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Know How / Staff management

A motivated, well-trained team can be the key to running a successful agricultural business, but people management can be a challenge. Get expert advice on how to recruit and retain the best farm staff, plus tips on staying on the right side of the law when it comes to employment issues.

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STAFF MANAGEMENT

How Gold Cup winners are managing staff

Teamwork, staff management and new technology are the three secrets to running a successful business, says Philip Metcalfe of Metcalfe Farms. Last year the farm scooped the NMR/RABDF Gold Cup…

DAIRY

How to run a successful multi-site dairy business

The Pilkington family have taken their passion for simple grass-based dairying and developed it into a successful multi-site business. Driven by a clear succession plan with their son Matt returning…

NEWS

How a post-Brexit staff shortage could affect horticulture

When award-winning vegetable grower Joe Rolfe needs his brassicas weeding, an army of people descend by the busload on the farm. Horticulture is notoriously labour intensive – and even more…

LIVESTOCK

New Zealander helps Oxford farm cope with shearing season

Shearing is a specialist skill, and one that takes many years and thousands, if not millions, of sheep to master. For Oxfordshire shearer Stuart Connor, being able to hire a…

Practical advice

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STAFF MANAGEMENT

7 ways to attract the next generation to careers in farming

The economic uncertainty of Brexit, the rise of alternative lifestyles and the influence of social media have affected the public perception of farming and the dynamics within our workforce. Farming…

MACHINERY

How contractors can avoid penalties on self-employed staff

Employers and employees risk invalidating their insurance and could have to cough up for unpaid tax and penalty fees if workers cannot justify their self-employed status. Finding reliable, skilled staff…

STAFF MANAGEMENT

7 expert tips for employing staff and staying legal

One area of staff management often overlooked is the importance of basic administration and personnel files.  In our latest article on staff management, Paul Harris offers seven quick tips to…

STAFF MANAGEMENT

Farm wage rates need to rise by more than inflation

Farm businesses in England may need to award an above-inflation pay rise for 2019-20 to keep in line with increases in the national living wage (NLW) and rising agricultural wage…

STAFF MANAGEMENT

Tips for managing staff in diversified farm businesses

Staff management in a busy venture can take up a huge amount of time, whether it's recruitment, juggling rotas or making decisions on pay issues. With 70 full- and part-time…

STAFF MANAGEMENT

What skills to look for when recruiting farm staff

When assessing the performance of their team, or when seeking to recruit new staff, farmers often focus on the skills and knowledge of a potential employee.  While this is important,…

Insights

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BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Outlook 2019: What Brexit uncertainty means for farm profits

The UK has high employment rates but a challenging economic background. Across the wider economy, a very free labour market offers confidence to employers to take on workers. However, many…

CAREERS AND PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Farm manager salaries stagnate but benefits rise

Farm managers earned an average of £52,268 in 2017, just £30 more than two years earlier. This was made up of a £48,760 gross salary plus an average £3,508 bonus…

NEWS

Shocking extent of modern slavery in agriculture revealed

The shocking extent of labour exploitation and modern-day slavery in agriculture has been laid bare in a new report by the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA). Drawing on its…

BUSINESS

What the EU agreement on citizens’ rights means for farmworker...

Last week the government announced to great fanfare that it and the EU had come to an agreement about citizens’ rights post Brexit. This will have a big impact on…

BREXIT

Analysis: Access to farm labour if the UK left the EU

Migrant labour plays a key role in agriculture – but could farmers, especially in the horticulture sector, access enough labour if the UK voted to leave the EU? Under the…

BUSINESS

Analysis: How the new wages rise will hit horticulture hard

The UK’s horticulture sector wakes up today, Friday 1 April, to what some predict will be the biggest upheaval in a generation – the introduction of the national living wage…