Research and analysis

Seasonal workers survey results 2022

Updated 25 January 2024

Executive summary

This document provides a summary of results from a survey of workers who were issued seasonal worker visas during 2022. The purpose of the survey is to gain insights into their experience to understand what went well and where improvements may be needed. The survey was conducted between 29 May and 17 July 2023. Further information on the seasonal worker visa route is available at Seasonal worker visa (temporary work).

The survey questions were re-written for 2022 workers, following consultation with industry and non-governmental organisation (NGO) stakeholders. This resulted in a simplified survey, with fewer questions and an increased focus on welfare in terms of on farm experience and financial implications.

Overall, there were 4,290 responses to the survey, a 12.4% return rate. The vast majority (73.8%) of survey respondents were from 4 central Asian countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), with Kyrgyzstan having greatest representation (30.8% of all respondents).

Recruitment and pre-arrival costs

The survey found that workers incurred a variety of different costs before arriving in the UK. The most commonly reported cost respondents reported paying was the visa fee (79.5%), followed by travel expenses (66.7%).

Most respondents agreed they were provided with adequate information before arriving in the UK relating to:

• accommodation (94.7%)
• working hours (90.5%)
• pay rate (90.7%)
• working conditions (90.6%)
• type of work they would be carrying out (93.9%)

Slightly fewer respondents reported that information regarding areas of potential deductions to pay (81.1%) and contract length (86.8%) was accurate.

Contract and pay

Almost all respondents (94.5%) stated they were provided their contracts in a language they could understand.

The vast majority of workers who responded to the survey were happy with their pay while working in the UK (92.0%). Of those who responded to the survey, only 1.1% of respondents stated that they were not paid on time. However 14.1% of respondents stated that they were not paid in full for all the work they carried out.

The amount of time working in the UK also varied, though most respondents stated they worked for over 5 months (60.7%) and another 20.1% worked for between 4 to 5 months.

Experience on farms

The overall picture provided by respondents was that they were happy with their working and living conditions whilst staying on the farms. 94.0% of respondents were happy with the safety on farms and 88.3% were happy with the accommodation.

When asked about costs associated with their stay, 54.7% of respondents stated transport was their biggest cost after arriving to the UK and 37.0% of respondents stated that they incurred equipment fees.

Complaints, transfers and access to healthcare

The vast majority of survey respondents did not make a complaint during their time on UK farms, which is consistent with previous surveys. However of the 4.3% of respondents who stated they raised a complaint in 2022, just less than half said that their complaints were not followed up. Additionally, whilst the majority of respondents knew how to raise a complaint if they were unhappy with their employment (70.7%), a large proportion did not (29.3%).

The facility to transfer between farms was popular, with 22.8% of respondents requesting a transfer and 11.6% moving to a different farm.

The majority of respondents (65.8%) did not become sick or injured whilst working on a farm in the UK. Only 5.7% of respondents stated that they were not well supported or able to receive treatment.

Overall satisfaction

Respondents to the survey reported a positive or extremely positive experience in the UK (85.9%). Almost all respondents expressed a desire to return to the UK through the seasonal worker visa route, with only 2.4% of respondents stating they would not.

Different experiences by respondents from differing home countries

Some differences in experiences were identified by respondents with different home countries. Greater proportions of Indonesian and Nepalese respondents paid fees prior to their arrival in the UK. For example, 69.7% of Indonesian respondents paid a recruitment fee compared with the survey average of 9.1%. Survey results also showed a greater proportion of respondents from these countries paying higher costs (over £1,000) before arriving in the UK, and reporting shorter periods working in the UK.

Section A – introduction to the 2022 seasonal workers survey results

This report presents the results of the 2022 seasonal workers survey. The survey questionnaire was distributed in the summer of 2023 to migrant workers with visas issued in 2022.

The seasonal workers survey is a monitoring tool used by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to assess migrant welfare and the experience of seasonal workers on UK farms. The survey has been run each year since 2019. Data from the 2019 survey of workers was published as part of a more comprehensive wider review. The 2019 review, as well as seasonal workers surveys results for 2020 and 2021, can be found at Seasonal workers reviews and surveys.

Prior to the 2022 survey, the questions asked in the 2020 and 2021 surveys were reviewed, with input from industry and NGO stakeholders, to re-focus the survey on welfare and to shorten and simplify it, in order to improve the response rate and data accuracy.

Insights from this survey will be used to support future policy development aimed at improving migrant welfare.

In 2022, the visa route was extended to the end of 2024 and expanded to include poultry workers. Holders of horticulture seasonal worker visas are entitled to work for up to 6 months from their time of arrival, whereas holders of poultry seasonal worker visas can work for up to 3 months in the poultry sector in the run up to Christmas.

The total number of seasonal worker visas available in 2022 was 38,000 for the horticulture sector and 2,000 for the poultry sector. Official Home Office statistics show that 34,532 seasonal worker visas were granted in 2022. The poultry sector was significantly hit by the avian influenza outbreak that year and used only a small proportion of its allocation.

There were 4 operators licensed to recruit seasonal workers for horticulture during 2022:

• Pro-Force
• Concordia
• AG Recruitment
• Fruitful Jobs

Pro-Force and a fifth operator, RE Recruitment, were also licensed to recruit for poultry. The home countries of seasonal workers reflect the recruitment approach taken by the operators who sourced the seasonal workers (and acted as their sponsor) on behalf of UK growers. A breakdown of the total number of visas issued to seasonal workers by country can be found in Table 1.

Table 1: Total number of visas issued to seasonal workers in calendar year 2022

Country of respondent	Visas issued in 2022	Percentage of total visas issued in 2022
Ukraine	7,332	21.3%
Kyrgyzstan	4,335	12.6%
Uzbekistan	4,228	12.3%
Tajikistan	3,906	11.3%
Nepal	2,744	8.0%
Kazakhstan	2,673	7.8%
Moldova	2,192	6.4%
Indonesia	1,454	4.2%
Romania	1,137	3.3%
Bulgaria	1,028	3.0%
North Macedonia	663	1.9%
Russia	522	1.5%
All other	2,270	6.5%
Totals	34,484	100%

Source: Defra’s secondary analysis of Home Office Immigration Statistics – year ending June 2023

1. Insights from the seasonal workers survey

The 2022 seasonal workers survey was hosted online by Qualtrics and all scheme operators who recruited seasonal workers during 2022 sent out the questionnaire on behalf of Defra.

There are a range of risks associated with migration routes for low skilled workers, including the treatment of workers and fair pay. Defra recognises the importance of monitoring and understanding the experiences of seasonal migrant workers so that measures can be taken to reduce these risks.

The annual worker survey collects both quantitative and qualitative data from migrant seasonal workers and provides valuable insights across 5 dimensions of their welfare:

1. Recruitment and pre-arrival costs.
2. Contracts, payments, duration and hours worked.
3. Experiences on farm.
4. Complaints, transfers and access to healthcare.
5. Overall satisfaction.

The 2022 report themes differ from the themes included in the 2020 and 2021 reports due to changes made to the 2022 seasonal worker survey design. These changes were made in response to feedback and were developed in conjunction with stakeholders.

2. Methodology and analysis

A link to the online Qualtrics-based survey was disseminated by the operators on behalf of Defra in May and June 2023. The survey, in most cases, will have been completed after the worker had returned home.

The survey asked a range of questions on multiple areas of the scheme, ranging from working experience, accommodation, pay, complaints and desire to return to the UK for future seasonal work. The survey comprised 22 questions, including 2 screening questions and 6 free text fields to gain further detail on specific questions. The questionnaire was translated into 12 languages to make it accessible to the majority of respondents. The survey ran from 29 May to 17 July 2023, receiving 4,768 responses and gaining insights from workers whose visa was granted in 2022. 

Analysis was conducted in-house by Defra, removing duplicate responses and responses for which consent was not provided. Defra also removed responses from participants who did not work on farms in the UK in 2022, blank responses and responses from respondents who finished the survey in under 3 minutes to ensure that respondents gave adequate attention to the survey questions. This left 4,290 completed surveys in the final sample, meaning that responses from 12.4% of migrant workers who received seasonal worker visas in 2022 are analysed for this report.

The results of the survey answers are presented as response frequencies and as proportions of all responses, before response variations by respondent’s home country are examined. This breakdown is included to identify whether migrants from different countries have reported different experiences on the UK seasonal workers visa route.

For the demographic breakdown, analysis has been limited to responses from the following countries:

• Indonesia
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Nepal
• Tajikistan
• Uzbekistan

Responses from all other countries are analysed together. Selections were made on the basis of nationalities making up more than 5.0% of the total survey respondents (see Table 2), which allows meaningful analysis to be undertaken and conclusions to be drawn, from the results.

Analysis was undertaken on free text boxes to identify common themes. If an answer in the free text boxes repeated an option present in the first section of these questions, the information was added to the results of the original question.

2.1 Limitations of survey

While seasonal migrant workers can be hard to reach as a research population, Defra has made significant efforts to document the experiences of workers on the seasonal worker visa route. This survey provides valuable insight into seasonal workers’ experiences of working in the UK. However this research has some limitations and we invite careful consideration of these when interpreting the findings.

The online survey was disseminated to migrant workers via the scheme’s operators to reach the maximum number of participants. Defra took measures to ensure that the anonymity of respondents was protected and did not collect identifiable information from survey respondents. Data was collected via Qualtrics, which allowed survey respondents to submit anonymous feedback directly to Defra.

It is recognised that there are limitations to collecting the data in this way. It meant Defra could not follow up with survey respondents, for example, to further explore questions raised. Online survey methods can also be susceptible to low response rates (as can also be the case with other survey methods).

Another factor to consider is that operators disseminated the 2022 survey to workers on behalf of Defra. Although workers were provided with assurances around confidentiality, they depend on the scheme’s operators to access work and may therefore be reluctant to provide negative feedback (or respond to the survey at all), due to a lack of confidence about who can view their responses. It should be noted, though, that the operators do not have access to the raw survey data.

There is also a risk of self-selection bias as participants were free to choose whether to respond to the survey or not. Hence, there is a possibility of overrepresentation of subgroups that had a particularly positive or negative experience of working in the UK.

A low response rate exacerbates the risk of self-selection bias. It is worth noting that the response rate in 2022 remained similar to the 11.6% rate in 2021, despite significant improvements being made to the 2022 survey design. The response rate for the 2022 iteration of the seasonal workers surveys therefore remains lower than the 21.6% response in 2020. Defra remains committed to looking at ways of increasing response rates for future waves, including sending an invite to the survey earlier in the year and closer to when workers return home.

Language barriers can be another limitation, bringing a risk that information is lost in the translation of survey questions into other languages, or responses into English. Across the survey, 86.4% of respondents answered the survey in languages other than English. A professional translator was used to convert all non-English responses from open text boxes.

2.2 Comparisons with previous surveys

This report will make few comparisons with findings from the 2019, 2020 and 2021 survey of workers results due to changes made to the seasonal workers pilot scheme between 2019 and 2021, and a significant re-design of the survey prior to dissemination in 2022.

Improvements to the survey design between 2021 and 2022 led to a shorter questionnaire being used, and significant changes to questions. The population cohort has also changed dramatically since 2019. Expansion of the seasonal worker visa route has led to the number of seasonal workers employed in the UK increasing greatly, while the countries seasonal workers are from have changed dramatically since 2019. Comparisons between the different survey iterations are therefore very difficult.

However, data on each respondent’s home country and age was collected in both 2021 and 2022, therefore allowing response rates for these demographic characteristics to be compared between surveys.

3. Respondent characteristics

The survey collected basic demographic information from respondents, including home country, age and gender.

3.1 Home country of survey respondents 

Table 2 demonstrates that the largest proportion of survey respondents were from Kyrgyzstan (30.8%). Collectively, 3,054 survey responses came from workers from the 4 central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan), which accounted for 73.7% of the survey’s respondents. 353 Nepalese respondents (8.5%), 301 Indonesian respondents (7.3%) and 435 respondents from all other countries combined (10.5%) made up the home countries of the remaining 26.3% of the survey’s respondents.

The proportions shown in Table 2 differ from the 2021 respondents’ home country characteristics. In the 2021 seasonal workers survey, Russian respondents made up 50.2% of the survey cohort. Respondents from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan accounted for 30.4% of responses in 2021. The decrease in respondents whose home country is Russia is likely due to visas not being issued in Russia in 2022.

Table 2. Home country of survey respondents

Home country	Frequency	Proportion
Kyrgyzstan	1,275	30.8%
Tajikistan	1,155	27.9%
Uzbekistan	375	9.1%
Nepal	353	8.5%
Indonesia	301	7.3%
Kazakhstan	249	6.0%
Ukraine	120	2.9%
Russia	89	2.1%
Romania	54	1.3%
Bulgaria	36	0.9%
Other	136	3.30%
Total	4,143	100%

3.2 Age of survey respondents

Figure 1 shows the distribution of respondent age results in the 2022 seasonal workers survey.

Figure 1: Distribution of respondent age in the 2022 seasonal workers survey

Figure 1 description: the age profile in Figure 1 shows that the number of respondents by age rises sharply from 19, peaking at 26, with high numbers of responses between 26 and 31, before the number of responses generally decreases steadily as age increases above 31. This means that the majority of survey respondents were aged 31 years or younger.

Figure 1 also shows that the range of the respondent age profile is 51 years, with the lowest reported age being 19 and the highest reported age being 70. Despite the age most frequently reported by respondents being 26, the average (mean) age of survey respondents was 31.

Table 3: Age group of survey respondents in 2021 and 2022

Age group	2021 proportion	2022 proportion
18 to 24	23.1%	16.6%
25 to 31	43.3%	39.7%
32 to 38	21.6%	27.1%
39+	12.1%	16.6%
Total	746	4,210

Table 3 compares the proportion of respondents by age brackets in the 2021 and 2022 editions of the survey. It shows that there was a larger proportion of respondents aged over 31 in 2022 (43.7%) than in 2021 (33.7%).

3.3 Gender of survey respondents 

The vast majority of respondents to the 2022 seasonal workers survey were male (84.9%), while a much smaller proportion of the dataset were female (14.9%). Only 6 respondents to this question selected ‘other’ or ‘prefer not to say’ when answering this question, accounting for 0.05% and 0.1% of responses to this question.

The gender of respondents was not collected in the 2021 iteration of the seasonal workers survey. Therefore, the proportion of survey respondents by gender cannot be compared between 2021 and 2022.

Table 4: Gender of survey respondents

Gender	Frequency	Proportion
Male	3,588	84.9%
Female	631	14.9%
Other	2	0.05%
Prefer not to say	4	0.1%
Total	4,225	100%

Section B – main findings

The results from this section are not directly comparable to the previous iterations of the seasonal worker’s survey, as set out in section 2.2.

In addition to considering overall frequencies and proportions for the survey, each theme in this section will consider variations in responses by respondent’s home country. The respondent’s countries analysed in this section are Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, as each of these groups represent greater than 5% of survey respondents. All other respondents are grouped into an ‘other’ country category, which makes up 10.4% of survey respondents.

Variations in the responses of respondents of different ages and different genders are not commented upon as the analysis revealed limited variation in responses across different age groups and genders.

4. Recruitment and pre-arrival costs

4.1 Information provided during recruitment

We asked workers about the accuracy of the information provided during the recruitment process. The results show that more than 9 out of 10 respondents considered that information relating to accommodation, hours, pay, working conditions and type of work was accurate.

Slightly fewer respondents reported that information concerning potential deductions to pay (81.1%) and contract length (86.8%) was accurate.

Table 5: Accuracy of the information provided during the recruitment process

Number of respondents to this question: 4,068.

Accurate information provided during recruitment	Yes	No	Unsure	Prefer not to say
Accommodation	94.7%	2.6%	1.3%	1.4%
Working hours	90.5%	5.4%	2.4%	1.7%
Contract length	86.8%	9.0%	2.0%	2.2%
Pay rate	90.7%	4.8%	2.3%	2.3%
Potential deductions to pay	81.1%	12.2%	3.4%	3.4%
Working conditions	90.6%	5.0%	1.9%	2.5%
Type of work	93.9%	2.4%	1.7%	1.9%

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

Response variations by home country

Respondents from Indonesia were least likely to state that they were provided with accurate information during recruitment. This applied across all topics, most noticeably with respect to information about the length of their contract (68.5% compared with 86.8% for the respondents as a whole). In addition, respondents from Nepal were the group least likely to state that they were provided with accurate information regarding rates of pay (77.3% compared with 90.7% – see annex table A1).

4.2 Costs incurred before arriving in the UK

The survey asked workers about costs they might have incurred prior to arrival in the UK. In addition to the visa fee (79.5%), respondents reported a variety of costs, including the cost of travelling to the UK (66.7%). Notably, 9.1% of respondents also reported paying for a recruitment agent or a job-finding fee, something that is not a requirement for securing a role as a seasonal worker. It is important to note that different operators have different systems in place when dealing with pre-arrival costs.

Table 6: Costs paid before arrival in the UK

Number of respondents to this question: 4,004.

Pre-arrival costs	Frequency	Proportion
Visa fees	3,182	79.5%
Travel to the UK	2,671	66.7%
Medical fees	522	13.0%
Nothing	386	9.6%
Recruitment agent or job finding fee	366	9.1%
Training fee	258	6.4%
Other	54	1.3%

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

It is also the case that 54 respondents reported that they paid ‘other’ fees before arrival in the UK, which included paying for uniforms, deposits and criminal record checks.

Response variations by home country

There were significant variations between nationalities regarding fees paid before arriving in the UK (see annex table A2). For example, 69.7% of Indonesian respondents reported that they paid a recruitment or job finding fee prior to arrival in the UK, compared with an average of only 9.1% across all respondents to the survey. A greater proportion of Indonesian workers also paid for travel costs, training fees and medical fees, compared with the survey average (86.3% versus 66,7%, 54.1% versus 6.4%, and 68.6% versus 13.0% respectively).

A higher proportion of Nepalese workers paid for travel costs to the UK (85.4% compared with the survey average of 66.7%) and medical fees (46.6% compared with the survey average of 13.0%).

4.3 Amount of pre-arrival costs

As can be seen in Figure 2, just under half (47.3%) of respondents paid less than £500 in pre-arrival costs. A further 34.7% paid between £500 to £999 and 18.6% paid more than £1,000.

Figure 2: Total costs paid before arriving in the UK

Total cost	Total number of respondents
£1 to £499	1,875
£500 to £999	1,350
£1,000 to £2,999	484
£3,000 to £4,999	253
£5,000+	0

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

Response variations by home country

Indonesian respondents were most likely to report fees of at least £3,000 (61.6% compared with only 6.4% for all respondents – see annex table A3). Additionally, the proportion of Indonesian workers who paid between £1,000 and £2,999 before arriving in the UK was 28.5%, compared with the survey average of 12.2%. Combined, these results show that 90.1% of Indonesian respondents reported that they paid £1,000 or more in pre-arrival costs.

A higher proportion of Nepalese respondents also paid at least £1,000 before arriving in the UK (49.1% compared with the survey average of 18.6%).

Conversely, those moving from the central Asian countries tended to pay lower pre-arrival costs. For example, more than half of those from Kazakhstan and Tajikistan reported paying less than £500 (58.5% and 63.3% respectively compared with a survey average of 47.3%).

5. Contracts, payments, duration and hours worked

5.1 Contracts

The survey reveals that 94.5% of respondents stated they were provided with their contracts in a language they could understand.

In terms of length of work in the UK, 80.8% of respondents had been in employment for over 4 months, 9.2% had worked for 3 to 4 months and only 3.8% had been in work for a shorter period (see Table 7).

Table 7: Length of time working in the UK

Length of work in the UK	Proportion
Over 5 months	60.7%
4 to 5 months	20.1%
3 to 4 months	9.2%
2 to 3 months	6.1%
Less than 2 months	3.8%
Total responses	3,916

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

Responses from free text fields showed some frustrations related to working for a shorter time than anticipated in the UK. Respondents also expressed a desire to stay for longer in the UK. 

We were supposed to work for 6 months, but we only worked for 2 to 3 months. We were not transferred to any other farm. Instead, we were sent home.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

This is my second trip to England, and I would like to continue working for a long time. 6 months is very short, please extend the contract.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Response variations by home country

The highest proportion of respondents working in the UK for less than 5 months were those from Indonesia (35.6%) and Nepal (37.8%). Conversely, respondents from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were most likely to be working for more than 5 months (69.1% and 70.6% compared with the survey average of 60.7%) – see annex table A4.

5.2 Pay

Almost all respondents stated they were happy with the pay they received (92.0%) and that they were paid on time (98.9%). The majority of respondents considered they were also paid fully for their work, including associated work such as setting up or cleaning (85.9%).

In terms of hours provided, 85.1% of all respondents stated they worked over 35 hours per week, with the most common response being 45 to 49 (26.7%) hours a week and 40 to 44 (26.2%) hours a week.

Figure 3: Average number of weekly hours worked

Hours worked	Total number of respondents
Under 20	58
20 to 24	56
25 to 29	92
30 to 34	375
35 to 39	731
40 to 44	1,024
45 to 49	1,041
Over 50	528

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

However 10.3% respondents were unhappy with the hours available to them, with a further 4.6% stating they were either unsure or preferred not to say. There was also feedback from respondents in free text fields where they expressed dissatisfaction with their working hours:

There weren’t enough hours. The company promised us 45 hours per week, but we only got a maximum of 29 hours.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

I don’t know what to say. You could work, the pay was good. It would be better if they gave more hours.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Other issues related to pay were also highlighted in the free text field. Common themes related to income deductions such as tax, national insurance and pension (12 responses), as well as difficulties with obtaining a tax refund (21 responses).

We are getting the minimum salary, and half of the pay is going to the tax, national insurance and pension. That means we are not earning at all.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

We would like to be exempted from some taxes or receive tax refund advice? I don’t want to pay half of my salary in taxes.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Response variations by home country

A greater proportion of Kazakh and Nepalese respondents said that they were not paid for all their work, including for time setting up or cleaning, compared with the survey average (21.9% and 24.5% compared with 14.1% for the survey average – see annex table A5).

6. Costs in the UK and on farm experiences

6.1 Costs incurred after arriving in the UK

Whilst in the UK, respondents faced a range of costs, including travel, medical and training fees. The greatest proportion of reported costs were travel within the UK (57.4%) and equipment fees (37.0%).

Table 8: Costs after arrival in the UK

Number of respondents to this question: 3,942.

Costs (within UK)	Frequency	Proportion
Travel costs within the UK	2,264	57.4%
Equipment fees	1,460	37.0%
Other, please specify	1,065	27.0%
Nothing	910	23.1%
Living essentials for example bedding, cooking utensils	256	6.5%
Training fees	218	5.5%
Medical fees	49	1.2%

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

A total of 1,065 respondents answered that they had incurred ‘other’ costs, but only 161 filled in the subsequent free text box and the majority of these did not provide adequate additional information. Responses were either included in the original options provided within the survey (travel, visa, nothing) or lacking in specific information (‘food’, ‘money’). Nevertheless, 48 responses indicated other costs, the majority being utility bills, followed by laundry.

Response variations by home country

A higher proportion of Indonesian respondents paid additional costs in the UK, compared with the survey average. The biggest differences were seen in the categories of equipment (57.2% for Indonesians compared with the survey average of 37%) and living essentials (17.6% for Indonesians, compared with survey average of 6.5%). For more detail, see annex table A6.

Nepalese respondents were also more likely to pay additional costs, with a greater proportion paying for travel (70%) and equipment (59.1%), compared with the survey average (57.4% and 37% respectively). Conversely, a greater proportion of Kazakh respondents reported not having to pay anything (31.9% versus 23.1% survey average) and along with Uzbek respondents, fewer paid transport costs (45.7% for Kazakhs and 46% for Uzbeks) compared with the survey average of 57.4%.

6.2 Experience on farms

Respondents were asked about their experience working in the UK, across a range of categories. As can be seen from Table 9, the responses were broadly positive, with more than 8 out of 10 respondents stating they were happy across all the criteria presented to them.

Table 9: Satisfaction across a range of farm conditions

Number of respondents to this question: 3,874.

Were you happy with the following?	Yes	No	Unsure	Prefer not to say
Safety	94.0%	3.1%	1.9%	1.1%
Accommodation	88.3%	7.9%	2.8%	1.1%
Transport on and off farm	87.9%	8.9%	1.9%	1.3%
Operator support	86.5%	8.1%	3.6%	1.8%
Protective equipment provided	85.5%	10.5%	2.7%	1.3%
Farm supervisors and managers	85.0%	9.6%	3.3%	2.1%
Ability to leave farm for leisure	84.2%	8.9%	2.9%	4.1%

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

Comments, both positive and negative, provided in the free text questions to this section of the survey covered a range of subjects.

Nearly half of the respondents to this question made reference to a general positive experience (1,078 out of a total of 2,192 who provided a response). In addition, a large number of respondents (491) also took the opportunity to comment that they would like to return to work in the UK, and that there were good working conditions (99).

In terms of negative issues, respondents being bullied or having a negative experience with supervisors was raised in 61 responses (though additionally 44 responses left positive comments regarding their farm supervisors). A smaller proportion of respondents commented on poor accommodation (32). Information on complaints is covered in section 7.

Well sir, I am expressing my own view, I was so happy and enjoying my work. Finally, I was happy with my work and the Farm management team. I wish to come [to the] UK and work again.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

I hope I can work again in the UK, in horticultural farming.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Really such a good experience for me to work in the UK with other people from different countries, hope that I can be able to come back to the UK again especially Indonesian worker. Thank you.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

They used to give days off for least [best] performer. It was working with full mental pressure. If you are not able reach the target, they ask you to go back to caravan. You cannot work [like this], this is a big loss for [the] employee.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Response variations by home country

Respondents’ reported experience whilst working in the UK varied between nationalities (see annex table A7).

Respondents from Nepal were least likely to be happy with elements of their experience working in the UK compared with the survey average, including the hours available (77.5% versus 85.1%), provision of protective equipment (79.1% versus 85.5%), their ability to leave the farm for leisure (78.8% versus 84.2%) and safety (87.7% versus 94.0%). Kazak respondents also reported lower satisfaction compared with the survey average across numerous areas, including operator support (76.3% versus 86.5%).

Conversely, a greater proportion of Tajik and Uzbek respondents reported being happy with on-farm experiences compared with the survey average. For the Tajik respondents, this included transport on or off the farm (93.3% versus 87.9%) and protective equipment (92.6% versus 85.5%). For the Uzbek respondents, this included accommodation (94.2% versus 88.3%), hours available (92.0% versus 85.1%), pay (98.2% versus 92.0%) and ability to leave the farm for leisure (90.2% versus 84.2%).

7. Complaints, transfers and access to healthcare

7.1 Complaints

The majority of respondents knew how to raise a complaint if they were unhappy with their employment (70.7%), though this left a large proportion who did not (29.3%).

Very few survey respondents (166) stated that they had raised any complaints during their time on the seasonal worker visa route. This is an increase from the 2020 (156) and 2021 surveys (83).

However, of the 166 respondents who stated that they raised a formal complaint, only 85 said their complaints were followed up, and 69 said they were not (12 did not answer).

There were 53 free text responses that described the nature of the complaint, with the most common relating to negative and discriminatory experiences with supervisors (12), availability of hours (9) and transfers (9).

Table 10: Nature of worker complaints from free text responses

Nature of complaint	Frequency
Bullied or negative experience with supervisors	12
Lack of availability of hours	9
Transfers	9
Accommodation	7
Ineffective management	5
Problems with fellow workers	2
Embassy issues	4
Working conditions	4

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

The comments provided by respondents indicated a range of specific concerns related to behaviour of managers, supervisors or colleagues and lack of availability of hours:

I complained about behaviour of my colleague, I complained about it to my manager.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

I complained about discrimination, offensive language and racism at work on the part of the managers and supervisors.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

We had few work hours and I complained to my agent about this.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Response variations by home country

A smaller proportion of Central Asian respondents raised a complaint compared with the survey average, while a greater proportion of Indonesians and Nepalese raised a complaint (11.6% and 9.1% compared with the survey average of 4.3% – see annex table A8).

7.2 Transfers

873 respondents (22.8%) stated they had requested a transfer to another farm during their time on the scheme. Table 11 summarises the outcomes of these requests.

Table 11: Result of transfer requests

Transfer request result	Proportion
I was transferred and happy	47.3%
I was not transferred	43.9%
I was transferred and not happy	8.8%
Total responses	871

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

Though more workers were provided with a transfer than not, some negative comments from respondents indicated difficulties in obtaining transfers, whilst others were successfully transferred, as can be seen from the following comments:

…if you want a transfer to another farm, the agencies will only transfer you in extreme circumstances. They simply delay things, saying that they’ll do it next month and then they simply refuse to answer.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

The work [was] over but I still had [a] visa, so [I] wanted [to] move to another workplace, I complained to [the operator] about this.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

… we had few work hours and we asked our agency to transfer us to another farm. The agency immediately responded to our complaint and immediately transferred us to another farm.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

7.3 Access to healthcare

The majority of respondents did not become sick or injured whilst working on a farm in the UK (65.8%). Only 5.7% of respondents stated that they were not well supported or able to receive treatment.

8. Overall satisfaction

The majority of respondents stated that they had a positive or extremely positive experience in the UK (85.9%).

Table 12: Experience in the UK

Experience	Frequency	Proportion
Extremely positive	1,363	34.7%
Positive	2,010	51.2%
Neither positive or negative	330	8.4%
Negative	160	4.1%
Extremely negative	63	1.6%
Total responses:	3,926	100.0%

Respondents generally had a strong desire to return to the UK to participate in the seasonal workers scheme in the future, with 91.4% of respondents stating that they would like to return and only 2.4% not wanting to.  

Table 13: Likelihood of returning to a UK seasonal farm work

Would you work on a UK farm again for seasonal work?	Frequency	Proportion
Yes	3,486	91.4%
Maybe	210	5.5%
No	90	2.4%
Prefer not to say	28	0.7%
Total responses	3,814	100%

Source: Defra seasonal workers survey 2022

This desire to return to work in the UK was also evident within the free text comments:

I just hope I will be able to return to work with the quickest possible recruitment.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

I love this job and please could you repeat the Indonesian people to work again in UK.

2022 seasonal worker survey respondent

Section C – discussion and conclusion

The visa route continues to provide a vital source of labour for the horticulture and poultry sectors. The importance of the visa route was demonstrated with confirmation, in late 2021, of the route’s continuation through to 2024, along with a significant expansion of the visas available for the 2022 season. 2022 was also the first year for the poultry strand of the visa route.

The government is dedicated to ensuring that the seasonal worker visa route runs efficiently and fairly for all, providing workers overseas with the opportunity to earn a decent wage, safely and fairly, while UK growers can access additional labour for seasonal peaks. The worker welfare survey is a key tool in understanding the experience of seasonal workers on UK farms utilising the visa route to work.

2022 was a challenging year, with war disrupting the sourcing and arrival of workers, weather affecting harvests and avian influenza significantly affecting the poultry sector. The war in Ukraine significantly reduced the number of workers from Ukraine and Russia and led to more workers coming from central and eastern Asian countries. This happened at very short notice, presenting operational and cultural challenges for operators and growers.

Overall, the survey findings indicate a largely positive situation. Most respondents were satisfied with their overall working and living experiences, were happy with their rates of pay, and were paid on time and in full. Most respondents also stated they would like to work on a UK farm again.

There were, however, some areas that warrant additional focus, especially the payment of unnecessary fees (recruitment, medical, training). While the majority of those responding to the survey worked over 35 hours, some reported working fewer than 30 hours a week and concerns were expressed about the small number of hours work they were provided with. Additionally, there were reports of paying for protective equipment, issues with the ability to leave the farm for leisure and discrimination by farm supervisors or managers. Of the small minority who raised a complaint, too many indicated this was not followed up, and a large proportion did not know how to raise a compliant. 

Respondents from Indonesia and Nepal reported more negative experiences than those from other countries, including reported rates of pay, information regarding contracts, the length of time working in the UK and additional fees at greater amounts, both during recruitment and after arrival in the UK. The underlying causes of these differences have not been examined in this survey.

Actions have been taken during 2023 to improve workers’ conditions, including the introduction of a minimum of 32 hours pay per week from April 2023 onward, and the additional focus by national government – in partnership with sponsors’ organisations, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and migrants’ governments – to improve processes to reduce exploitation risk and worker expectations. The creation of the Seasonal Worker Taskforce by stakeholder organisations in late 2022 was also a positive step towards collaborative efforts to tackle worker welfare issues.

Key areas for improvement and worthy of further investigation relate to in-country fees, lengths of time working in the UK, how complaints are handled, farm supervisors’ attitudes and ensuring payment in full for all work (including setting up time, for example). In addition, the Employer Pays Principle should be considered, noting the difficulties and complexities this might entail.

The worker welfare survey for 2023 will help to identify if issues identified by this survey are on-going or specific to 2022. Defra will implement the survey for 2023 shortly after the end of the season, with the aim of improving the response rate and quality of responses.

Annex

Table A1 – Country-level data: respondents confirming accurate information provided during recruitment across a range of topics

	Accommodation	Working hours	Contract length	Pay rate	Potential deductions to pay	Working conditions	Type of work
Survey average	94.7%	90.5%	86.8%	90.7%	81.1%	90.6%	93.9%
Indonesia	85.0%	81.6%	68.5%	80.8%	74.8%	82.9%	92.1%
Kazakhstan	95.8%	92.1%	82.1%	92.5%	80.8%	90.0%	92.1%
Kyrgyzstan	97.2%	93.3%	90.2%	95.5%	82.6%	93.8%	96.1%
Nepal	94.2%	81.3%	85.6%	77.3%	92.3%	88.7%	90.5%
Tajikistan	95.2%	93.1%	86.8%	92.2%	76.5%	91.2%	94.2%
Uzbekistan	98.6%	97.2%	96.1%	96.6%	89.4%	96.6%	97.2%
All other nationalities	91.3%	84.1%	88.5%	86.0%	78.6%	83.7%	89.2%

Table A2 – Country-level data: costs paid before arrival in the UK

	Nothing	Travel costs to the UK	Recruitment agent or job-finding fee	Training fees	Medical fees	Visa fees
Survey average	9.6%	66.7%	9.1%	6.4%	13.0%	79.5%
Indonesia	1.4%	86.3%	69.7%	54.1%	68.6%	87.1%
Kazakhstan	5.9%	72.7%	0.0%	0.0%	1.7%	87.0%
Kyrgyzstan	8.5%	66.6%	0.9%	0.2%	3.9%	82.9%
Nepal	4.7%	85.4%	8.4%	9.3%	46.6%	83.9%
Tajikistan	16.0%	53.4%	1.4%	0.2%	2.4%	68.4%
Uzbekistan	8.3%	55.3%	1.4%	1.1%	2.6%	78.2%
All other nationalities	10.4%	70.6%	10.2%	3.2%	5.8%	78.9%

Table A3 – Country-level data: amount of costs paid before arrival in the UK

	£1 to £499	£500 to £999	£1,000 to £2,999	£3,000 to £4,999	£5,000+
Survey average	47.3%	34.1%	12.2%	6.4%	0.0%
Indonesia	4.8%	5.1%	28.5%	61.6%	0.0%
Kazakhstan	58.5%	36.9%	4.7%	0.0%	0.0%
Kyrgyzstan	50.6%	40.7%	8.7%	0.0%	0.0%
Nepal	21.5%	29.5%	42.0%	7.1%	0.0%
Tajikistan	63.3%	32.2%	4.5%	0.1%	0.0%
Uzbekistan	39.2%	49.7%	9.6%	1.5%	0.0%
All other nationalities	52.2%	33.2%	12.9%	1.6%	0.0%

Table A4 – Country-level data: length of time working in the UK

	Less than 2 months	2 to <3 months	3 to <4 months	4 to <5 months	Over 5 months
Survey average	3.8%	6.1%	9.2%	20.1%	60.7%
Indonesia	0.3%	12.0%	19.9%	32.2%	35.6%
Kazakhstan	7.9%	11.4%	9.2%	14.4%	57.2%
Kyrgyzstan	1.4%	4.4%	6.9%	18.3%	69.1%
Nepal	6.1%	9.0%	14.1%	33.0%	37.8%
Tajikistan	4.3%	3.3%	5.4%	16.3%	70.6%
Uzbekistan	1.2%	5.5%	12.1%	24.8%	56.4%
All other nationalities	10.8%	8.2%	10.3%	14.2%	56.5%

Table A5 – Country-level data: payment for all work completed, including associated time for example setting up or cleaning

	Yes	No
Survey average	85.9%	14.1%
Indonesia	91.8%	8.2%
Kazakhstan	78.1%	21.9%
Kyrgyzstan	86.3%	13.7%
Nepal	75.5%	24.5%
Tajikistan	87.2%	12.8%
Uzbekistan	91.8%	8.2%
All other nationalities	83.7%	16.3%

Table A6 – Country-level data: costs after arriving in the UK

	Nothing	Travel costs within the UK	Equipment fees	Training fees	Medical fees	Living essentials (for example bedding, cooking utensils)
Survey average	23.1%	57.4%	37.0%	5.5%	1.2%	6.5%
Indonesia	8.0%	61.2%	57.2%	20.2%	8.8%	17.6%
Kazakhstan	31.9%	45.7%	37.5%	2.6%	0.0%	5.6%
Kyrgyzstan	23.7%	62.9%	31.1%	4.1%	0.1%	5.8%
Nepal	9.9%	70.0%	59.1%	8.6%	2.2%	7.7%
Tajikistan	26.9%	57.4%	27.8%	2.5%	0.2%	5.2%
Uzbekistan	25.8%	46.0%	36.7%	3.2%	0.9%	3.2%
All other nationalities	27.8%	44.7%	42.5%	5.2%	0.7%	4.0%

Table A7 – Country-level data: satisfaction with specific on-farm conditions in the UK

	Accommodation	Hours available	Pay	Provided information	Transport on and off farm
Survey Average	88.3%	85.1%	92.0%	92.0%	87.9%
Indonesia	87.5%	82.7%	87.5%	86.9%	88.3%
Kazakhstan	82.5%	78.5%	82.5%	89.0%	83.3%
Kyrgyzstan	88.6%	86.9%	94.3%	95.1%	88.1%
Nepal	90.1%	77.5%	92.7%	88.7%	83.4%
Tajikistan	93.4%	89.7%	96.1%	95.3%	93.3%
Uzbekistan	94.2%	92.0%	98.2%	96.3%	91.4%
All other nationalities	72.0%	74.5%	78.6%	80.3%	76.4%

	Protective equipment provided	Farm supervisors and managers	Operator support	Ability to leave farm for leisure	Safety
Survey average	85.5%	85.0%	86.5%	84.2%	94.0%
Indonesia	84.0%	89.1%	89.3%	85.3%	91.2%
Kazakhstan	77.6%	80.3%	76.3%	87.7%	92.5%
Kyrgyzstan	85.5%	84.2%	88.0%	85.3%	96.0%
Nepal	79.1%	83.4%	85.4%	78.8%	87.7%
Tajikistan	92.6%	88.8%	90.6%	81.7%	96.4%
Uzbekistan	90.5%	89.0%	91.1%	90.2%	97.2%
All other nationalities	74.2%	74.7%	72.3%	83.2%	87.1%

Table A8 – Country-level data: proportion of respondents who raised a complaint whilst in the UK

	Yes	No
Survey average	4.3%	95.7%
Indonesia	11.6%	88.4%
Kazakhstan	1.8%	98.2%
Kyrgyzstan	2.6%	97.4%
Nepal	9.1%	90.9%
Tajikistan	2.7%	97.3%
Uzbekistan	2.2%	97.8%
All other nationalities	6.4%	93.6%

Section D – information about this release

Totals in this release are based on unrounded figures so may not agree with the sum of their components in the tables.

Other relevant data sources

Data has been collected every spring since 2020 on a retrospective basis. Results from the 2020 and 2021 survey of workers were published in August 2023. Results from this survey can be accessed at:

• Seasonal workers review 2020
• Seasonal workers review 2021

Feedback

We welcome feedback and any thoughts to improve the publication further. Please send any feedback to: accesstolabourfoodchain@defra.gov.uk

The following are suggested questions to help you structure your feedback, but all feedback is welcome:

• how relevant is the current content of the publication to your needs as a user?
• what purpose do you require the data for?
• which data do you find most useful?
• is there any content that you did not find helpful?
• do you have any suggestions for further development of this release, including additional content, presentation and other thoughts?