UK employers could pay to import seasonal workers, Defra-sponsored report says

Policy could help tackle exploitation of debt-ridden pickers

- EMILIANO MELLINO

British farms and supermarkets could tackle the exploitation of fruit and vegetable pickers by paying their travel and visa costs, according to a government-commissioned report.

The report, undertaken for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), follows growing allegations of mistreatment of migrant workers on the seasonal worker visa, including a legal challenge brought by an Indonesian fruit picker against the UK government for human rights breaches.

Tens of thousands of workers come to the UK every year on a six-month visa from as far as Chile and the Philippines, and some accrue thousands of pounds of debt before they arrive, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.

The potential policy runs counter to tough new immigration rules announced by Sir Keir Starmer that make it harder for workers and students to come to Britain. But it would bring the UK closer in line with other countries, such as the United States, where employers are required to bear the costs of workers’ recruitment and travel.

Currently, a handful of operators are licensed by the Home Office to recruit farm labourers and can issue a certificate of sponsorship that can be used to secure a seasonal worker visa from the Home Office. But the workers are left to pay for it and for the cost of travel to the UK.

Commissioned by Defra the study into the “Employer Pays Principle”, seen by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and The Independent, proposes four alternative options to government, which would see recruiters, farms, retailers and consumers bear the costs instead.