The Memo: Migrant workers accuse British farms of exploitation

Migrant workers have been protesting in attempts to draw attention to the alleged exploitative treatment they have experienced while working on British farms. Julia Quecaño Casimiro, who came to the UK from Bolivia on a seasonal worker visa, claims that migrant workers are treated “like animals.” An initial ruling by the Home Office in January last year found that Casimiro had reasonable grounds to claim that she was a victim of modern slavery in her treatment by Haygrove Farms. In fact, employment tribunal hearings are underway to determine the truth behind workers' allegations that the business Haygrove discriminated against, harassed, unfairly dismissed and unlawfully deducted wages from workers. The business employs over 1,000 people and operates five fruit farms in the UK. 

The current form of the Seasonal Worker Scheme (SWS) was introduced in 2019 to coincide with the end of Freedom of Movement for EU nationals following Brexit. In 2024, the government quota for seasonal work visas was 45,000, which is set to reduce to 43,000 in 2025. The scheme aims to provide labour on farms to address a shortage of workers caused by the change in immigration policy which made it harder for EU nationals to work in Britain. This kind of visa is a short-term and non-renewable permit to work and live in the UK. These visa holders are linked to a specific scheme operator who decides when and where they will work, and whether they can change their employer. This inability to change employer leaves workers open to exploitation as they have very little bargaining power in the relationship with the scheme operator. 

The Landworkers’ Alliance, a union for farmers, foresters and land-based workers, says that some of the supervisors working on Haygrove’s farms discriminated against Spanish-speaking workers based on race. For example, they allegedly gave these workers worse fields to harvest, denying them work and bullying them.The volume of complaints raised with the Worker Support Centre, a UK charity, suggests this is part of a broader trend in the industry. In 2023, just over 400 seasonal agricultural workers complained to the charity that they had been treated unfairly. In 2024, this figure increased to nearly 700. 

The pressure food producers face from supermarkets to keep prices low is one reason behind such poor working conditions and low wages. Farm labourers only receive a small portion of the money made on the food they pick, with the majority going to shops which sell the food to consumers. If inheritance tax increases as planned, this further financial pressure on farms is likely to result in even lower wages for workers.