Could a Saturday teenager work on your farm?
© Adobe Stock A traditional rite of passage into the world of work for schoolchildren could be a solution for livestock farmers trying to attract new people into the industry.
Employing a Saturday boy or girl from the age of 13 is one way to invest in potential future employees, while tackling jobs that require an extra pair of hands.
“There is a lack of awareness of the range of opportunities in modern agricultural businesses [in schools], so Saturday jobs are a really good way of spreading the message of a possible future in farming,” says NFU employment and skills policy adviser Tom Price.
See also: What makes a good employer on a dairy farm?
By law, children as young as 13 can be employed in agriculture for “light duties”, says Tom.
But while “a big dose of common sense goes a long way”, he also stresses the importance of prioritising safety before employing children (classed as aged 13-16 years old) or young people (those 16-18 years).
“Children won’t have the same physical or mental maturity or awareness of risk as an adult,” he explains. The key is to decide on the duties to be performed, work out what the risks might be, and determine how to mitigate them.
“It’s a good idea to make sure you record and evidence that you have been through a risk assessment exercise. This risk assessment then has to be shared with the parents [of any child employed],” he says.
Lack of maturity
Because children do not have the same maturity as an adult, it also means they will not be able to complete a task safely and satisfactorily on their own, Tom points out.
“Children and young people must be supervised and have appropriate instruction and the right equipment.
“They won’t have the full mental and physical ability to do a full range of tasks, so consider their lack of experience, limited awareness of risk and their level of maturity.”
Before employing a child, he advises checking the local authority’s child employment requirements and applying for a child employment permit.
“If you don’t apply – or you don’t get it – you put yourself at risk from the authority, or you may invalidate work insurance if there is an accident,” he stresses.
Although Tom says “light duties” are not specifically described on the Health and Safety Executive website, it does state that children are not allowed to use mechanical equipment, such as a skidsteer or material handler.
They can, however, use a low-powered tractor on level grass with a trailed roller or harrows. He advises reading the website’s advice on preventing accidents to children on farms.
Working hours law
He also points out there is detailed law on the number of hours a young person or child can work.
For instance, those aged 13-14 can work up to 12 hours in a week: this is stated as no more than two hours on a school day or Sunday, but a maximum five hours on a Saturday.
The rules are similar for those aged 15-16, although they can work eight hours on a Saturday.
No farm work is allowed before 7am or after 7pm, he adds. This gives children the opportunity to see if they would like the idea of a career in farming while protecting their education.
School-age children are not entitled to the minimum wage as they do not pay national insurance. Under 18s can earn £6.40/hour.
Farmer experience: Matt Ford, Lime End Farm, Herstmonceux, East Sussex
Running a 650-cow autumn block-calving system just 10 minutes’ walk from the village centre has provided a steady trickle of Saturday labour for dairy farmer Matt Ford.
With 10 full-time staff plus a relief, Matt says he has had good success over the years with employing schoolchildren on Saturdays.
His two current Saturday boys at Lime End Farm are 17 and 14 years old. “Saturday staff take a lot of supervision, but we have had good experience long term.
Sometimes there is a bit of cost when they are younger and not looking like an asset or productive. You have to teach them – and they break things, which is expensive,” he says.
“But they are very useful at coming up with new ideas and progress over time. It’s a good route to getting staff.
Sometimes you think it could be an issue to give them enough work, but they can always help with fixing things or tidying up.”
His main herdsman, now aged 24, started as a 14-year-old Saturday boy having also had school workplace experience on the farm.
“Equally, our main feed man started 30 years ago in that role and has been with us ever since. Our second-in-command herdsman is 19 or 20, and he started at 14,” he says.
“When we start them off, there is not a lot they can do, and they need someone willing to show them the ropes and let them shadow them.
It’s not necessarily me – often it is the more senior person working that day who oversees what they do.
“You can’t leave them to be completely independent. That’s why their first job is washing the parlour walls or raking cubicle beds – someone can be around to keep an eye on them and they can’t go too wrong.”
He notifies East Sussex County Council that he is employing someone under 16, and fills in the council’s form.
Matt is keen to train and develop young people, and when they are old enough, they can attend a telehandler course, or discussion group. “Some end up going to the local agricultural college or start apprenticeships,” he adds.
Being able to walk from the village to work is a bonus for school-age children, although Matt often finds that parents are willing to drive 25 minutes drop their child off and collect them after work.
“What we like is that we are engaged with the community,” he adds.
More information
Tom Price was speaking at an AHDB webinar “Recruiting the next generation for the agricultural sector”