As farms increasingly rely on non-family labour, many farmers, particularly those in the dairy sector, are finding themselves as employers for the first time.
A recent farm employment seminar hosted by the IFA highlighted a number of legal rights and obligations for farm employers.
Michael Ivory, an inspector from the Workplace Relations Commission (WCR), emphasised the importance of being compliant with all relevant legislation.
Terms of employment
He said the first document that was required when hiring labour was a statement of terms of employment. It forms the basis of the employment relationship and contains details such as pay and hours. Ivory said it acted as a contract that was legally binding once signed by both parties.
Terms of employment must issue to an employee within two months. Failure to do so entitles an employee to take a case seeking damages worth up to four weeks’ wages. A sample document is available from the WRC website.
Organisation of work time
The Organisation of Working Time (OWT) Act was also referenced. This act covers rest periods and annual leave (see below).
Under the OWT act, employers are required to keep a paper record of hours worked in the absence of an electronic clocking system. Ivory said this was an area where a lot of employers fell down.
He said employers should keep a time record form and ensure employees signed it to verify its accuracy.
Ivory said this was crucial because if an employee took a case, the burden of proof was on the employer to show excessive hours were not worked.
Grievance and disciplinary
Another important item Ivory said to include in the terms of employment was a grievance and disciplinary procedure. He said it was crucial that there is a protocol in place to deal with any issues an employer or employee might have.
An example of one system would be two verbal warnings followed by a written warning before dismissal. If employers failed to follow an agreed protocol, it left them vulnerable to an unfair dismissal case, Ivory said.
The issue of minimum notice was also raised. Ivory said under law an employee had to give a minimum of one week’s notice unless otherwise stated.
Employers had to give between one and eight weeks’ notice depending on the length of service.
Ivory said these time limits applied in cases where there were no specified dates in a terms of employment which again highlighted the importance of a well drawn-up contract.
Payment of wages
The next important piece of legislation Ivory highlighted was the Payment of Wages Act.
Under this act, an employee must be given a payslip with each payment of wages. This payslip is required to show a gross wage as well as all deductions.
Deductions such as PAYE are required by law, but any additional deductions, such as in the event of damaged equipment, must be specified in the terms of employment.
Labour tips
1.
Issue wages on time: Abigail Ryan of Teagasc said that issues around money often lead to confrontations between employers and employees. She said the problem was rarely the level of pay but rather the late payment of wages.
She advised farmers to set a date on which wages would be paid and to stick to it.
2.
Provide good on-farm facilities: providing adequate facilities on farm was cited as one of the most important things farmers can do. Abigail said farming had “reached an age where employees must be treated fairly” and that meant providing things such as a toilet and a canteen area.
FRS representatives Padraig Madden and John Brosnan said it was their experience that farms with the best facilities attracted the best employees as it showed them they were respected.
3.
Provide guidance and upskilling opportunities: “If you have a good name people will want to come work for you.”
Abigail said that farms which had a reputation for being progressive in areas like grassland management usually attracted the best workers. She emphasised the importance of the employer being a good mentor and encouraging staff to upskill at every opportunity.
4.
Manage your expectations: one key message was for farmers to manage their expectations and realise most workers will not have the experience that they do.
Abigail said farmers should expect employees to have lives outside of the farm and to factor this in. Deciding on an appropriate finishing time and showing an interest in a worker’s life, among other factors, were all identified as ways to keep staff morale high.
5
. Consider on-farm accommodation: a growing consideration for many workers is if accommodation is provided on the farm. FRS said some farmers were beginning to see accommodation in the same way as they saw a milking parlour or a calf shed.
As rents continue to rise in towns a job offer on a farm could be made more attractive for a worker by offering accommodation.
Issues with attracting people to work on dairy farms are not unique to Ireland.
Every farmer I met in New Zealand cited labour as an ongoing concern.
There is no doubt about it, but when farming at scale, having good people to run the business is critical to its success. Average herd size in New Zealand is 431 cows.
The general structure on New Zealand farms is to have a farm owner or a farm supervisor monitoring performance at arm’s length.
This person might visit the farm every month or six weeks but would usually expect to see a monthly report from the farm manager.
The farm manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the farm.
His or her job is to manage the cows, people and the farm’s resources including land and buildings.
Just over 27% of farms in New Zealand are managed by herd-owning sharemilkers.
They own the cows and get a cut of the milk cheque in exchange for managing the farm and paying all of the labour costs and some of the other costs.
Another 12% of farms are managed by contract milkers, who get a fixed sum of money per kilo of milk solids produced in return for managing the farm and providing all labour and machinery. Depending on the agreement, many contract milkers will pay a proportion of the feed costs too.
So between contract milkers and sharemilkers – about 40% of farms – are managed by someone with a big financial interest in how the farm is run.
The rest of the farms are managed by owner operators or salaried farm managers.
In cases where the contract milkers or sharemilkers have more than one farm, they often employ a farm manager to operate one or all of the farms.
Below the farm manager level is the “second in charge” or “2IC” level.
This person works closely with the farm manager and is in charge of the farm when the manager is off or away from the farm.
There can be any number of farm assistants depending on the size of the farm.
Different farms have different job titles based on experience and this is reflected in salary.
On-farm housing is provided in the majority of cases for all the people working on the farm.
It is common for some of the very large farms with more than 2,000 cows to have 15 or 16 houses on the farm.
Rosters
Rosters generally vary from farm to farm and season to season.
There is a definite move towards shorter work periods, with six days on and two days off rosters more attractive than the traditional 11 days on and three days off or 12 days on and two days off roster.
Shorter work periods allow for more regular time off, but the days off don’t always correspond to weekends.
Read more
Improved cashflow with contract rearing
50 permits available for non-EU dairy workers
As farms increasingly rely on non-family labour, many farmers, particularly those in the dairy sector, are finding themselves as employers for the first time.
A recent farm employment seminar hosted by the IFA highlighted a number of legal rights and obligations for farm employers.
Michael Ivory, an inspector from the Workplace Relations Commission (WCR), emphasised the importance of being compliant with all relevant legislation.
Terms of employment
He said the first document that was required when hiring labour was a statement of terms of employment. It forms the basis of the employment relationship and contains details such as pay and hours. Ivory said it acted as a contract that was legally binding once signed by both parties.
Terms of employment must issue to an employee within two months. Failure to do so entitles an employee to take a case seeking damages worth up to four weeks’ wages. A sample document is available from the WRC website.
Organisation of work time
The Organisation of Working Time (OWT) Act was also referenced. This act covers rest periods and annual leave (see below).
Under the OWT act, employers are required to keep a paper record of hours worked in the absence of an electronic clocking system. Ivory said this was an area where a lot of employers fell down.
He said employers should keep a time record form and ensure employees signed it to verify its accuracy.
Ivory said this was crucial because if an employee took a case, the burden of proof was on the employer to show excessive hours were not worked.
Grievance and disciplinary
Another important item Ivory said to include in the terms of employment was a grievance and disciplinary procedure. He said it was crucial that there is a protocol in place to deal with any issues an employer or employee might have.
An example of one system would be two verbal warnings followed by a written warning before dismissal. If employers failed to follow an agreed protocol, it left them vulnerable to an unfair dismissal case, Ivory said.
The issue of minimum notice was also raised. Ivory said under law an employee had to give a minimum of one week’s notice unless otherwise stated.
Employers had to give between one and eight weeks’ notice depending on the length of service.
Ivory said these time limits applied in cases where there were no specified dates in a terms of employment which again highlighted the importance of a well drawn-up contract.
Payment of wages
The next important piece of legislation Ivory highlighted was the Payment of Wages Act.
Under this act, an employee must be given a payslip with each payment of wages. This payslip is required to show a gross wage as well as all deductions.
Deductions such as PAYE are required by law, but any additional deductions, such as in the event of damaged equipment, must be specified in the terms of employment.
Labour tips
1.
Issue wages on time: Abigail Ryan of Teagasc said that issues around money often lead to confrontations between employers and employees. She said the problem was rarely the level of pay but rather the late payment of wages.
She advised farmers to set a date on which wages would be paid and to stick to it.
2.
Provide good on-farm facilities: providing adequate facilities on farm was cited as one of the most important things farmers can do. Abigail said farming had “reached an age where employees must be treated fairly” and that meant providing things such as a toilet and a canteen area.
FRS representatives Padraig Madden and John Brosnan said it was their experience that farms with the best facilities attracted the best employees as it showed them they were respected.
3.
Provide guidance and upskilling opportunities: “If you have a good name people will want to come work for you.”
Abigail said that farms which had a reputation for being progressive in areas like grassland management usually attracted the best workers. She emphasised the importance of the employer being a good mentor and encouraging staff to upskill at every opportunity.
4.
Manage your expectations: one key message was for farmers to manage their expectations and realise most workers will not have the experience that they do.
Abigail said farmers should expect employees to have lives outside of the farm and to factor this in. Deciding on an appropriate finishing time and showing an interest in a worker’s life, among other factors, were all identified as ways to keep staff morale high.
5
. Consider on-farm accommodation: a growing consideration for many workers is if accommodation is provided on the farm. FRS said some farmers were beginning to see accommodation in the same way as they saw a milking parlour or a calf shed.
As rents continue to rise in towns a job offer on a farm could be made more attractive for a worker by offering accommodation.
Issues with attracting people to work on dairy farms are not unique to Ireland.
Every farmer I met in New Zealand cited labour as an ongoing concern.
There is no doubt about it, but when farming at scale, having good people to run the business is critical to its success. Average herd size in New Zealand is 431 cows.
The general structure on New Zealand farms is to have a farm owner or a farm supervisor monitoring performance at arm’s length.
This person might visit the farm every month or six weeks but would usually expect to see a monthly report from the farm manager.
The farm manager is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the farm.
His or her job is to manage the cows, people and the farm’s resources including land and buildings.
Just over 27% of farms in New Zealand are managed by herd-owning sharemilkers.
They own the cows and get a cut of the milk cheque in exchange for managing the farm and paying all of the labour costs and some of the other costs.
Another 12% of farms are managed by contract milkers, who get a fixed sum of money per kilo of milk solids produced in return for managing the farm and providing all labour and machinery. Depending on the agreement, many contract milkers will pay a proportion of the feed costs too.
So between contract milkers and sharemilkers – about 40% of farms – are managed by someone with a big financial interest in how the farm is run.
The rest of the farms are managed by owner operators or salaried farm managers.
In cases where the contract milkers or sharemilkers have more than one farm, they often employ a farm manager to operate one or all of the farms.
Below the farm manager level is the “second in charge” or “2IC” level.
This person works closely with the farm manager and is in charge of the farm when the manager is off or away from the farm.
There can be any number of farm assistants depending on the size of the farm.
Different farms have different job titles based on experience and this is reflected in salary.
On-farm housing is provided in the majority of cases for all the people working on the farm.
It is common for some of the very large farms with more than 2,000 cows to have 15 or 16 houses on the farm.
Rosters
Rosters generally vary from farm to farm and season to season.
There is a definite move towards shorter work periods, with six days on and two days off rosters more attractive than the traditional 11 days on and three days off or 12 days on and two days off roster.
Shorter work periods allow for more regular time off, but the days off don’t always correspond to weekends.
Read more
Improved cashflow with contract rearing
50 permits available for non-EU dairy workers
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