Lambing, silage, shearing and harvest all bring in extra hands for a few weeks, and the paperwork for a six-week worker is much the same as for a permanent one. Here is what is verified on GOV.UK as of October 2026, and where you need to check for yourself.
You can employ seasonal workers on a livestock farm like any other staff: do the right to work check before they start, register for PAYE before the first payday, pay at least the minimum wage, and assess them for a workplace pension. The Seasonal Worker visa is narrower: it covers only horticulture and poultry production, and the sponsor is an approved scheme operator, not the farm. Keep right to work copies for the job plus two years and minimum wage records for six years.
Usually not. The sponsor guidance says the route is for people aged 18 or over to do seasonal work in the horticulture sector or the poultry production sector. Cattle and sheep work is not on that list. A mixed farm with a fruit, vegetable or flower enterprise, or a poultry unit, may be able to host workers through the route, but the livestock side of the business cannot.
In practice, a beef or sheep farm that needs extra hands at lambing or silage recruits people who already have the right to work here, and the check in the next section is the one that matters. This guide covers what GOV.UK says about the Seasonal Worker route only; for any other visa, read the Home Office guidance before you offer the job.
The usual trap is assuming a worker who is already in the country can start on Monday. Right to work is a legal check you carry out and record, whoever recommended them.
GOV.UK says you must check that a job applicant is allowed to work for you in the UK before you employ them. There are three ways to do it: online, using the applicant's share code; in person, checking original documents with the applicant present; or through an identity service provider that offers identity document validation technology. British and Irish citizens cannot get a share code, so you check their passport or passport card, or use a provider.
For a manual check, make and keep copies and record the date. Biometric residence cards and permits are no longer accepted, so ask for a share code instead. If the right to work is time-limited, GOV.UK says you need follow-up checks before it expires, which matters for anyone whose permission ends mid-season.
Keep the copies for the length of employment and for two years after the person stops working for you. GOV.UK says you could face a civil penalty for employing an illegal worker without a correct check; I have not quoted an amount, so check the current Home Office guidance.
If you do have a horticulture or poultry enterprise, here is what the Home Office sponsor guidance (October 2026 version) says.
The Immigration Rules appendix sets a minimum of £12.71 an hour and at least 32 hours' pay a week for horticulture and most poultry roles, counting only guaranteed basic pay. A few poultry roles need £15.88 an hour and £38,700 a year. Operators must also see that workers get a contract in their first language and English, not a zero-hours one, with safe accommodation and no charge for safety equipment. Ask the operator in writing who the employer is for payslips and PAYE.
Only a licensed one. GOV.UK says gangmasters supplying workers to regulated sectors, including agriculture, need a licence from the Fair Work Agency, and it lists working with livestock, including dairy farming and poultry work, as covered activity. The Fair Work Agency took over from the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority in April 2026, according to the sponsor guidance.
Before you sign with a shearing gang, a lambing agency or a silage contractor who brings their own labour, check the provider. GOV.UK has a guide on how to check if a labour provider has a gangmaster's licence. I could not verify what exposure falls on a farm that uses an unlicensed provider, so ask the Fair Work Agency or your adviser.
A contractor who genuinely runs their own business, quotes for the job and brings their own kit is a different case from an individual you pay by the day. Status depends on the facts; see our guide to written statements and contracts for the tests and the HMRC checker.
The minimum wage applies to seasonal and casual workers as to everyone. From 1 April 2026 the GOV.UK rates are £12.71 for those 21 and over, £10.85 for 18 to 20 and £8.00 under 18. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have agricultural orders that can set more; our agricultural minimum wage guide has the grades.
Holiday still accrues. For irregular hours and part-year workers whose leave year began on or after 1 April 2024, it builds at 12.07% of hours worked, and may be rolled up into each payslip as a separate line, as set out in our holiday pay and tied housing guide.
If you house the worker in a caravan or cottage, only accommodation counts towards the minimum wage, and only up to the offset of £11.10 a day in Great Britain from April 2026. A charge above that comes off pay for the test; free housing adds the offset. Food, a vehicle and childcare vouchers do not count. Write the arrangement down before the worker arrives.
PAYE first. GOV.UK says you must register as an employer before your first payday and cannot register more than two months before you start paying. You must tell HMRC about a new employee on or before their first pay day, using their P45 or, if they have none, the starter checklist, then send a Full Payment Submission. Keep PAYE records for three years from the end of the tax year; HMRC may estimate what you owe and charge up to £3,000 if they are incomplete.
Pensions next. The Pensions Regulator says you must assess seasonal staff each time you pay them, and enrol those aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £192 a week or £833 a month. For a short job you can postpone for up to three months, writing to staff within six weeks. Our auto-enrolment guide has the contribution rates.
Short contracts produce the same records as long ones, and the retention periods run from the end of the job, not the start.
| Record | How long |
|---|---|
| Right to work copies and check date | Length of employment plus 2 years |
| Minimum wage records: pay, hours, accommodation | At least 6 years |
| PAYE records | 3 years from the end of the tax year |
| Working time records (48-hour week, night work) | 2 years from when made |
The minimum wage period comes from HMRC's manual, and the working time period from regulation 9 of the Working Time Regulations. For hours, a daily record is far safer than a weekly total; our free timesheet template is a CSV you can use today. Give new starters a site induction and keep a note of it; farm health and safety covers what to include.
Not through the Seasonal Worker visa. GOV.UK says that route covers horticulture and poultry production only. For livestock work you need someone who already has the right to work in the UK, and you must check it before they start. Read the Home Office guidance for any other visa route.
Yes. GOV.UK says you must check before you employ someone, however short the job. Use the share code service, check original documents in person, or use an identity service provider. Keep copies and the date of the check for the length of employment plus two years.
Yes. Irregular hours and part-year workers whose leave year began on or after 1 April 2024 accrue holiday at 12.07% of hours worked. You can pay it when they take leave or roll it up into each payslip as a separate line. Either way it must be recorded.
They can. You must assess staff each time you pay them, and enrol those aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £192 a week or £833 a month. For jobs under three months you can postpone, but you must write to the worker within six weeks.
Only an approved scheme operator endorsed by Defra and holding a Fair Work Agency gangmaster's licence. The sponsor guidance says individual employers are not eligible for a licence on this route, so a farm that wants overseas workers has to go through one of those operators.