providers of temporary and seasonal workers to land based industry

SWP Information for participants

Documents you must bring

When you come to the United Kingdom you MUST BRING:

  • Passport/National ID Card
  • SWP Certificate
  • 2 copies of your Education Evidence or highest qualification achieved to date
  • 2 copies of your Medical Questionnaire.  Please click here to download a copy
  • The booklet “Information for SWP Applicants” with the supplementary letter, sent with your application form.  Please click here to download a copy
  • All papers that have been sent by HOPS
     

What to do before you travel

The farm where you are to work is one of the HOPS registered farms, of which the British Home Office holds details.  The Employer already has details of your name, address, date of birth, passport number etc.

• If your In-Country Representative is not going to contact the farm for you, please now write/email the farmer confirming that you plan to arrive on the farm within 3 days of the start date shown on your SWP Certificate.  The farm address and email address (if there is one) can be found on the farm information (pink paper).

• If for any reason your travel plans are delayed, please inform your representative, the farmer and HOPS of your new expected date of arrival.

• When you arrive at the farm the farmer will ask to see your passport or ID Card and your SWP Certificate.
 
• If you decide not to take the job offered to you or are not able to travel to the UK to work, please inform your In-Country Representative immediately.  You must not give the SWP Certificate to any other person.  In addition, HOPS can only consider refunding any fees paid if you inform your In-Country Representative or HOPS directly.

• The maximum period of time a participant can remain in the UK under the SWP is 12 months (52 weeks).  The NFU Mutual Insurance policy has a maximum duration of 12 months. 
 


General Information

THE SEASONAL WORKERS PROGRAMME SWP CERTIFICATE
To work in the United Kingdom through HOPS you MUST HAVE AN SWP CERTIFICATE.  This will state the name of the farm you will be working at and the dates that work has been arranged for you.  Keep the SWP Certificate in a safe place – this is a valuable document and it cannot be easily replaced.

SWP Certificate details
a) Employer
As a participant with HOPS, you may only work at the farm named on your SWP Certificate. We are not able to change your Employer now. Do not bring any other person without a HOPS SWP Certificate with you – s/he will not be allowed to stay at the farm.  If you leave the HOPS farm placement, unless to work on another farm arranged by HOPS, your access to HOPS for help will finish and the NFU insurance will also be invalid. 

b) Working dates
You should remain at this farm during the dates shown, unless you receive permission, and documents, from HOPS to move to another farm.  However, the dates that are printed on the SWP Certificate are not contractual.  These are the dates that you are allowed to work in the UK under the Seasonal Workers Programme.  The dates of work should be agreed with your farmer.   You are expected to stay at the farm until the end date on your SWP Certificate or the work is finished.  If you leave early you will not be accepted for a placement with HOPS in future years.  If your placement finishes more than one month early, HOPS will endeavour to find another placement until your SWP Certificate end date.  

The dates on the SWP Certificate are when you are expected to arrive at and leave the farm – these may be subject to change depending on the state of the crops and the weather.  You should aim to arrive at the farm within 3 days either side of the start date.  If you arrive too early, there may be no work available until the crop is ready for harvesting.  If you are late then you may miss the training for the work. If you are very late the farmer may refuse to take you and ask you to return home.

If the weather has affected the harvesting date of the crop, the farmer will write and inform you of your new start date. Please arrive within 3 days of the new date that the farmer gives you.

If you would like a few days holiday within the dates given on your SWP Certificate you should agree the dates with your farmer at least 1 week prior to taking the holiday. 

If you are unable to come to the UK, and cancel your SWP Certificate for any reason, please inform your Agent immediately and return your SWP Certificate to your Agent or to HOPS and send a letter to your Employer explaining that you are now unable to travel to the UK.  Participants who return their SWP Certificate to HOPS in good time may receive a refund of any fees paid.  If you fail to return the SWP Certificate or return the SWP Certificate very late in the year, HOPS will be unable to refund your fee.

c) Location of the Farm
The name and address of the farm HOPS has selected for you is enclosed (pink paper), together with brief details of how to travel to the farm from London. The farmer will write to you later with more details.

 


At the Farm

a) Behaviour
We expect all participants to be of good behaviour on and off the farm.  We also expect participants to act towards the Employer, his staff, and the other participants at the farm, in an honest and friendly manner. If you cause any problems, on or off the farm, or if you do not keep to the farm rules, or UK law, then you will be dismissed by the farmer and asked to return home and the facts may be reported to the UK Immigration Authorities and your University. 

b) SWP Certificate and Passport/National ID Card
When you arrive at the farm, your Employer will check your Passport/National ID Card and SWP Certificate and return them to you, after he has taken a photocopy of your passport.  However, your Employer may offer to retain your documents for safekeeping.  It is your choice whether you leave these documents with the farmer or not. 

c) Farm Facilities
Farms offer accommodation usually in mobile homes or caravans.  Sometimes in dormitories in converted farm buildings, or occasionally in houses. The accommodation has a kitchen (where participants prepare their own food); toilets and showers; and usually a room where the participants can meet. Brief farm details are enclosed with the SWP Certificate - please read these carefully. It is expected that there will be a charge for these facilities, which may be deducted each week from your wages.  It should be understood that the living and working conditions are shared and will suit participants who enjoy meeting people and communal living.  If you are unhappy with the accommodation on the farm, please discuss this with the farm manager first.  If the problem is not resolved please telephone the HOPS office. 

PLEASE REMEMBER: YOUR FRIENDS or RELATIONS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO WORK ON THE FARM, UNLESS THEY ALSO HAVE A SWP CERTIFICATE FOR THAT FARM.
 


Job Satisfaction

It should be emphasised that the interest of the farmer is to harvest his crops.  For this reason you are expected to attend for the full period stated on the SWP Certificate, work hard and be prepared to work when and where work is available.  If you have a problem on the farm, especially with the work situation, accommodation or pay, please discuss it first with the farm manager.  If he is unable to help you, then telephone the HOPS office for advice.

Your stay at the farm should not be viewed as a form of holiday.  It is work experience and, in most cases, is valuable to your academic studies.  If your work does not meet the required standard after you have been trained, particularly if you do not work fast enough to earn the minimum wage, your employment may be terminated and you will be asked to return home.  HOPS regrets that full work is not guaranteed.  However HOPS will endeavour to find alternative employment in the event of a crop failure.
 


Wages

You will receive your first wages about 7 days after you start work.  Please remember that you may not be able to start work as soon as you arrive at the farm if the crop is not ready.  You will need to have enough money for food during the first week - you should also remember that food and other items are expensive in the UK.

Farms will have work ranging from just a few hours per week (if the weather is bad) to 5 or 6 full days in a week.  Each week may be different, the crop may not be ready, or perhaps it is small, and the weather WILL affect the work in the field.  Do not expect to work for every daylight hour you are in the UK.

In the UK there are basic wages that every employer must pay to all employees – these rates of pay are determined by the Agricultural Wages Board (England & Wales) [http://www.defra.gov.uk]; The Scottish Agricultural Wages Board  [http://www.scotland.gov.uk] and the Agricultural Wages Orders for Northern Ireland [http://www.dardni.gov.uk].  In some cases your minimum wage will be set by National Minimum Wage legislation. 

All people working in the UK must be paid a minimum wage.  Often your pay will be calculated by the PIECEWORK method.  On piecework the crop you pick is weighed and you are paid for each kilogram you pick.  The harder you work the more you are paid.  On this system most participants earn more than the minimum rate per hour, but a few participants find it difficult, even though they try, but some just do not work hard enough.  If this happens the farmer may train you again to pick the crop quickly.  If after this extra training, you are still too slow to earn the minimum wage and the farmer has no alternative employment, then the farmer has no choice but to terminate your employment.  It is often difficult for HOPS to move slow workers to another farm.  If alternative work cannot be found you will be asked to return to your home country.  Most participants earn on average £220-£280 per week after accommodation charges are deducted though some can earn a lot more in peak season if working long hours.  Slower workers may only earn £180 per week or maybe less after accommodation deductions.  HOPS regrets that full work is not guaranteed for the whole of your stay in the UK particularly when you first arrive when the crop is sometimes late starting or the weather is bad.  At other times there may be too much work and the farmer may want you to work long hours for a period.

Remember the majority of participants earn, on average, well over the minimum hourly rate and find their visit to the UK on the SWP a very worthwhile and financially rewarding experience - you can do it too.


Safe Keeping of your Wages

Do not keep all your money with you, or in your accommodation.  In order for your wages and money to be kept safe whilst you are working on a farm in the UK, we strongly recommend that you open a UK bank account.  Most of the farms will pay your wages directly into your bank account every week and help you to open the account; however, UK bank regulations mean that you will have to open the account yourself (the farm cannot open the account for you, but they will help you).

We also recommend that you bring with you the precise details of your home bank accounts or the details of your parents’ bank account.  Your money can then be transferred electronically to the account in your home country before you travel home – this avoids you carrying large amounts of cash when you leave the UK.  HOPS advise that all participants open a bank account prior to their departure for the UK.  Please ensure that the bank in which you open the account has a SWIFT code.

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact HOPS.
 


Health & Safety

Your employer has a duty under the law to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, your health, safety and welfare at work.  In general your employer’s duties include:-

• Making your workplace safe and without risks to health
• Ensuring plant & machinery are safe and that safe systems of work are set and followed
• Ensuring articles and substances are moved, stored and used safely
• Providing adequate welfare facilities
• Giving you the information, instructions, training and supervision necessary for your health and safety.

As an employee, you have legal duties too.  They include:-

• Taking reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by what you do or do not do
• Co-operating with your employer on health and safety
• Correctly using work items provided by your employer, including personal protective equipment, in accordance with training or instructions
• Not interfering with or misusing anything provided for your health, safety or welfare.
• If you feel that you are placed in an unsafe environment – raise the issue with your employer and contact HOPS
 


Repatriation Insurance

All applicants must equip themselves with suitable insurance cover prior to arrival in the UK.  HOPS provide cover for ALL SWP Participants through the NFU at a cost of £10.80 and a Summary of Cover is enclosed for your information.  

For placements of 6-12 months a further fee for extended insurance is payable. 

If you are purchasing additional insurance in your home country as well, you MUST bring with you a TRANSLATED copy of the policy.

The basic insurance must provide the following cover:-
• Repatriation to the participants’ home country in the case of serious illness or injury and in the case of death the repatriation of the body or ashes.  This cover should extend to paying for the door-to-door travel from the UK hospital to the participants home or local hospital.
• In the case of serious illness or injury the repatriation insurance should be activated by a letter from the Consultant Doctor leading the medical treatment in the UK hospital.
• It is strongly recommended that the insurance also provides provision for the participants’ Next of Kin (say, 2 members of the immediate family) to travel to the UK in the case of serious illness, injury or a death.  This cover should extend to paying for the door-to-door travel to the UK hospital and return door-to-door travel home and the costs of accommodation and living expenses whilst in the UK.  It should also cover the provision of the services of an interpreter in the hospital if required.
 

Please click here for the NFU Insurance Summary


Things to Bring with you

  • Warm Sleeping Bag – British nights can be cold
  • Clothing and footwear suitable for the seasons you plan to be in the UK.  See above – don’t forget clothing and footwear for work.
  • Towel and Washbag.
  • Passport/Id Card  - you are advised to take 2 photocopies of your passport/IdD Card (the page showing the document number and your personal details) and to leave one copy with your next of kin and to have the other with you (kept separately from your passport).  This is in case your passport is lost or stolen and will be helpful when getting it replaced.
  • SWP Certificate.
  • Travel tickets.
  • Money (for the first 2 weeks) – approx £100 - £150 Sterling.
  • A signed document from your University listing the subjects you are studying (if applicable).  
  • Full details of the repatriation insurance (in the English Language) including the emergency contact number and the full name and address of the company providing this insurance.
  • An International Driving Licence is useful particularly for drivers whose licence is printed in a non-European alphabet or is not valid in the UK. It is not possible for overseas nationals to obtain an International Licence in the UK – you must do this at home.
     
  • A copy of your pre-Employment Medical Questionnaire. Please click here to download a copy.
  • Electrical equipment, particularly computers, from home may not be compatible with the British electrical supply. Check before departure. Most simple electrical items (eg hairdryers, radios) can be obtained for around £20 each or less.  Your employer will require any items you bring with you or purchase second hand in the UK to undergo a Personal Appliance Test (PAT) in the UK by a certified electrician.
  • Photographs of people and places at home that are special to you can help ease homesickness and make a room feel like home.  A special item from home — a picture or ornament for example — can help you feel at home. 
  • Favourite books or posters, CD’s or tapes and perhaps souvenirs/small items for gifts.
  • Make sure you can carry your own luggage for up to 500 metres. You may have to do this! 
  • Your carry-on/hand baggage should include enough personal articles to last for your first night in UK (clean underwear, warm jacket, toothbrush, and medication etc.). This is just in case your luggage is delayed in transit. 
  • DON’T pack fresh food. Your luggage may be destroyed.
  • Make sure your luggage is clearly labelled in English.
     

Complaints/Grievance Procedure

If you have any concerns about your work placement, for example, with the work you are undertaking, the wages you are earning, your accommodation or your access to social and cultural facilities, in the first instance, please discuss these with your Supervisor or Farm Manager on the farm you are working on.

If the Farm is unable to resolve your concerns satisfactorily, then the next stage is for you to contact the HOPS office, usually by telephone.  We will listen to your concerns and if they cannot be resolved over the telephone, we will then ask for the complaint to be sent to HOPS in writing to the address below.  In the case of a wages query, we may ask you to supply copies of wage slips. 

Your complaint will be investigated, which may involve contacting the farm/employer.  Following the investigation HOPS will contact you with a detailed response to your complaint, confirming the outcome of our investigations and any solutions.  We would aim to respond to written complaints within four working days.

If you are not satisfied with the way your complaint was dealt with by the HOPS staff team, then you are invited to detail the nature of your concerns, in writing, to the HOPS General Manager, who will investigate how your complaint was handled.

In undertaking the above process, HOPS personnel will be sensitive to the fact that we are dealing with people who are away from home for the first time and will endeavour to adopt a sympathetic and practical response to the concerns raised.


Tetanus Disease & Tuberculosis

You are advised to have TETANUS immunisation before you leave home. This is because you will be working outside, and in farm fields. It may also be a good idea to have an inoculation for Tuberculosis  (TB).


Illegal Drugs

If any illegal drugs - except for medical drugs prescribed by a doctor, or purchased at a pharmacy - are found on you, or in your personal possessions, you may be reported to the British police and the British immigration authorities.


International Student Card

As you are responsible for arranging and paying for your own travel, we suggest you get an International Students Card (if applicable) before leaving your home country.  Students with this card can often obtain a reduction in travel costs from travel/tour/bus/train companies.


Mail at the Farm

Employers will accept letters and parcels from your home, whilst you are on the farm. 


How to Contact HOPS

HOPS Labour Solutions
YFC Centre
Stoneleigh Park
Kenilworth
Warwickshire CV8 2LG

Tel: 02476 857206
Fax: 02476 857205

Email: hopsgb@nfyfc.org.uk
Website: www.hopsgb.org.uk

GLA License No: HOPS0001

Office hours: Monday to Thursday 9.00 am – 5.00 pm 
                   Friday 9.00 am – 4.00 pm