When we first went into lockdown on the 23rd March there was also the risk that I would be out of a job by the 14th April! I was working as a consultant and my contract in the past has always been extended but with everything that is going on sadly this wasn’t the case this time!
I had seen in the paper that lots of U.K. farmers were struggling to harvest crop due to lack of seasonal workers being able to enter the country! I immediately did a bit of research to see if there were any farms nearby that I could work at as I have always loved the idea of being outside and working on a farm!
When I applied I was told that I would be contacted in May as they did not need any extra staff until then! I was called at the beginning of May and asked if I was still interested, I had been unemployed for around a month by this point and I was ready to have some kind of routine back in my life!
The following week I went in for an induction and then we started working on the farm the next day! Everything was communicated to us on our first day to ensure we knew exactly what we were doing which was essentially picking as many strawberries as physically possible!
We had to arrive at 7am to start picking at 7:30am. We then picked for 6 hours with two 15 minute breaks (which were so needed)! It was absolutely exhausting, and I really take my hat off to the seasonal workers that work 12 hour shifts 6 days a week!
We worked 5 days a week Monday- Friday and always finished at around 2pm which was nice as it felt like we still had a lot of the day left. We were paid every Friday and it was minimum wage BUT the more you pick the more you earn.
We were set targets that we had to meet every 2 hours e.g 10 crates per 2 hours which was usually around 100 punnets- it doesn’t sound like much but it was actually super challenging, I mean I’m sure it isn’t for the experienced pickers! The farm were great though and during our first week the targets were not as high and we would receive a bonus if we met the targets which was a great incentive!
I worked on the farm for just under a month and honestly had the best time! It took my mind off of the covid-19 pandemic and everyone I worked with was honestly so so nice! I only left as I have got my dream job otherwise I would still be there now picking away!
Next year if you are looking for a job in the summer then you should definitely have a look to see if any farmers need any seasonal pickers! There is an app called ‘picker’ that you can download and look for farm work!
