According to the National Farmers Union (NFU), in 2020, only 11% of seasonal farm workers in the UK were local residents. This drop in the local manual labour force, as well as the general exodus of workers from the EU as a result of Brexit, has led to a nation-wide push for foreign workers for the upcoming seasons.

Though the UK government began its own drive to hire and invest in British workers for manual and other labour via its high profile Pick for Britain campaign, many vegetable farmers can attest that the twin challenges of Brexit and the Covid pandemic have disrupted the market, leaving many farms understaffed, and farmers looking elsewhere for their workers. 

The impact of Brexit in particular has left farmers scrambling to replace seasonal workers who were no longer eligible to work in the UK. Many European workers left at the end of the farming season and did not return, fearing major economic shifts as a result of Brexit. This has resulted in many farming professionals seeking another source of labour from outside the EU, namely the Philippines. 

Farmers across the UK have welcomed workers from the Southeast-Asian country, and spoke highly of their positive experiences, both in terms of recruitment as well as the workers’ professionalism. Finding people to do farm work is not an easy task, as the work itself is difficult and labour-intensive, and not for everyone. Many Filipino workers, however, are eager to take on these jobs, often asking to return year after year. For many farms, it’s the Filipino workers that are keeping the industry going at the moment. 

Filipino farm workers require a UK visa as well as a local work permit, a simple procedure that allows them to only work for the employer who hired them.