UFU secures changes to Agricultural Wages Order to support farms

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has secured significant improvements to the Agricultural Wages Order, delivering a fairer and more practical framework for both farmers and farm workers across Northern Ireland.

Following engagement with the Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland, the UFU successfully pushed for changes to the overtime rules that bring agriculture into line with wider government legislation.

The organisation argued that the former system placed “unusually high and complex obligations on farm businesses which were not applied in other sectors”.

This was discouraging farms from offering additional hours and investing in staff, and created unnecessary barriers to job creation, resulting in many family farms struggling to manage workload pressures, the UFU argued.

The newly agreed changes will ensure that overtime provisions now align with standard government legislation, creating a fairer system for farm businesses.

This means the overtime rate is now subject to negotiations between employers and employees at farm level.

Agricultural workers

The Agricultural Wages Board has also approved a significant overhaul of the grading structure for agricultural workers.

The new updated system introduces clearer, less technical definitions of roles and responsibilities, thus making it easier for both farmers and employees to understand how positions are classified.

These revised grades also introduce clearer progression between roles, which help workers see a more clear pathway for development and pay progression within the industry.

UFU lead on the board, Crosby Cleland said: “Since the pandemic, we have witnessed a downward trend of employed farm workers on farms in Northern Ireland, caused in part by the unfairly high standards farmers are expected to adhere to compared to other industries.

“These changes are vital for the future of farm employment, as farmers want to be fair employers and provide good opportunities for workers.

“But the regulatory system must also be workable for farm businesses and reflect economic realities on farms as it would with any other business.

“By securing overtime rules that align with wider legislation, alongside a clearer and more transparent grading structure, we have helped create a system that works better for both farmers and farm workers today and for the future.”

The UFU believes that these changes represent a positive step forward for the sector, ensuring agricultural employment “remains both fair and sustainable at a time when farm businesses are already facing significant economic pressures”.

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