Farmers reject Reform’s plans for employer migration tax

Reform UK’s plans to introduce an “employer immigration tax” to reduce Britain’s “addiction to cheap overseas labour” would have a devastating impact on the agricultural industry, warn farmers and growers.

Under the party’s election proposals, businesses that employ foreign workers would be required to pay a higher 20% National Insurance (NI) rate on an employee’s salary, up from the present 13.8%.

Reform, which is led by Nigel Farage, says it would introduce the policy to bring down legal immigration. However, It would not apply it to small businesses or health and care workers, its says.

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The money raised from the employer immigration tax would be invested in training and skills for British workers, Reform says.

It is not clear whether Reform would apply the plan to the Seasonal Worker Scheme, which allows more than 45,000 people a year to travel to the UK to undertake seasonal work in horticulture or the poultry industry on a temporary basis.

Kent farmer David Catt says many farm businesses in his county and across the UK rely heavily on foreign workers to pick and pack crops and, if the taxation policy was introduced, it would have a “crippling impact” on their livelihoods.

“The UK farming industry employs more migrant labour than any other sector. I appreciate that Reform UK are not in power, but this policy would be devastating for farm businesses who are already under serious financial pressure.”  

Labour struggles

Mr Catt, who has been running David Catt & Sons fruit and veg company in mid-Kent since 1972, says many businesses like his struggle to find British workers who are willing to work on farms, and as van drivers.

“If fruit and veg growers could not bring in migrant workers or were forced to pay more taxes to employ them, it would hit us massively,” he said.

Mike Ashby, a fourth-generation farmer and asparagus grower based in Oundle, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, said taxing growers who employ foreign staff would inflict further financial pain on the UK horticulture sector.

“All horticultural crop producers are struggling now with labour. The National Living Wage has gone up 10% to £11.44/hour and the margin from supermarkets isn’t that great, plus we face competition from exports,” he told Farmers Weekly.

“The lack of support for UK producers is just shocking. This policy, if it was ever introduced, would be just another nail in the coffin for us.”

No impact assessment

Mr Ashby said he had tried to employ more British workers, but many find the working conditions too hard. “Out of the English workers I employed during Covid, about a third of them cut it and two-thirds couldn’t cut it,” he said.

Matt Naylor, managing director of Naylor Flowers which grows 300ha of cut flowers in Lincolnshire for supermarkets, said: “This seems like a policy dreamed up in a few weeks from a party that has no prospect of getting elected.

“Has Reform carried out an impact assessment on this? Are they making up policies that have not been properly costed?” he asked.

Reform says it would also offer subsidised courses at agricultural colleges and apprenticeships “to help young people learn farming ‘craft’ and business management”.