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Agriculture Job Grades and Categories UK

Agricultural worker grade and category determines your rights, entitlements, and minimum wages. This section explains the differences between farm job grades and categories.

AGRICULTURAL WORKER GRADES: Agricultural job grading gets based on the responsibilities, skills, and qualifications.

Grade 1: Initial Grade

As rule, a grade 1 worker has supervision. The work tends to be ‘relatively’ simple tasks.

These can include helping with the harvest, mucking out a horse livery, or packing goods for sale.

After working for the same employer for 30 weeks you then have the right to get trained to grade 2 level. The 30 weeks must be continuous employment and not accumulated over a few years.

Grade 2: Standard Worker

You can get an automatic grading to agricultural worker grade 2. To do so, you would need to have one of the following qualifications:

  • A National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 2 or equivalent.
  • Certificate of Competence for the relevant agricultural sector.

A grade 2 farm worker is also someone who:

  • Works directly with livestock and unsupervised for most of the time
  • Is trained to use powered machinery and certified to drive tractors.
Grade 3: Lead Worker

As a rule, agricultural worker grade 3 means you have completed two of the last five years in agriculture. Grade 3 workers will have either of the following qualifications:

  • A National Certificate in agriculture or horticulture.
  • At least four Certificates of Competency or non-accredited competencies in the agriculture sector you’re employed in.
  • Someone with a job grade 3 will also:

    • Manage a team – but is not empowered to discipline team members.
    • Be viewed as a grade 3 team leader by their employer. To do so you must complete a trial period not exceeding one month.
Grade 4: Craft Grade

A grade 4 worker is someone with either of the following qualifications:

  • A National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) level 3 or equivalent.
  • At least 8 Certificates of Competency or non-accredited competencies in the agriculture sector you’re employed in.

A grade 4 worker is also someone who has:

  • Attained the required qualification and has 12 months’ continuous employment with the same employer.
  • Worked for at least 2 years of the last 5 years in agriculture.
Grade 5: Supervisory Grade

The responsibilities of a grade 5 worker are either:

  • Supervising work on a daily basis in an agricultural work environment (e.g. a farming business).
  • Instructing, disciplining, and supervising other staff members.
Grade 6: Farm Management Grade

Grade 6 workers’ responsibilities include:

  • General farm management and all its associated responsibilities. This may only be part of a farm if there are separate businesses on the farm – such as a livery yard.
  • Employing, disciplining, and dismissing other staff members.


Agricultural Workers’ Categories

Farm job categories get based on the duties, responsibilities, and/or qualifications of the work involved.

Flexible Workers

A flexible worker needs to have written ‘flexible working agreement‘. The definition of a full-time flexible worker is one who:

  • Works a basic 39 hour week. Note that the hours worked do not need to be the same each day.
  • Works set hours on set days. These can only get changed with the employee’s agreement.
  • Works on a Sunday when required.

The definition of a part-time flexible worker is one who:

  • Works less than a basic 39 hour week. Note that the hours worked do not need to be the same each day.
  • Works set hours on set days. These can only get changed with the employee’s agreement.
Trainees

The definition of trainee is one who is part of:

  • A Business, Innovation and Skills-approved training scheme completing work experience.
  • The Diploma in Environmental and Land-Based Studies for 14 to 19-year-olds on work experience.
  • The second phase of the European Leonardo da Vinci Program.

Note: The Leonardo da Vinci programme is a European Commission funding programme. It focuses on the teaching and training needs of those involved in vocational education and training (VET).

Apprentices

Apprenticeships combine practical training in a job along with some studying. An apprentice will:

  • Work alongside experienced staff to gain job-specific skills.
  • Earn a wage and get holiday pay.
  • Get time for study related to their role (usually one day a week).


Agricultural Gangmaster

An individual, an agency, or a company that provides workers for farming is better known as a ‘gangmaster‘.

Agricultural gangmasters must have a ‘Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority’ licence to provide workers for:

  • Agriculture: The growing and harvesting of arable and non-arable products.
  • Horticulture: Includes growing and harvesting bulbs, flowers, and plants.
  • Dairy farming: Including duties such as mucking out.
  • Shepherding.
  • Forestry.
  • Rearing non-traditional animals and insects: This includes rearing alpacas, ostriches, and rabbits.
  • Maggot and worming farming.
  • Gathering of shellfish (using supplied workers to gather shellfish requires a license).

Farm gangmasters do not need a GLAA licence to supply workers for certain jobs in the industry. These include:

  • Transporting milk from a farm.
  • Artificial insemination.
  • Blacksmithing.
  • Collecting ‘fallen stock‘.
  • Gathering of wild creatures or wild plants.
  • Gamekeeping.
  • Groundsmen looking after playing fields or a golf course.
  • Hedging, ditching and drainage.

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA)
PO Box 10272
Nottingham
NG2 9PB

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 44 (0)345 602 5020
Monday to Friday: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Check the cost of calling 0345 numbers.


ALSO IN THIS SECTION

Agricultural Workers’ Rights: A section with information on the rights of agricultural and farm workers.
Changes to Employment Terms: New rules for agricultural jobs in England from the 1st of October 2013.
Farm Workers’ Tenancy Rights: Agricultural workers may get automatic ‘assured agricultural occupancy’.
Gangmasters in Agriculture: An individual, agency, or a company that provides workers for farming.
Pay and Overtime: Information in the page lists farm worker pay rates by grade and category.


Job Grading and Categories for Agricultural Workers in the United Kingdom