The family shop for fruit and veg faces a big price rise after the Government increased foreign pickers’ basic wages by up to 38 per cent to bring them in line with skilled workers.

The Home Office is requiring all foreign seasonal agriculture employees to be paid at least £25,600 per year in line with skilled workers’ wages, as part of an attempt to drive up pay and make the jobs more attractive to recruit home-grown British staff.

However, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned that this will mean a rise of up to 38 per cent in their hourly pay when translated into the amount of work that foreign staff typically do every week. 

Ali Capper, chairman of the NFU’s horticulture and potatoes board, said it would drive wage inflation through the whole of the food industry at a time when families were struggling with the cost of living.

The new pay rate will take effect on April 6 and will affect up to 30,000 foreign seasonal workers. The Government has said an increased number can come to help with this summer’s harvest of everything from potatoes, carrots, cabbages, cauliflowers and lettuces to apples and pears.

Wage rise is ‘unaffordable’

Ms Capper said: “I am not sure why we need a high pay rate when the country is experiencing a cost of living crisis. It is unaffordable, unworkable and undeliverable.”

Most foreign seasonal fruit and veg pickers are generally paid by the hour and stay in the UK for up to six months, which would mean a half-yearly salary of £12,800. The Home Office has calculated the rate based on at least a 48-hour week, which works out at £10.26 an hour.

However, the NFU said foreign seasonal workers generally worked 40 hours a week, which means farmers will have to pay out at a rate of £12.31 an hour – a 38 per cent increase on the current national living wage of £8.91 per hour.