1 in 4 farm employees lack written employment agreements

With one in four farm employees not having written employment contracts, Federated Farmers believes farm employers have to tighten farm scale human resource policies.

“Last month’s Federated Farmers/Rabobank Farm Employee Remuneration Report showed a big hole in farm employment practices, “says Don Nicolson, President of Federated Farmers.

“It’s a big worry in fact to see so many farm businesses, as much as 24 percent, so exposed by not having written employment contracts.

“While good to see nine percent more farm businesses becoming compliant over the past year, there’s still this huge hole. The Employment Court has little sympathy with employers when no contract is involved.

“Working relationships are fine when things are going well, but when things go awry, it gets very litigious very quickly.

“This further extends to spotty record keeping too with only around 40 percent of farm employers reporting that they recorded employee hours - that tells me there may be other compliance holes beside.

“If I can send a strong message to all farm employers it is to get their systems in order. If farmers need help, they can call Federated Farmers on 0800 327 646 in order to speak with our employment law advisers. It’s also a completely free service for members to access

“The Federation will now be running employment law seminars around the country at which training in Federation provided products will be available.

“This year’s Federated Farmers/Rabobank Farm Employee Remuneration Report is seeing Federated Farmers move proactively to boost the human resource support we offer our members,” Mr Nicolson concluded.