Security steps to help migrant farm workers

SCHEME: Registration card gives employers and workers assurance of their legal employment status

There is no doubt that farming has become very reliant on non-UK labour, mostly from Eastern Europe.

Speaking at a rural law and finance event at Forfar Mart, Jamie Kerr, immigration partner with legal firm Thorntons, estimated that around 22,500 EU migrants worked on Scottish farms throughout the year.

This is not counting the larger numbers working in further food processing.

Mr Kerr, who is one of few accredited immigration law specialists in Scotland, thought the total number of EU migrants in Scotland was around 115,000. For those who want to stay there are a few steps they can take to give them some security.

Foremost among these was obtaining a registration card. A certificate of permanent residence was the more onerous of the two types and was only available for those who have already been in the UK for five years or more. A simpler process at a cost of £65 could see the issue of a registration card for those who have been in the country for a shorter period.

Mr Kerr advised farmers in the audience to encourage non-UK workers in their employment to apply as soon as possible. A registration card, not unlike a new style driving licence card in appearance, could be very important.

“Apart from anything else how are you as an employer to know who you can take on legally in the future unless they have a card?” he asked.

No-one was quite sure what Brexit would really mean but limiting immigration and restricting the free movement of labour was one the themes of the Leave campaign. In Mr Kerr’s experience government had at first only considered exemptions for people working in areas such as finance or research and it had taken some time for the need for less skilled a labour to sink in.

“The farming industry clearly has a case to make but so too do other sectors such as the building and hospitality trades,” said Mr Kerr.

“There is a lot of doubt about what will happen after Brexit but my advice is to take clues from how things were done before the accession of the Eastern European countries. It may not be very different to that, with the doors closed mostly closed to unskilled labour. Reactivation of the Seasonal Agricultural Scheme (SAWS), which closed in 2012, is one of a few possibilities but if that is to happen you will need to make your voices heard.”

The meeting also heard of changes afoot in the tax world. Karen Wilson, business advisory manager with accountants Johnston Carmichael, said there was no doubt the traditional tax return would soon be a thing of the past.

Digital recording of information on a quarterly basis was to be phased.

She said: “This will be the usual mix of good news and bad news. The good news is that everyone will have up to date information at their disposal. They should also have a rough idea of tax bills at an earlier stage and for some it will lead to a simpler system.

“The bad news is that you will need to update to suitable on-line packages. Poor connectivity could be a problem in some rural areas. There might also be problems for farming with making quarterly returns die to the seasonality in cash flow.”

Most VAT rated farm business could need to comply from April 2019 with limited companies following a year later.

My advice is to take clues from how things were done before the accession of the Eastern European countries . JAMIE KERR, IMMIGRATION LAW SPECIALIST