Staff!!!

[Grassman247]

Why do these young assistants think it’s perfectly acceptable to arrive at your house 2 hours after they’ve finished work, give you the keys to the house they’ve been provided and then do a runner right before there weekend to work [emoji36]

I love dairy farming and love working with cows but the constant staffing issues makes you want to sell up and go and do something else.

 

[Spud]

Employing people, keeping them happy, an abiding by the endless raft of associated legislation is the hardest part of being in business (in ANY industry) Spuds here dictate the need for people, there are days when I could hang a for sale sign round the neck of anything spud related and kit myself up to the rest as easy as possible!

The thing is, if theres only you, then you have to do everything, and thereare many jobs (in stock or crop) that are easier with two people, its also more sociable!

Muppets certainly make you appreciate good men, if they bring nowt else useful to the table.

Good luck, the one thats just left has just made room for someone decent!

 

[Grassman247]

Spud, it’s a constant battle for us, your correct though, we usually employ 11 full time staff, the core ones are very good, what really grieves me is how these young guys think it’s acceptable to just up and leave with no notice, yet if we behaved like that then they’d have us in court like a shot. It’s about time our levy was used to make sure that people were held accountable.

 

[multi power]

Spud, it’s a constant battle for us, your correct though, we usually employ 11 full time staff, the core ones are very good, what really grieves me is how these young guys think it’s acceptable to just up and leave with no notice, yet if we behaved like that then they’d have us in court like a shot. It’s about time our levy was used to make sure that people were held accountable.

Why are they leaving?

 

[Spud]

Spud, it’s a constant battle for us, your correct though, we usually employ 11 full time staff, the core ones are very good, what really grieves me is how these young guys think it’s acceptable to just up and leave with no notice, yet if we behaved like that then they’d have us in court like a shot. It’s about time our levy was used to make sure that people were held accountable.

Do you sign contracts with the staff? Two weeks notice either way is normal, but sometimes its better if they just go. Seen a few dreamers over the years, but got a decent team (of full time and self employed) at the moment.

 

[gone up the hill]

Clear from the amount of posts on farming sites on FB that dairy farmers are really struggling to find/ keep staff..

Trouble is the wages/hours being offered are terrible and not surprising no one will stick the work for long!

No end of job adverts seeking milkers at £8.50 hour, want you to start at 3 am. fhinsh at 9 am, come back at 3 pm, milk to 7 pm, they are stating this is six days a week min,, no one is going to work for that rate over 6 days a week for those hours! you would have no life.

Another dairy farmer wanted an all round farm worker, start 7 am, 15 mins for breakfast at 10 am, 30 mins for lunch at 1-30 then work until 7 pm, wanted one person to do this 6 days a week all year around, grand wage offered.... £8.50 hour flat rate.,.... again no life and they will do 70 hours a week and take home what £400 ish a week?

No one ( that is any good ) is going to work in the industry for long at those rates!

And both of the job advertisers were then on the site a few days later moaning that people were workshy and they couldn't understand why no one was applying for the jobs!

 

[Sharpy]

Was told a farmer near me was offering £300 for those kind of hrs..
.......

 

[Kidds]

Why do these young assistants think it’s perfectly acceptable to arrive at your house 2 hours after they’ve finished work, give you the keys to the house they’ve been provided and then do a runner right before there weekend to work [emoji36]

I love dairy farming and love working with cows but the constant staffing issues makes you want to sell up and go and do something else.

Could it be because although the employee was taken on to look after the cattle but then put onto tractor work and still blamed for all the problems in the herd?
Could it be that the boss and his son treated them like shite and spoke to them in the same way?
Possibly down to the fact that the accommodation wasn't really fit to live in with broken toilets, broken showers and no light fittings or furniture?
Maybe the alternative accommodation being a wooden shed not 20 yards from the cow shed and expected to move in/out at a days notice when the next short term labour moved in/out and got better treatment.
Or perhaps because they weren't paid their full wage again for some other spurious reason.
If you know you have no chance of getting any deposit taken for accommodation returned when you leave why bother to try and help the "boss" out, it won't ever be rewarded will it.
Maybe giving your workers a weekend off and then telling them at Sunday lunch you've changed your mind and they are going to have to milk after all would explain it.

Personally in those circumstances I would be glad to get the keys back because if I was treated like that I would knock the farmer out.

 

[Grassman247]

Think some people on this post have got the wrong end of the story.

Just to be clear, assistant herdsperson, was on 28k, had an hour for his breakfast, hour and a half for his lunch. Started at 5.30 am and finished at 6pm and was on a 12 on 2 off rota and was never asked to work any extra days.

He was also supplied with a fairly new 2 bedroom flat in the local village and had his council tax paid for aswell.

Every single employee has a contract and a notice period for both parties. Had to pull him up a few times about the way he spoke to other members of staff but nothing major to call out over.

The point I was trying to make is good job or bad job, dairy farming seems to be in a real deficit of quality staff who behave properly.

 

[multi power]

Think some people on this post have got the wrong end of the story.

Just to be clear, assistant herdsperson, was on 28k, had an hour for his breakfast, hour and a half for his lunch. Started at 5.30 am and finished at 6pm and was on a 12 on 2 off rota and was never asked to work any extra days.

He was also supplied with a fairly new 2 bedroom flat in the local village and had his council tax paid for aswell.

Every single employee has a contract and a notice period for both parties. Had to pull him up a few times about the way he spoke to other members of staff but nothing major to call out over.

The point I was trying to make is good job or bad job, dairy farming seems to be in a real deficit of quality staff who behave properly.

That all sounds reasonable, what part of the country ?

 

[Grassman247]

That all sounds reasonable, what part of the country ?

Cheshire, 650 cows on a fairly new unit, core staff of older guys tend to be fairly settled, seems the younger guys can take it or leave it when it comes to working with cows

 

[Kidds]

And the point I am making is that there are some seriously shite employers in dairy farming that don't deserve to have employees

 

[multi power]

Cheshire, 650 cows on a fairly new unit, core staff of older guys tend to be fairly settled, seems the younger guys can take it or leave it when it comes to working with cows

That would be good money etc for around here but I obviously don't know what jobs are in your area

 

[Grassman247]

And the point I am making is that there are some seriously shite employers in dairy farming that don't deserve to have employees

Totally agree with you. 100% perhaps it’s about time AHDB spent our levy money on compiling a list of good farm businesses to work for and good employees to hire.

 

[glasshouse]

Totally agree with you. 100% perhaps it’s about time AHDB spent our levy money on compiling a list of good farm businesses to work for and good employees to hire.

some young lads are good, others are useless.
thats life.
I had a young lad who started through the local job centre.
he was ok as a worker , then one monday didnt show.
on tuesday i asked where we was, he said at an interview and i start tomorrow.
On friday he came and asked for his job back.
you can guess the rest.

 

[Kidds]

My son jacked his job, handed the keys in and fecked off for all the reasons I listed and more besides. He worked the whole day today knowing he is almost certainly never to see a penny for it.
He’s not perfect nor is anybody but give him some cows to look after and he will see them right.
Just a pity his employers take the pee every time.


Today wasn’t in Cheshire

 

[kiwi pom]

Pulled up to a shed about 7.30 one night to pick the milk was a bit surprised to see a young fella still at the shed. Its alright he said I've finished just running late.
He then told me why. it was his weekend off and the boss was away for the weekend, he got woken up at 5 am by the two that were supposed to be milking, right we've quit, leave it with ya and off they went.
Weird thing was it was totally spur of the moment because when the lad got to the shed the cows were in and shed running so they'd actually made a start before deciding to go
He rang his boss to tell him and all the boss said was tough sh*t, i'm not back until Monday.
I've no idea if there was any milk to pick up the following night.

 

[kiwi pom]

Cheshire, 650 cows on a fairly new unit, core staff of older guys tend to be fairly settled, seems the younger guys can take it or leave it when it comes to working with cows

Fairly normal to turn "entry level" staff over I would think.
How do the older settled guys treat the new guys when you're not looking I wonder?
Also' thinking out load here, is the young new guy looking at the other staff and thinking they're here for good so i'm going to get the crap jobs forever.
Starting off at the bottom is fine, staying there not so much.

 

[Milkcow365]

Think some people on this post have got the wrong end of the story.

Just to be clear, assistant herdsperson, was on 28k, had an hour for his breakfast, hour and a half for his lunch. Started at 5.30 am and finished at 6pm and was on a 12 on 2 off rota and was never asked to work any extra days.

He was also supplied with a fairly new 2 bedroom flat in the local village and had his council tax paid for aswell.

Every single employee has a contract and a notice period for both parties. Had to pull him up a few times about the way he spoke to other members of staff but nothing major to call out over.

The point I was trying to make is good job or bad job, dairy farming seems to be in a real deficit of quality staff who behave properly.

Still fairly long hours is it not?id only expect someone to work they hours if there was a big job on or maybe if someone was sick but not every day

 

[thewalrus]

Still fairly long hours is it not?id only expect someone to work they hours if there was a big job on or maybe if someone was sick but not every day

10 hours a day after taking off breaks so average 60 hours a week.
3120 hours a year £9ish an hour plus rent and council tax o factor in so well over £10 an hour

It would be difficult to run a farm with staff working 37.5 hours a week!