On July 5, Defra and the Home Office hosted an online meeting, which was attended by poultry businesses and NFU chief poultry adviser Aimee Mahony.
Since the Temporary Visa Scheme for poultry was announced in 2021, the NFU has been providing evidence to the government and asking for a suitable dedicated scheme for the poultry sector for 2022 and beyond.
There is now a commitment for 2,000 visas each year until 2024. The NFU said the costs associated with the scheme will be lower going forwards, and the announcement of visa availability has been made three months earlier compared to 2021. In the past fortnight, two labour providers have been appointed by the Government for poultry businesses who need to appoint workers via the worker visa.
The Government has informed the NFU that ProForce and RE Recruitment have been successful and anyone who wants to make use of the 2,000 visas for the poultry sector this year should make contact with them.
Their contact details are:
ProForce: poultry@pro-force.co.uk
RE Recruitment: SeasonalWorkerVisa@rerecruitment.com
Seasonal Worker Visa dedicated number: 01242 896019
“It’s good news that we now have dedicated labour providers to operate the poultry visa scheme,” said NFU Poultry Board chair James Mottershead. “Given the limited time for visa applications to be made, I’d urge anyone needing visas to contact ProForce and RE Recruitment as soon as possible.
“The NFU will continue to work with the Government as visas begin to be issued, to help ensure that the scheme runs effectively.”