Farm Employment: Farmers urged to tidy up employment contracts
March 15th, 2010
FedFarmers wants farmers to tighten farm employment practices following revelations one in four farm employees do not have written employment contracts. FedFarmers president Don Nicolson says “Last month’s Federated Farmers/Rabobank Farm Employee Remuneration Report showed a big hole in farm employment practices. It’s a big worry in fact to see so many farm businesses, as much as 24%, so exposed by not having written employment contracts.”
It is good to see 9% more farm businesses becoming compliant over the past year he warns the Employment Court has little sympathy with employers where no contract is involved. “Working relationships are fine when things are going well, but when things go awry, it gets very litigious very quickly.” There are further concerns over spotty record keeping. FedFarmers notes only around 40% of farm employers report they record employee hours – and there may be other compliance holes as well.
Nicolson says the Federation wants to send a strong message to all farm employers to get their farm employment systems in order. If farmers need help, they can call Fed Farmers on 0800 327 646 in order to speak with its employment law advisers. The service is free to members.
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