Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board

The Agricultural Wages Board (AWB) for England and Wales*, which brought together employers and unions to set wages and conditions for around 150,000 agricultural workers, was abolished on 1 October 2013 by the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. General union Unite has launched a challenge to its abolition in the European Court of Human Rights and has set up a “wages watch” unit to monitor cuts to the pay and conditions of its members.

The TUC warns that, based on the government’s own figures, the move could see agricultural wages fall by £13 million, and that taking away the minimum sick pay entitlements set by the AWB will increase the risk of farm workers returning to work when not properly fit. Agricultural work accounts for a quarter of all workplace deaths, with 41 people killed in 2012 alone.

Instead of having their wages set by a national pay board, agricultural workers in England are now covered by the general NMWRs. These are lower than the rates set by the most recent Agricultural Wages Order 2012, which expired on 30 September 2013. From 1 October 2013, employers are entitled to pay new agricultural workers the NMW. However, workers already employed before 1 October 2013 remain entitled to their existing contractual pay and conditions.

*Boards for Scotland and Northern Ireland continue to function. The Welsh Assembly’s policy of of establishing an Agricultural Advisory Panel to preserve the Wages Order was referred to the Supreme Court in 2013.