The workforce is the lifeblood of any farming business and, given the current labour shortages in the agricultural sector, it’s essential to have employment contracts that clearly set out the rights and obligations of both you and your workers and thus encourages staff retention.

Kalpesh Nakeshree Head of Employment at Ware & Kay incorporating Pearsons & Ward Solicitors in Malton, York & Wetherby, explains the importance of a well-drafted farm employment contract and outlines the key terms that they should contain.

An employment contract can be verbal or written but, for the sake of certainty, it’s good practice to put it in writing. In any case, you are legally obliged to provide every farm worker with a written statement of their basic terms of employment either before or when they start working for you.

This should set out their workplace, working hours, rate of pay, notice period, plus their entitlement to overtime, sick pay and holiday pay. You face a penalty of up to four weeks’ pay if you fail to provide such particulars.

All farm employment contracts should contain terms that show you are matching or exceeding certain minimum legal entitlements including:

• National minimum wage (NMW): given the erratic nature of farm work, it is easy for farm workers to work so many hours in busy periods that they end up being paid less than the NMW – which can see you face penalties from HMRC. It is up to you, not the worker, to keep records proving you are paying the NMW, although the employment contract could include a requirement for the worker to record their hours.

• Accommodation deductions: farmers frequently offer accommodation for their workers; if you do this, ensure you don’t charge so much that your employee’s pay rate drops below the NMW or again HMRC penalties can result.

• Holiday pay: full-time workers are entitled to 28 days holiday per annum. The contract should state whether this includes bank holidays.

• Notice periods – the statutory minimum for those who have worked for one month–two years is one week. After two years’ service it is one week for every year worked (up to a maximum of 12 weeks).

• Job requirements: you may need your farm worker to have, for example, a full driving licence. The contract should reflect this and include provisions for terminating the employment if the licence is lost.

• Right to work: all farmers must ensure their workers have the right to work in the UK. The employment contract should state that the employee must have passed their right to work checks before they begin.

Other useful terms

It is useful to include a comprehensive job description within the contract (but ensure you leave some flexibility around this so that reasonable changes can be made), as well as requirements for the use of protective clothing and equipment, or your right to refuse holiday request during busy periods (such as harvest time).

The contract should also set out what policies you have in place – disciplinaries, grievances, sickness, etc – although make it clear that these policies do not form part of the contractual terms (not least because you would need the employee’s consent to change the policies if they are contractual).

How a solicitor can help

Our team of agricultural employment specialists can draft employment contracts tailored to suit the needs of your farming business, while ensuring you stay on the right side of the law. They can also review and update old contracts to reflect any employment law changes and advise you of your legal obligations if there is a change to your business structure.

For more information please contact Kalpesh Nakeshree on Malton 01653 692247 or email kalpesh.nakeshree@warekay.co.uk.to see how we can assist.