Sprayer operator/ driver

[Will 1594]

Don't know what Ivor would say but for me it would depend on a few things. If I'd pointed out a worn hose but the boss wouldn't allow it to be fixed, I'd knock off. If it was something like my kids birthday I'd knock off, if it was just tea I'd carry on.
My last UK boss had a habit of sending me home when I was trying to finish baling a paddock or finishing drilling before rain because he didn't want to pay the overtime, then it would rain and bugger the job.
The last straw was when he asked me to work my weekend off (we milked cows too) to do some ploughing. No problem, make some money, cracked on but at 2 o clock his fiver an hour cash in hand retired chap finished what he was doing so the boss sent him to do my ploughing. I said I'd carry on as it was too late to do anything else. "no you go, he's cheaper" "but can you come back tomorrow (Sunday) as Mr cash in hand is doing something else.
NO, no I don't think I will thanks.

Thats taking the pee

 

[TripleSix]

Mates 18yo daughter gets £10.50ph on the checkout at B&Q

Local construction site is paying the digger drivers £28ph.
7.30-4

 

[tower2238]

1

local farmer advertising for a job, £12 an hour for 40 hours, £18 an hour overtime, anything over 12 hours a day, Sundays and bank holidays £24.
Now we’re talking. Most farms around here £10 and £15. Guess he’s going to have loads of applicants.

Where can I find this advert?!

 

[ollie989898]

Know a guy who is a competent operator and has done thousands of ha of spraying. He's not the type to walk the crop with the agronomist or do basis himself but give him a rec sheet and he will then watch the weather and get the job done properly. However he's now moved jobs 6 times in as many years. Half the jobs he's left of his own accord because he wants more money and the other half he's been moved on because he wants to much money. My point is that he values himself far more than what 6 employers have done. What you need to think about is what the industry can afford. The fact that a full time sprayer operator you are largely left to your own devices so if that means going out at 3am but then finishing at 10am and having the next 2 days off because of bad weather then this is worth a lot especially if you've young children.
But I have known thus guy 20 years and he's a decent hard working bloke who strives to look after his family. He's worked for me casually multiple times over the last 20 years so as well as knowing him socially I know him as an employee as well. BUT are 6 employers over the last 6 years all wrong? The answer is no they are not but if you've somebody willing to pay £15/hour for the position but offer you ultimate flexibility as long as the job is done, but you think the job is worth £20/hour with a house and all the flexibility then its never going to work.
The agricultural workforce is an issue as we all know because people don't want to do it due to low pay and conditions but be careful because the farmers themselves are having no choice but to squeeze the employees out. Theres a level a farm business can afford and if people want more money those farms will join forces with other farms and run massive equipment to do the job themselves to avoid the costly employee route. Plenty of big outfits now where 3 or 4 farmers have climbed together, and then each farmer runs one piece of the equipment in the agreement. Yes the farmer driving the sprayer might well be covering 5000 ac with one machine but from his point of view, he is busy in the spring time and autumn and then gets the rest of the year off. Same goes for the farmer operating the seed drill or the combine. Its very busy for certain periods then its easy. Be careful pushing for more money because you might find the jobs dry up.

For a guy like that, I would bet there are farmers out there who would pay the man what he wanted. For some crops £20 an hour worth of sprayer operator is chickenfeed compared to the value of the crops he is looking after.

Maybe we should put up a poll for the big combinable, root and veg guys?

Full time spray operator who take responsibility for his work, sorts his own schedule, works very hard when he is up against it, will you pay £20 per hour, yes or no?

 

[D14]

For a guy like that, I would bet there are farmers out there who would pay the man what he wanted. For some crops £20 an hour worth of sprayer operator is chickenfeed compared to the value of the crops he is looking after.

Maybe we should put up a poll for the big combinable, root and veg guys?

Full time spray operator who take responsibility for his work, sorts his own schedule, works very hard when he is up against it, will you pay £20 per hour, yes or no?

I hear that all the time 'compared to the value of the crop ........' but the same goes for a combine operator or drill man. Bother can mess it up for the year. However it does not change the fact that farmers themselves are not paid correctly for what they produce. Theres no way I would pay anybody £20/hour because at that kind of level I might as well use a contractor who also brings the tractor and thing behind it. I then get to cash in all my machinery and then my job become logistics of seed or chemicals etc.

 

[deleted user 436632456]

To the OP, If you could get 32K per annum plus house, plus overtime and doing a job that you will be happy to get out of bed in the morning for.. It's not too shabby.

There's too many people who hate their Job, Life is far too short for that crap.

I watched a friend of ours go from a confident, extrovert women to someone who could barely get out of bed in the morning, riddled with serve depression all because she hated her 80k job, she since has taken a nearly 2/3 pay cut and now is back to herself.

 

[Will 1594]

Hi Folks
Wondering what the going rate per hour is for a sprayer operator position? Been offered a job at £14 for first forty hours. Is that average, low or good?

Sorry probably in the wrong section for this query!

House £12 and ot ,plus 25 p an acre bonus

 

[kiwi pom]

For a guy like that, I would bet there are farmers out there who would pay the man what he wanted. For some crops £20 an hour worth of sprayer operator is chickenfeed compared to the value of the crops he is looking after.

Maybe we should put up a poll for the big combinable, root and veg guys?

Full time spray operator who take responsibility for his work, sorts his own schedule, works very hard when he is up against it, will you pay £20 per hour, yes or no?

I bet there isn't a farmer in the country that pays a spray driver 20 quid an hour, all hours.
Some might get close IF they had a nice house and maybe a vehicle and phone all paid for by the business. But a pay rate of 20 quid, you're dreaming.

 

[Al R]

I bet there isn't a farmer in the country that pays a spray driver 20 quid an hour, all hours.
Some might get close IF they had a nice house and maybe a vehicle and phone all paid for by the business. But a pay rate of 20 quid, you're dreaming.

Relief yes but not full time, wet days in the winter even on veg farms the sprayers stop and spanner’s come out, go on trailers/forklifts etc and they won’t be on £20 for those jobs!