Any farmers with EU European Economic Area (EEA) or Swiss citizens working for them, who were already living in the UK as of 31 December 2020, and haven't
The government’s Pick for Britain scheme encouraged UK workers to apply for seasonal jobs
The government has scrapped the Pick for Britain campaign aimed at recruiting UK-based workers for seasonal farm roles, the Grocer understands.
Launched last year when Covid-19 left many foreign workers unable to reach the UK in time for the beginning of the harvest season, the campaign consisted of advertising and a website hosted by AHDB which directed UK workers to roles.
While it attracted big interest – with tens of thousands of Brits applying for thousands of roles during the first national lockdown – and received major backing from Waitrose, relatively small numbers of recruits made it onto farms.
COVID challenges: getting to grips with farming accounts 19 February 2021: David Missen, a member of ICAEW’s Farming and Rural Business Community, provides insights into recent developments in the sector, including the impact of COVID-19, as well as outlining some of the fundamentals of farming accounts.
Farming has not been as negatively affected by the pandemic as some other sectors, according to David Missen, a consultant at MHA Larking Gowen who specialises in agriculture and associated private client work.
Nevertheless, some sub-sectors will have felt the impact more keenly and ways of working have had to be adapted.
The impact of COVID-19
Food manufacturers supplying the hospitality and healthcare markets have called for urgent Government support to rescue them from ‘a financial cliff edge’.
A group of 18 trade associations, led by the British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF), has written to chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak and other Government ministers. They have asked for the following support measures to be put in place for food manufacturers with immediate effect:
Extension of the 12-month Local Authority Business Rates exemption to businesses supplying into the hospitality and foodservice market, using the existing legislative exemption for hardship.
Ongoing capital and tax break allowances to maintain the workforce, prorated depending on how many staff a company can keep employed.