Guidance

Seasonal work on farms: guidance for workers

The type of seasonal work you can do on farms, who can apply, and where you can find work.

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs
• Published: 29 April 2020
• Last updated: 10 May 2022 — See all updates

Seasonal work on farms usually involves:

• planting crops
• harvesting crops
• packing crops

Agricultural workers are classified as key workers under the category Food and other necessary goods. This includes those involved in food production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery.

Requirements for seasonal work

Seasonal work on farms is suitable for people with all levels of experience. You do not need to have done this kind of work before as the farm will provide training.

The work:

• can be indoors or outdoors depending on the crop
• is physical, involving frequent lifting and carrying of items or operating machinery

You’ll need to:

• be able to make a time commitment to the farm - most farms are looking for full time workers
• consider travel arrangements as the farm may be in a rural area or live on the farm in employer provided accommodation for a charge

Where to look for jobs

You can look for seasonal jobs on farms from:

• Find a job - use the search terms ‘fruit picking’ ‘vegetable picking’
• growers who recruit directly - check for local opportunities

You should check a range of sites where there are likely to be more opportunities for work over the summer.

Keeping workers safe

Farming and growing businesses are required to keep you safe by:

• ensuring premises are clean
• providing safe and clean accommodation if required (usually at a small cost)
• ensuring any transport they provide meets safety guidelines

Published 29 April 2020
Last updated 10 May 2022 + show all updates

1. 10 May 2022

   Updated to remove obsolete references to COVID-19.

2. 29 April 2020

   First published.