Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that all seasonal worker scheme operators have complied with the requirement that all workers must receive a minimum of 32 hours’ pay for each week of their stay in the UK; and what plans they have, if any, to investigate scheme operator practice to ensure compliance with this requirement.

The Home Office has a designated Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS) team that regularly conducts visits to individual farms employing seasonal migrant workers. Checks are undertaken to ensure workers are offered a minimum of 32 hours employment per week and are paid at the appropriate rates.

Scheme operators that are responsible for the recruitment of the migrant workers are obliged to retain records of working hours and wages and these are inspected annually by sponsorship compliance officers. If discrepancies are discovered, then the SWS team will commence action against the respective scheme operator. This can include suspension or revocation of an operator’s licence.

From March 2023 to date, 241 farm visits have been conducted and 1,700 migrant workers interviewed. We will continue to consider how best to tackle labour exploitation in the Seasonal Worker Scheme.