Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2023 to Question 165227 on Agriculture: Seasonal Workers, whether the guarantee of a minimum of 32 hours of work every week from 1 April 2023 for people on the seasonal worker visa scheme will mean that workers must be paid for at least 32 hours work each week regardless of their pay period or if the 32 hours per week can be averaged over the worker’s pay period.

A key objective of the route is to ensure that migrant workers are protected against modern slavery and other labour abuses.

The Home Office has made ongoing enhancements to the route over the lifetime of its operation, most recently adding a mandatory minimum hours pay requirement to the Immigration Rules, ensuring that all workers will receive a guaranteed 32 hours of paid employment per week.

Where a worker is paid on a weekly basis, they must receive pay for 32 hours of work. Where workers are paid over a longer period, for example on a fortnightly or monthly basis, some reasonable averaging is permitted. We monitor this closely and workers must not be required to work excessive hours at the end of their pay period in order to achieve the 32 hour average.