Why won’t Brits pick vegetables for £30 an hour?

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
£22k is the starting pay because you are still learning on the job, same as any job you start at the bottom and after few years most are on over £30k , some £40k+ , that isnt shite pay , how many farm workers get that for a 40 hour week ?
Read your own link - £21,777 is the pay after three years on the job in band three (it's less in bands one and two).

If you are a farm worker and are paid just over minimum wage (£17000pa), you'll take home £1268 per month. If you have a tied house/accomodation (as most do) then you have effectively the same income as someone on 40k who is paying the average rent in the south east of £1000 per month.
 

Lincoln75

Member
Read your own link - £21,777 is the pay after three years on the job in band three (it's less in bands one and two).

If you are a farm worker and are paid just over minimum wage (£17000pa), you'll take home £1268 per month. If you have a tied house/accomodation (as most do) then you have effectively the same income as someone on 40k who is paying the average rent in the south east of £1000 per month.
Maths not your strong point then .
 

Lincoln75

Member
At 40K, you take home 2,571/month. Less £1000 pcm rent = 1571 which aint far off your 1268/month at 17000 pa (assuming tied accommodation at £0/month which lots of farm jobs have)
If only it was that simple ,you are saying a tied cottage is worth £23k pre tax pa? people with a family on low wages get Tax Credits / Universal credit and other benefits , have a read of this https://greaveswestayre.co.uk/news-...ommodation-benefit-changes-from-6-april-2021/
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
The money leaves NZ , not good for your economy, this is one of the many problems with using migrant workers , it takes money out of the host country .
No workers equals No harvest. Take your choice the workers leave the country with their wages which have been taxed but there’s food on the shelves and in New Zealand’s case for export. Makes sense to me.
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
I'm constantly amazed on these types of thread at the (apparently) genuine lack of understanding at the cost of living for people who earn the least.

If you can't afford to buy, you rent, which is much more expensive than having a mortgage. Rents routinely consume well over 50% of someones take home pay.

Assuming I paid average rent for where I live (West Mids £755, South West £950 - assume closer to 950 as when I was looking to rent most were in the £850-950 range for a 2 bed place)

So, per month:
Rent: 850 (could easily be more)
Council tax (with single person reduction, band B): £100 per month (almost exactly, this year)
Electric: £50/month (not including heating, which is wood for me)
Water: £35/month
Fuel (to get to work) £30/week (£120/month)

That's £1065 before I've bought food every week or heated my home in winter.

If a nurse, after three years on the job, on the third band takes home £1500/month that leaves £400/month for food, heating, clothes, other bills (car insurance, repair, etc etc)
 

Lincoln75

Member
No workers equals No harvest. Take your choice the workers leave the country with their wages which have been taxed but there’s food on the shelves and in New Zealand’s case for export. Makes sense to me.
I dont know how NZ taxation works but temporary migrant workers have been able to avoid tax in the UK in some cases , IIRC the same in Aussie, after Boris`s recent deal with Jacinda you`ll soon be sending stuff to the UK ,picked by migrant workers :unsure:.
 

Lincoln75

Member
I'm constantly amazed on these types of thread at the (apparently) genuine lack of understanding at the cost of living for people who earn the least.

If you can't afford to buy, you rent, which is much more expensive than having a mortgage. Rents routinely consume well over 50% of someones take home pay.

Assuming I paid average rent for where I live (West Mids £755, South West £950 - assume closer to 950 as when I was looking to rent most were in the £850-950 range for a 2 bed place)

So, per month:
Rent: 850 (could easily be more)
Council tax (with single person reduction, band B): £100 per month (almost exactly, this year)
Electric: £50/month (not including heating, which is wood for me)
Water: £35/month
Fuel (to get to work) £30/week (£120/month)

That's £1065 before I've bought food every week or heated my home in winter.

If a nurse, after three years on the job, on the third band takes home £1500/month that leaves £400/month for food, heating, clothes, other bills (car insurance, repair, etc etc)
A lot of single and young people share accommodation including nurses when starting out , if you have a family and are on a low wage you`ll get your pay made up by benefits U.C/T.C etc , I think this is wrong as the tax payer is subsidising employers , if minimum wage was £15.00 ph + then U.C/T.C wouldn't be needed in most cases.
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
A lot of single and young people share accommodation including nurses when starting out , if you have a family and are on a low wage you`ll get your pay made up by benefits U.C/T.C etc , I think this is wrong as the tax payer is subsidising employers , if minimum wage was £15.00 ph + then U.C/T.C wouldn't be needed in most cases.

The salary I quoted was after three years in the job. The median salary in the UK is just over 30k. therefore it wont just be "single people and people starting out" on that kind of money.

Why do you suppose that the number of in work households having to visit food banks is increasing? Do you seriously think that these people are all just lazy?

Have you ever had under £200 left in your pocket after your standing bills with which to buy all your other outgoings?

If not, try it sometime.
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
I dont know how NZ taxation works but temporary migrant workers have been able to avoid tax in the UK in some cases , IIRC the same in Aussie, after Boris`s recent deal with Jacinda you`ll soon be sending stuff to the UK ,picked by migrant workers :unsure:.
New Zealand you pay tax on income earned in the country. In Australia overseas workers pay 32.5% tax on income up to $90,000 but you don't pay the medicare levy.
 

Lincoln75

Member
The salary I quoted was after three years in the job. The median salary in the UK is just over 30k. therefore it wont just be "single people and people starting out" on that kind of money.

Why do you suppose that the number of in work households having to visit food banks is increasing? Do you seriously think that these people are all just lazy?

Have you ever had under £200 left in your pocket after your standing bills with which to buy all your other outgoings?

If not, try it sometime.
I think the majority visiting food bank try to live beyond their means , latest phone for them and the kids , big TV , latest PC/Laptop , designer chav wear , car on the knock ,holidays on credit cards , fast food/ take away meals , then they go begging for food, there`s too many people with an entitlement disorder and no comprehension of personal finances or the real priorities in life.
 

SteveHants

Member
Livestock Farmer
I think the majority visiting food bank try to live beyond their means , latest phone for them and the kids , big TV , latest PC/Laptop , designer chav wear , car on the knock ,holidays on credit cards , fast food/ take away meals , then they go begging for food, there`s too many people with an entitlement disorder and no comprehension of personal finances or the real priorities in life.
Which only goes to show that you haven't read or understood any calculation I posted above.

Calculations, incidentally that didn't include mobile phone bills or the internet, both of which are pretty much compulsory if you are going to find a job nowadays.

But sure, its easier to blame poverty on cheap electronics when you've never actually had to live on very little.

Food banks are constantly looking for volunteers - I suggest you go along and try actually meeting these people.
 

stewart

Member
Horticulture
Location
Bay of Plenty NZ
The money leaves NZ , not good for your economy, this is one of the many problems with using migrant workers , it takes money out of the host country .
Tut tut, we cannot have that can we, money leaving a relatively weathly nation to help one lower down the socioeconomic scale. Without migrant workers the job wouldn’t get done, crops would be left to rot and exports down, resulting in less money coming into the “host” country. Fortunately we are not so insular and short sighted and will continue to bring in labour from the Pacific Islands.
 

Lincoln75

Member
Which only goes to show that you haven't read or understood any calculation I posted above.

Calculations, incidentally that didn't include mobile phone bills or the internet, both of which are pretty much compulsory if you are going to find a job nowadays.

But sure, its easier to blame poverty on cheap electronics when you've never actually had to live on very little.

Food banks are constantly looking for volunteers - I suggest you go along and try actually meeting these people.
I was living rough / sofa surfing in my late teens and broke , my priorities were food , my motorbike and work , got on my feet with no hand outs, I stand by the fact too many have an entitlement disorder ,have the latest everything by all means but dont turn around and say you cant feed yourself ,its BS , the Army feeds its men on less than £3.00 per day , someone on low income can do the same , fresh healthy food is really cheap if you are not too idle to prepare it.
 

Hindsight

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
I'm constantly amazed on these types of thread at the (apparently) genuine lack of understanding at the cost of living for people who earn the least.

If you can't afford to buy, you rent, which is much more expensive than having a mortgage. Rents routinely consume well over 50% of someones take home pay.

Assuming I paid average rent for where I live (West Mids £755, South West £950 - assume closer to 950 as when I was looking to rent most were in the £850-950 range for a 2 bed place)

So, per month:
Rent: 850 (could easily be more)
Council tax (with single person reduction, band B): £100 per month (almost exactly, this year)
Electric: £50/month (not including heating, which is wood for me)
Water: £35/month
Fuel (to get to work) £30/week (£120/month)

That's £1065 before I've bought food every week or heated my home in winter.

If a nurse, after three years on the job, on the third band takes home £1500/month that leaves £400/month for food, heating, clothes, other bills (car insurance, repair, etc etc)

And Steve out of the £400 left doesn't the poor lass or lad deserve at least one glass of wine a month. UK housing rental sector is a disgrace. Then having paid said rent promptly for a few years lenders will not use that as a sign the person is sound and require an immense deposit to secure the loan. A bond system should be introduced by government. Doubt these Tories will do that. Labour should pick it up and run with it. After all the Tories are the party of the Boomers.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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  • Up to 25%

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  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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