Ag wages board. Sick pay

beef 1 · May 25, 2022

In the event of a no fault accident at work, or even general sickness the ag wages board states that a farm worker should receive full basic pay.
As the workers are in general not entitled to claim the normal sick pay from the Gov as others , who or when or how long does the employer have to pay this for, then what ? '
and where would I find the regulations as guidance . Im being told that employers liability insurance in not what this is about , and im struggling to get my head round where I can find the relevant rules to cover this which must be a very common problem . Any help /advice please ?

Johnnyboxer · May 25, 2022

beef 1 said:
In the event of a no fault accident at work, or even general sickness the ag wages board states that a farm worker should receive full basic pay.
As the workers are in general not entitled to claim the normal sick pay from the Gov as others , who or when or how long does the employer have to pay this for, then what ? '
and where would I find the regulations as guidance . Im being told that employers liability insurance in not what this is about , and im struggling to get my head round where I can find the relevant rules to cover this which must be a very common problem . Any help /advice please ?

Why aren’t PAYE workers eligible for HMG SSP?

beef 1 · May 25, 2022

Agricultural Sick Pay (ASP) means you’re paid at least the Agricultural Minimum Wage when you’re off work sick. It includes any Statutory Sick Pay you might be entitled to.

You only have the right to Agricultural Sick Pay if you were employed before the rules changed on 1 October 2013 and it says so in your contract.

chipchap · May 25, 2022

Many farmers carry insurance to cover the difference between SSP and Agricultural Wages Sick Pay.

I remember having a dispute with my insurer because I was paying a premium over AWB rates.

henry · May 25, 2022

beef 1 said:
In the event of a no fault accident at work, or even general sickness the ag wages board states that a farm worker should receive full basic pay.
As the workers are in general not entitled to claim the normal sick pay from the Gov as others , who or when or how long does the employer have to pay this for, then what ? '
and where would I find the regulations as guidance . Im being told that employers liability insurance in not what this is about , and im struggling to get my head round where I can find the relevant rules to cover this which must be a very common problem . Any help /advice please ?

If you are a member then NFU Call First will have the answers.

Bramble · May 25, 2022

Had a long term employee (been here 30 years) off sick last year for 6 months. He was entitled to full pay for 26 weeks as he was covered by the old AWB order. I have cover for our wages with NFU, they paid out in full, no quibbles. After 6 months things start to get complicated.

If there is little/no prospect of them coming back to work after 6 months you are entitled to medically dismiss the employee. However, you have to have a medical assessment done before this can be done (cost about £200 to have a private one done) on the employee to see if they are capable of returning to there old job. In our case we agreed a ‘graduated’ return to work with the employee, which was quite flexible, and his salary was adjusted according to how many hours he was able to do. He is now back to work full time, on full pay, and able to carry out 90% of his duties.

I wasn’t keen on going down the medical dismissal route, finding a new member of staff would have been a real hassle. Plus the guy had been here so long

Johnnyboxer · May 25, 2022

Bramble said:
Had a long term employee (been here 30 years) off sick last year for 6 months. He was entitled to full pay for 26 weeks as he was covered by the old AWB order. I have cover for our wages with NFU, they paid out in full, no quibbles. After 6 months things start to get complicated.

If there is little/no prospect of them coming back to work after 6 months you are entitled to medically dismiss the employee. However, you have to have a medical assessment done before this can be done (cost about £200 to have a private one done) on the employee to see if they are capable of returning to there old job. In our case we agreed a ‘graduated’ return to work with the employee, which was quite flexible, and his salary was adjusted according to how many hours he was able to do. He is now back to work full time, on full pay, and able to carry out 90% of his duties.

I wasn’t keen on going down the medical dismissal route, finding a new member of staff would have been a real hassle. Plus the guy had been here so long

Sounds like a good outcome, for you both
Sickness Absence - Full pay for 6 months off, half pay for the next 6 months is the norm in most PAYE roles, in other sectors

Bramble · May 25, 2022

Johnnyboxer said:
Sounds like a good outcome, for you both
Sickness Absence - Full pay for 6 months off, half pay for the next 6 months is the norm in most PAYE roles, in other sectors

6 months full pay and 6 months half pay sounds incredibly generous. Maybe it’s another thing that agriculture needs to catch up on.

The wages cover in my business policy is the single most expensive section, nearly 40% of the total bill, but well worth it.

Johnnyboxer · May 25, 2022

Bramble said:
6 months full pay and 6 months half pay sounds incredibly generous. Maybe it’s another thing that agriculture needs to catch up on.

The wages cover in my business policy is the single most expensive section, nearly 40% of the total bill, but well worth it.

Not generous at all, just the norm for salaried PAYE staff in other sectors
NHS
Local government
Civil service
Machinery & Motor dealers
Banks
High St shops
Construction and Factory workers
Ag suppliers and Feed manufacturers

is Ag different for PAYE salaried staff

Bramble · May 25, 2022

Johnnyboxer said:
is Ag different for PAYE salaried staff

I don’t know, what do you offer as an employer? Or get as an employee?

unlacedgecko · May 25, 2022

Johnnyboxer said:
Not generous at all, just the norm for salaried PAYE staff in other sectors
NHS
Local government
Civil service
Machinery & Motor dealers
Banks
High St shops
Construction and Factory workers
Ag suppliers and Feed manufacturers

is Ag different for PAYE salaried staff

Very much depends on the employer. I knew a driver off long term with cancer. He'd been with the haulage firm (a large national blue chip) for over a decade.

He had 6 weeks full pay then on to SSP.

Pennine Ploughing · May 25, 2022

Johnnyboxer said:
Not generous at all, just the norm for salaried PAYE staff in other sectors
NHS
Local government
Civil service
Machinery & Motor dealers
Banks
High St shops
Construction and Factory workers
Ag suppliers and Feed manufacturers

is Ag different for PAYE salaried staff

I think you will find in the private sector, that it's normally 4 weeks sick pay in the first year of working for them, and then in year 2 and so forth, a weeks extra sick pay is added each year, to a maximum of 12 weeks off in 52, after your full sick pay, it is back to SSP

Ag wages board. Sick pay

beef 1

Member

Johnnyboxer

Member

beef 1

Member

chipchap

Member

henry

Member

Bramble

Member

Johnnyboxer

Member

Bramble

Member

Johnnyboxer

Member

Bramble

Member

unlacedgecko

Member

Pennine Ploughing

Member

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

May Event: The most profitable farm diversification strategy 2024 - Mobile Data Centres

Share this page