News in brief - April 2019

Overworking

TUC analysis has revealed UK workers did over £32 billion worth of unpaid overtime in 2018. The 5 million workers who did this time have in effect worked the first two months of the year for free. Top of the list for those who did in excess of their hours were teachers and educational professionals at 12.1 extra hours per week closely followed by legal professionals at 10.2. The TUC general secretary said, “overworking staff hurts productivity, leaves workers stressed and exhausted and eats into time that should be spent with family and friends. Employers who steal people’s time in this way should face consequences.”

Seasonal Workers Pilot Opens

The seasonal workers pilot announced by the Home Secretary in 2018 has now opened. Fruit and vegetable farmers are able to employ up to 2,500 non-EU migrant workers for seasonal work for up to 6 months. The pilot will run until the end of December 2020. Two scheme operators have been identified as being licensed to manage the pilot and will be responsible for identifying suitable workers and matching them to UK farmers. They will also be required to ensure the welfare of the workers whilst they are in the UK. This pilot is intended to test the effectiveness of the immigration system and alleviating seasonal labour shortages during peak production periods whilst maintaining immigration control.