Struggling to get or retain good staff ?

CopperBeech · Oct 21, 2017

student101 said:
Nope

Dont know hence Ive started a discussion rather than just sitting around moaning.

Yes.

What are you currently doing within ag, and do you feel that your employer is fulfilling their responsibilities to you?

To be fair I think the difficulty in finding good staff is tough for a number of reasons. Farming for the most part, requires independent thought, work ethic, skills etc, and yet has generally been seen the option for those who don't know what else to do . . . .

I employ a few people on both a full time and part time basis. Was just working out that this week, one will ave taken home about £1000 (thats mon-friday), and will have been bought lunch, beers, snacks plenty a long the way, had breaks, and a good laugh.

However he did have to pee in the hedge a couple of times and got rained on. . . . .

Lofty1984 · Oct 21, 2017

Just because someone has a fair bit of land and a Range Rover doesn't mean they are making a tidy profit does it

Lofty1984 · Oct 21, 2017

Chae1 said:
Well you seem to think that what an employee gets paid is related to how much money the business is making. They will probably just upgrade the range rover to a autobiography or offer a bit more for land next door.

Would you accept a pay cut if business not doing so well?

Well of course what somone gets paid is related to how well the business is doing, if a business pays a pittance as they are not making money then they won't get/keep tidy staff, and as I said if the business is making a fair profit then any tidy employer would reflect that in their rates of pay to keep the quality of staff that have put the work in to make it a success,

student101 · Oct 21, 2017

CopperBeech said:
What are you currently doing within ag, and do you feel that your employer is fulfilling their responsibilities to you?

To be fair I think the difficulty in finding good staff is tough for a number of reasons. Farming for the most part, requires independent thought, work ethic, skills etc, and yet has generally been seen the option for those who don't know what else to do . . . .

I employ a few people on both a full time and part time basis. Was just working out that this week, one will ave taken home about £1000 (thats mon-friday), and will have been bought lunch, beers, snacks plenty a long the way, had breaks, and a good laugh.

However he did have to pee in the hedge a couple of times and got rained on. . . . .

I`m happy with my work/employer , he does not take the **ss and pay is acceptable but I do know many who are not happy.

If your worker has netted £1k in a 5 days he`s being paid very well , assuming he`s not done 100hrs

Lofty1984 · Oct 21, 2017

student101 said:
I`m happy with my work/employer , he does not take the **ss and pay is acceptable but I do know many who are not happy.

If your worker has netted £1k in a 5 days he`s being paid very well , assuming he`s not done 100hrs

That's the bottom line

czechmate · Oct 21, 2017

student101 said:
I`m happy with my work/employer , he does not take the **ss and pay is acceptable but I do know many who are not happy.

If your worker has netted £1k in a 5 days he`s being paid very well , assuming he`s not done 100hrs

Why would you assume that? This is farming we are talking about.

7610 super q · Oct 21, 2017

GENERALISATION ALERT !!!

No doubt there's a few running around in Range Rovers. If subs finish that'll end sharpish.
There's no money in producing food with 21st C costs, whilst getting 16th C prices for produce.
I notice James Dyson has had a go at running a ' perfect ' farming operation ( probably paying staff above average pay ) and lost a bloody fortune.
A big farming company arrived in Pembrokeshire in the mid 80's, spent £120k on canteens / toilet facilities, and paying staff 3 times the rate that other farms locally were paying. They lasted 3 years......

The farms that will survive in the future will be the one man band outfits IMO.

student101 · Oct 21, 2017

[QUOTE="7610 super q, post: 4386834, member: 6448"

The farms that will survive in the future will be the one man band outfits IMO.

[/QUOTE]

I cant see that happening unless you've inherited your farm and won the lottery

Wooly · Oct 21, 2017

student101 said:
From what hear and read many farms struggle to get good staff so I thought I`d start a discussion as to why this is , its pretty obvious why to me and many others .

Crap pay is the first one , agricultural rates are about half of what the construction industry pays , construction machine drivers can get £25.00 ph and labourers around £14.00, I use construction for a comparison as its generally outdoor heavy work and varying skills are required.

Welfare facilities , weve been through this and many still think its a joke https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index...es-do-farmers-even-know-what-they-are.192544/

Health and safety , only in agriculture can you get away with such a disregard for health & safety ....currently , it will change .

.

I'm not sure you are cut out for farming @student101 !!

Stop looking at all the negatives and start seeing the positives.

If you get a house with the job, then you are probably much better off than someone on double your wage by the time the taxman takes the difference.

No long commute to work, sitting in frustrating traffic jams while spending a fortune on fuel, is a great plus.

Different job most days is better than most who appear to do the same thing day in, day out every day of their lives!

As for welfare facilities, farm workers are better placed to take a slash than people that are driving around the Country. Even Sports Direct workers on minimum wage are told when they are allowed to have a toilet stop !

As for health and safety, if you can't distinguish between what is safe and what isn't, then perhaps you shouldn't be allowed out of bed in the morning. Farming is much safer than it was in the last century.

student101 · Oct 21, 2017

Wooly said:
I'm not sure you are cut out for farming @student101 !!

Stop looking at all the negatives and start seeing the positives.

If you get a house with the job, then you are probably much better off than someone on double your wage by the time the taxman takes the difference.

No long commute to work, sitting in frustrating traffic jams while spending a fortune on fuel, is a great plus.

Different job most days is better than most who appear to do the same thing day in, day out every day of their lives!

As for welfare facilities, farm workers are better placed to take a slash than people that are driving around the Country. Even Sports Direct workers on minimum wage are told when they are allowed to have a toilet stop !

As for health and safety, if you can't distinguish between what is safe and what isn't, then perhaps you shouldn't be allowed out of bed in the morning. Farming is much safer than it was in the last century.

As Ive said Im happy in what I do .

You seem to be saying theres a more stupid people in agriculture than any other industry ?

"‘Highest fatal rate’
With a fatal injury rate of 7.61 workers per 100,000, agriculture is six times more dangerous than construction and 18 times higher than the average industry."

http://www.fwi.co.uk/news/30-farm-deaths-in-2016-17-with-transport-the-biggest-killer.htm

Henarar · Oct 21, 2017

student101 said:
[QUOTE="7610 super q, post: 4386834, member: 6448"

The farms that will survive in the future will be the one man band outfits IMO.

I cant see that happening unless you've inherited your farm and won the lottery

[/QUOTE]

You may be surprised, hopefully we will still be here when the big knobbing bustards have gone to the wall

as for workers the ones that work for me are right pee'd off
that would be me and me thank goodness

Princess Pooper · Oct 21, 2017

No, there are not more stupid people. If you actuallyread the report, nearly half of them were pensioners, ie farmers,that's the difference. Any accident is regrettable, but agriculture is unusual in having such a large % of its workforce that are elderly and in dangerous situations (I'm not saying that is good, but it is not just the staff that are getting killed or injured!).

7610 super q · Oct 21, 2017

There can't be any other industry that has so many dangers. Livestock. Machinery. Grinders. Chainsaws. Working at heights. Rushing to beat the weather. Paperwork avalanches...........

student101 · Oct 21, 2017

Princess Pooper said:
No, there are not more stupid people. If you actuallyread the report, nearly half of them were pensioners, ie farmers,that's the difference. Any accident is regrettable, but agriculture is unusual in having such a large % of its workforce that are elderly and in dangerous situations (I'm not saying that is good, but it is not just the staff that are getting killed or injured!).

I`ve read it all and dont think over 65 farmers would thank you for referring to them as pensioners true or not

, the age thing is kind of related to this discussion , less young people interested in ag .
Dangerous situations can often be avoided by education and investment .....thats how every other industry does it and successfully to.

Wooly · Oct 21, 2017

If you actually look at the fatal statistics of agriculture, there is unfortunately a large number of deaths contributed to farmers that are well over 65.

Several well over 80 years old, that are hit by livestock, distorts the figures.

In comparison, a death of a sales rep in a car crash is a traffic accident and not counted as an employment accident, and how many die early of stress related health reasons due to their job, which again is not recorded against their employment?

student101 · Oct 21, 2017

7610 super q said:
There can't be any other industry that has so many dangers. Livestock. Machinery. Grinders. Chainsaws. Working at heights. Rushing to beat the weather. Paperwork avalanches...........

Civil engineering, construction , shipbuilding ,oil industry, heavy engineering......

milkloss · Oct 21, 2017

All comes down to money to pay for the jobs that probably should be done by trained contractors with the right equipment. Cleaning gutters is a good example. We can't charge extra from our customer for these costs whereas something like a supermarket can just put it on the bill.

milkloss · Oct 21, 2017

student101 said:
Civil engineering, construction , shipbuilding ,oil industry, heavy engineering......

They all add the costs onto the price. Simple.

student101 · Oct 21, 2017

So why cant farming?

Henarar · Oct 21, 2017

How many die on the road
if you work on a farm and live on a farm you don't need to use the road

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