Coming to England for seasonal poultry work on farms and processing sites
Advice for seasonal poultry workers coming to England to process poultry on farms and their employers.
Applies to England
This is national guidance for England.
The rules on self-isolation for seasonal workers are different from those for other international travellers to England because of the importance of the work for food supply. If you’re coming to England to work on a named farm or processing site, you and your employer should follow this guidance.
Before you travel, you should fill in the Passenger Locator Form with your journey, contact details and the address of the farm where you will work and live or the accommodation where you will live while working at a processing site. You must provide these details when you arrive in England.
You’ll need to prove at the UK border controls that you are a seasonal poultry worker. Read guidance on what you will need to show when you arrive at the UK border.
Travelling from a country exempt from COVID-19 travel rules
If you have spent all of the 10 days prior to arrival in England in an exempt country you will not need to self-isolate.
Travelling from a country not exempt from COVID-19 travel rules
If you’re a seasonal poultry worker coming to England from a country which requires self isolation, for the first 10 days after you arrive in England you must self-isolate at either the:
- named farm where you will work and live
- processing site and designated accommodation where you will work and live
You will only be allowed to leave the named farm or the processing site where you are working or the designated accommodation where you are staying in exceptional circumstances.
Travelling to the named farm or processing site accommodation
You should not travel to England if you are unwell or have coronavirus symptoms.
If you develop coronavirus symptoms when you’re travelling to England, you should tell one of the crew on your plane, boat or train, or the driver if you’re travelling by bus or coach.
They’ll let staff in the airport, port or station know, so they can tell you what you should do next when you arrive.
When you arrive in England you must go straight to the named farm where you’ll be working and living, or directly to the processing site accommodation where you will be staying. Your employer should collect you from the airport, port or station. You should wear a face covering in the vehicle.
If you need to use public transport, you must wear a face covering unless you have a face covering exemption because of your age, health or another condition. Read guidance on making and wearing a face covering.
Stay 2 metres apart from other people where possible, or one metre with risk mitigation, such as wearing a face covering, where 2 metres is not viable.
At the farm accommodation
You must stay at the farm address you provided when you arrived at the border. Your employer should help you with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication.
If you do not live on the farm you will not be able to work for your first 10 days in England.
At the processing site accommodation
You must stay at the processing site accommodation address you provided when you arrived at the border. Your employer should help you with buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication.
If you do not live in the accommodation you will not be able to work for your first 10 days in England.
Your first 10 days in England
During your first 10 days in England, you can work on the farm or the processing site as long as you’re living within the designated accommodation, but you should:
- avoid contact with others on the farm or processing site, apart from your arranged cohort
- follow social distancing rules
You can travel directly between the processing site and your accommodation using transport arranged by your employer. You may only leave the farm, processing site or designated accommodation during the first 10 days in exceptional circumstances:
- for urgent medical assistance (or where your doctor has advised you to get medical assistance)
- to access critical public services such as social services and victim support services
- to go to the funeral of a close relative to fulfil a legal obligation such as participate in legal proceedings
If you need help buying groceries, other shopping or picking up medication you should ask your employer to help or order a delivery.
While on the farm and working, you should follow guidance on safer working.
During your first 10 days in England, your employer should place you into a cohort group that you live and work with (see industry best practice guidance on social distancing).
If you get coronavirus symptoms
You should look for any of the following symptoms after the day you arrive in England:
- new continuous cough
- high temperature
- loss of or change to your sense of smell or taste
If you develop symptoms you must self-isolate for both of the following:
- at least 10 days from the date you arrived in England
- at least 10 days from when your symptoms started and until you are better and no longer have a high temperature
You should apply for a coronavirus test as soon as you develop symptoms. You can call the National Health Service by dialling 119 to arrange for a test if you do not have access to the internet.
If you’re not experiencing symptoms but have tested positive for COVID-19 you should self-isolate for 10 days starting from the day the test was taken.
If you have tested positive whilst not experiencing symptoms but develop symptoms during the isolation period, you should restart the 10-day isolation period from the day you develop symptoms.
If your test for coronavirus is positive you will be asked to share your contacts with the NHS test and trace service. Your Passenger Locator Form may be used to alert people who travelled to England alongside you.
Use the NHS 111 online coronavirus (COVID-19) service, or call NHS 111 if you do not have internet access, if:
- you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms
- your condition gets worse
- your symptoms do not get better after 7 days
For a medical emergency dial 999.
Others in your cohort
If you are staying with others on the farm, processing site or designated accommodation and you develop symptoms, the household or group (cohort) that you are staying and working with will need to begin to self-isolate.
After your first 10 days in England
If you do not have any coronavirus symptoms during or after 10 days, you’ll then need to follow the same rules as people who live in England. Check the rules for England.
You must wear a face covering in some public places unless you have a face covering exemption because of your age, health or another condition.
Employing seasonal workers from overseas
Follow this guidance if you’re a farmer, poultry producer, labour provider or agency bringing workers from overseas to work on farms in England.
You should make sure that workers have documentary evidence to confirm that they are travelling to your farm or processing site to carry out seasonal poultry work. Workers should have these documents before they travel.
Before workers travel from their home countries to the farm or designated accommodation, you should give them appropriately translated:
- clear instructions about their working and living arrangements
- guidance on any local restrictions
- industry guidance on social distancing
You should make sure workers understand and are able to follow this guidance. You should ask workers to give written confirmation that they have received and understood this information. If necessary, there should be translation facilities available.
You should arrange transport for your workers from the port or airport in cohorts of up to 6 people. You should provide face coverings.
You should make sure that, for the first 10 days, workers:
- live and work in the same cohort of up to 6 people - made up of workers arriving on the farm or processing site within 24 hours of each other
- work in the same one function and location
- do not leave their designated accommodation, for example to go shopping
You should ensure that isolating and non-isolating workers do not mix.
Check the list of exempt countries and DHSC guidance on travelling to the UK.
When working, ensure that your operations follow:
If anyone in the group develops coronavirus symptoms, follow guidance on what to do if an individual gets coronavirus symptoms.
At the end of 10 days self-isolation on the farm or processing site
After 10 days of arrival from a country, if noone in the group tests positive or has any coronavirus symptoms, or 10 days after the group is isolated due to a positive test, employers should make sure that workers are aware of:
- guidance on dealing with suspected cases of coronavirus
- guidance on social distancing, both on and off the farm
- industry best practice on social distancing
Last updated 14 December 2020 + show all updates
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Updated to reflect that the self-isolation period is now 10 days instead of 14, with day zero being the day of contact.
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First published.