The government's response to the MAC's Seasonal Worker review

The government has now completed its thorough consideration and reflection on the report ‘Review of the Seasonal Worker visa' and would like to thank the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) for the work undertaken to produce the report.

The MAC's recommendations were structured around 5 broad themes: provide certainty around the future of the scheme, allow for a more flexible visa, fairer work and pay for workers, tighten communicate and enforce employer rights, and consider the Employer Pays Principle (EPP).

Recommendation 1: provide certainty around the future of the scheme

The government accepted the MAC's recommendation that the government should provide greater certainty to the agri-food sector concerning the future of the route. It is of course critical that the longer-term future of this route is also underpinned by greater adoption of automation technology within the sector and reducing the sector's reliance on large volumes of seasonal labour from overseas.

On 25 February 2025, the government announced a 5-year continuation of the Seasonal Worker route, alongside wider plans for growing and supporting the UK farming sector.

In addition, the MAC recommended that the government provide 5 years' notice of any closure of this route. Whilst we cannot accept this recommendation in full, the government will give the farming sector 2 years' notice of any planned closure. The government does however reserve the right to close the route with immediate effect in extreme circumstances, including issues that pose a threat to immigration control or national security.  

Recommendation 2: allow for a more flexible visa

The MAC recommended reducing the cooling off period for Seasonal Workers' visas from the current 6 months to 3 months. The Home Office partially agreed to this recommendation and intends to reduce the cooling-off period from 6 months to 4 months. This balances effective immigration control with greater flexibility.

The Home Office was unable to accept the recommendation that seasonal workers should be allowed to work any 6-month period in an individual calendar year. The proposal does not align with the typical work availability for seasonal workers, which spikes in the middle 6 months of the year and would create a significant administrative burden for both scheme operators and government – with a complicated system required to count the days spent in the UK by each worker.

This approach would significantly complicate establishing whether a worker has the right to work at any given time, making it harder for both workers and employers to comply with the Immigration Rules and increasing the risks of illegal working.

Recommendation 3: fairer work and pay for workers

Whilst we recognise and broadly support the intentions behind the MAC's recommendation that workers should be guaranteed at least 2 months' pay to cover the costs of coming to the UK, we believe that the MAC's later recommendation to explore implementing EPP represents a stronger and more practicable solution to this challenge.

As the MAC have highlighted in their report, there will undoubtedly be legitimate reasons for which a scheme operator might choose to end their sponsorship of a worker – including misconduct, poor performance, or failure to comply with the conditions of their visa. Similarly, some workers may simply choose to go home. The minimum earnings associated with the period proposed would also appear to significantly exceed the typical costs of applying for a visa and traveling to and from the UK.

The MAC also recommended that processes for any refund of income tax and opting out of the pension auto-enrolment scheme are made clearer and simpler.

HMRC reviewed and improved its P85 process in 2024, to make it easier and simpler for customers to claim tax refunds. Government has periodically considered the position of workers undertaking seasonal employment but has rejected excluding those workers or the industry sectors they work in from Auto Enrolment (AE). Doing so would undermine the policy intent of AE to apply to all employers with qualifying workers, deny pension provision to those who would benefit from saving, and create administrative complexity by treating different groups of workers differently.

Recommendation 4: tighten, communicate, and enforce employee rights

The government accepts the principle of this recommendation and agrees that strengthening employee rights is vital to ensure the safeguarding of workers on this scheme. The government is already establishing the Fair Work Agency (FWA), which will seek to draw together and focus relevant powers in the employment law space, and this agency is the most appropriate avenue to achieve this aim. UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) have also commenced bi-monthly meetings with all the sponsors within the Seasonal Worker Scheme to monitor compliance and discuss any areas of concern.

Recommendation 5: give consideration to the Employer Pays Principle 

The government accepts the recommendation that industry carefully considers the EPP, investigates how this might work in practice for workers, employers and consumers, and considers how the associated costs could be shared along the supply chain. EPP could add significant costs to the supply chain and may impact food prices. It is therefore something that needs careful industry consideration, particularly on funding. The Seasonal Worker Taskforce recently concluded a feasibility study in this area, with 2 of the scheme operators conducting a small scale EPP pilot this year, and the industry is currently considering these findings.