Seasonal Workers

Information For seasonal workers

We grow top quality strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. We normally pick our fruit between May and October each year but we cannot harvest our fruit without good pickers. While you may be on a working holiday, we are not a holiday camp and expect all of our employees to work hard. However, life is not about all work and no play: we provide you with excellent leisure and recreation facilities.

Every year we employ about 450 seasonal workers, mostly university students, who come from about 10 different countries. Some students are invited back for another season having proved themselves in the previous season to be reliable and hard working individuals. The returnees in turn set an example for new workers with regards to work practice and life in England.

Following the Home Office decision, nationals of Romania and Bulgaria will only be able to work on our farm if they have a workcard issued under the SAWS scheme. Nationals from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Armenia or Moldova are no longer able to participate in this scheme. The selection criteria’s have also changed and in result the scheme is open to all students in full time education, non students and graduates.

Picking Rig

In 2008 we saw a change to normal ground picking teams with the introduction of picking rigs. These rigs are specifically designed to work in our strawberry tunnels. We aim to pick 75% of our crop with these rigs, the rest of the crop will be picked using ground teams of up to 50 pickers per team. The rig picking is all done lying down and eliminates much of the lifting and carrying associated with normal picking methods. Each rig has a total of 8 pickers and 1 driver.

Our first rig arrived towards the end of the 2007 season and was met with very positive results from all those who worked on it.

We are feeling very positive about this new venture and see it as a way forward within this very competitive industry.

About the work

Most of the work will be picking fruit by hand in covered tunnels, which provide protection from wind and weather. Once the fruit is picked it is checked for quality on the field and then transported to our pack house and put into our big fridge within 2 hours of being picked. This ensures our high quality standards are maintained.

The work is very hard and involves much bending, twisting and lifting so you will need to have good physical fitness.

You will work in a team of up to 50 people. In addition to picking fruit, there are other tasks such as tunnel construction, irrigation installation, maintenance, husbandry and general production work that has to be undertaken throughout the year.

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Hours of work

We normally work a five or six day week for no more than 8 hours per day. The hours you will work each day is determined by crop, weather and customer demand. Your harvest manager decides on the length of the working day and no harvesting takes place unless the field assistants are present.

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Pay

The majority of the work on our farm is paid on a piecework basis. Piecework means you get paid for every kilogramme of fruit that you pick. The harder you work the more you will be paid. This system means that you could earn more than the UK minimum hourly rate of pay as determined by the UK agricultural wages board.

We recommend that you open a bank account in your own country before leaving so that you can arrange credit transfers direct to that account whilst you are in the UK. When you arrive at the farm we will ask you to fill out a short application form to open a UK bank account. The UK bank system is very safe and secure. Wages are normally paid directly into your bank account once a week or when you leave the farm, or on request.

The UK bank will issue you a bankcard which will enable you to withdraw your money from the bank's cash machine. Link to Lloyds TSB

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Accommodation

We can accommodate up to 450 employees in mobile homes on two campsites on the farm. While you will share a mobile home with other men and women, your bedroom will be separate. We expect you to buy, prepare and cook your own meals including making sandwiches etc. and drinks to be eaten and drunk during work. Each mobile home has a kitchen which is equipped with a cooker, refrigerator, freezer compartment and a sink. All cooking and eating utensils are provided. Showers, washing facilities, washing machines are also available.

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Recreation

Leisure facilities are provided. Each campsite has Broadband Internet access, a TV set, football and volleyball pitches and a small gym. DVDs, books and magazines are also available.

We organise trips to theme parks, historic towns and cities and to the seaside at the weekends depending on work and weather conditions. We will organise trips in 2009 to:

• Oxford
• Birmingham
• Alton Towers
• Cardiff
• Bristol
• Warwick castle

It will cost approx £6 per person, per trip (this may vary depending on the distance of the trip and entry ticket price. There is good public transport to nearby towns where there are swimming pools, libraries and gymnasiums. The local pubs are a good meeting place and many offer excellent meals.

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Amenties

Homme Farm is located about 2 miles (± 3.2 kilometres) from Ross-on-Wye. It takes about 35-45 minutes to walk to Ross. By taxi it takes 5 minutes at a cost of between £5-£6.

There are several supermarkets and shops, a chemist, a post office, library and banks. In Ross there is a swimming pool, a gym, tennis courts, pool club.

There are many pubs and a nightclub. If you would like to visit larger cities such as Hereford or Gloucester there are buses running throughout the day.

From Hereford/Gloucester buses and trains are available to travel to the rest of the UK. If you have any health problems or you need an appointment to see a doctor or dentist please go to see the campsite manager and he will organise it for you immediately.

In emergency please call 999. Broadband Internet access is available at both campsites. There is no public telephone on the farm and nearest phone box is in Ross town centre.

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What to bring

Below is a list of some essential items that you should bring with you to make your stay with us a happy and comfortable one:

• Warm sleeping Bag British nights can be cold. Clothing and footwear suitable for the seasons you plan to be in the UK. See above - don't forget clothing and footwear for work (wet weather gear and Wellingtons).
• Towel and wash bag.
• Passport, and visa (for some nationals). You are advised to take 2 photocopies of your passport (the page showing the passport number and your personal detail) and to leave one copy with your next of kin and have the other with you (kept separately from your passport). This is in case your passport is lost or stolen and will be helpful when getting it replaced.
• SAWS workcard. Two other forms of identification one of which should be an identity card.
• Money - approx £100
• SIGNED DOCUMENT from your university confirming what course you are studying and that you have to study English as a mandatory subject. These bold words must be on the letter or certificate.
• Full details of insurance (in English Language) including the emergency contact number and the full name and address of the company providing this insurance.
• Driving licence. An International Driving Licence is useful particularly for drivers whose licence is printed in a non-European alphabet or is not valid in the UK. It is not possible for overseas nationals to obtain an International Licence in the UK - you must do this at home.
• Health Declaration Form from HOPS- this MUST be in the English Language and MUST list any medication that you are allergic to - in case of a medical emergency.
• Photographs of people and places of home that are special to you can help ease homesickness and make you feel more at home.
• Books, posters, CD-s, tapes etc.
• Make sure you can carry your own luggage for up to 500 meters. You may have to do this!
• Your carry-on/hand luggage should include enough personal articles to last for your first night in the UK (clean underwear, warm jacket, toothbrush, and medication etc). This is just in case your luggage is delayed in transit.
• DON'T pack fresh food. HM Customs and the port of entry may confiscate it. Make sure your luggage is clearly labelled in
• English - with your name and the office telephone number of the farm you are travelling to. English -Your language dictionary to help you when travelling.

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Documentation

DO NOT FORGET TO BRING the following documents with you.

• PASSPORT
• SAWS Workcard
• National Identity card
• SIGNED DOCUMENT from your university confirming what course you are studying and that you must study English as a mandatory subject.
• Driving licence

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Recruitment & charges

A FACILITY charge of £4.46 per day for the mobile home will be charged. This includes all facilities in the mobile home including electricity and gas.

Transport to the local supermarket will be arranged subject to demand. There will be charge for this service of £1.50 for a return trip.

We require a £50 refundable deposit for the mobile home and this is returned to workers when you leave providing there has been no damage to accommodation or any other farm equipment, and our facilities have not been left in an untidy or dirty condition.

A launderette is provided and this is coin operated and you pay for each time you use a machine

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Sickness

If you fall ill or suffer an accident, you must report this to the campsite manager or field assistant and trained first-aiders will administer first aid treatment or seek medical attention as appropriate. For food hygiene and health and safety reasons workers cannot work with a contagious condition.

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Health and safety

Your health and safety is your own responsibility you will have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to safeguard both yourself and all others on the farm.

However, we accept responsibility for providing safe systems, a safe workforce and a workplace that is safe to work in and will take every precaution to provide a safe environment in which to work.

Deliberate actions that result in risk to yourself and others will not be tolerated and appropriate action will be taken and, failure to report danger, or continued use of a dangerous process, will be judged as gross misconduct and may result in your instant dismissal.

You will be required to read the Farm Health and Safety Declaration. This is always posted on the campsite notice board, and must always adhere to it's content. On arrival you will be given induction training that will cover all aspects of health and safety and fire regulations.

There will be certain tasks that you will be banned from doing unless you received specialist training and have the express permission of the management to do them. We will provide you with all safety equipment where necessary and this must be worn at all times.

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Security

It is very important to us to keep our workers happy and safe whilst staying here.

All personal possessions will be kept in your shared mobile home. We suggest that you do not bring items of high value with you, as we cannot accept responsibility for lost or stolen items.

Discipline must be maintained within our large workforce at all times and we reserve the right to dismiss any employee who is guilty of serious misconduct or who fails to adhere to our rules and procedures.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO INSTANTLY DISMISS ANY WORKER GUILTY OF GROSS MISCONDUCT, CRIMINAL OR THREATENING BEHAVIOUR.

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Recruitment Agents

We recruit all our SAWS students through HOPS labour solutions. Further information can be obtained from www.hopsgb.org.uk

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