Facebook Twitter Instagram
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • FREE Magazine Subscriptions
    •  
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Poultry News
    • Production
      • Broiler Production
      • Ducks
      • Egg Production
      • Game
      • Hatching
      • Housing
      • Turkeys
    • Processing
    • Business & Politics
      • Business
      • Economics
      • EU & Politics
      • Marketing
      • People
      • Training & Education
    • Welfare
      • Environment
      • Food Safety
      • Vet & Medication
      • Welfare
    • Feed
    • Genetics
    • New Products
    • Magazines
      1. July 2022
      2. June 2022
      3. May 2022
      4. April 2022
      5. February 2022
      6. January 2022
      Featured

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      By Michael BarkerJune 28, 2022
      Recent

      Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

      June 28, 2022

      Protected: Finalists Supplement – National Egg & Poultry Awards 2022

      June 27, 2022

      Protected: Innovation Supplement 2022

      June 1, 2022
    • Jobs
      • Browse Jobs
      • Post a Job
      • Manage Jobs
    • Events
      • National Egg and Poultry Awards
      • Poultry Fair
    Poultry News
    Business & Politics

    Analysis: Labour shortages bite

    Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanJuly 6, 20215 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    The poultry industry has scaled back production by 10% since Easter due to lack of workers on farm and in plants
    On one day in June at the 2 Sisters Willand processing plant in Devon, there were 300 fewer staff on site than were needed to run at normal levels. Production had to be scaled back because there simply weren’t the people needed to operate the machinery. “We physically do not have the people to do the portioning,” said Chris Chater, Hook2Sisters manager of central farming operations. “This is not going away.”
    The company may have to consider reducing the number of SKUs it offers supermarkets in order to cope, he added. Catchers are another part of the chain where workers are in short supply. “Ours didn’t turn up on the day they were meant to,” said one broiler producer who supplies the Willand plant. “It’s not for lack of pay because they get close to £40,000 a year; it’s just there aren’t enough around to cope with the amount of work. The price of chicken is going to have to rise as this is unsustainable.”
    While there has long been a lack of labour in the chicken industry, the situation is now so bad production has fallen across the UK by 10% during since Easter, according to the British Poultry Council (BPC), which said a shortage of people across farming and in processing plants was now hitting production nationwide.
    Entry level roles (requiring a Level 2 qualification) are where the sector is facing greatest difficulty. “We generally operate in areas of high local employment so there is a limit to availability of UK workers and there is negligible appetite from UK workers to move from other parts of the country,” said BPC chief executive Richard Griffiths in a recent article published on the BPC website.
    “When it comes to non-UK labour – either from the EU or further afield – we have seen reducing numbers willing to come to the UK, the immigration barriers of salary and skill have been raised way beyond what we can manage, and the cost of bringing people in is being prohibitive.”
    The Government’s points-based immigration system came into effect at the start of 2021, which ended free movement of people between the UK and EU. Now, points are assigned for specific skills, qualifications, salaries or professions and visas are only awarded to those who gain enough points. Immigrants now have to meet criteria including earning a minimum of £25,600, and speaking English. 
    The Government said the change in policy had been designed to “end the reliance on cheap, low-skilled labour coming into the country”. Another factor is the growth in eastern European economies, which had led to more opportunities and wages for workers in their home countries.
    Griffiths said the impact of this was now being felt in many industries. “Hospitality is getting much of the media attention but work backwards down that chain: logistics are compromised because of a shortage of lorry drivers, food processors and manufacturers cannot get enough people in factories, farms do not have the people to pick and catch.”
    Some poultrymeat businesses have invested more in automation to address the shortage, but this is not a complete solution. “While technology will create higher skilled jobs in the future, we will always be reliant on people,” said Griffiths.
    Chater said companies are considering solutions they hadn’t previously had to, including automated catching. “At the moment, I am having to bring in catching teams from the east of England [to Devon]. This is Brexit. Eastern European workers are going home. Morale is really low and tensions are high everywhere.”
    Companies are spending money on training to try and attract the right people. All the major integrators are investing in new apprenticeship and training schemes to try and do just that. Soanes Poultry, based in Yorkshire, has set up a new training facility at its factory, for example.
    MD Nigel Upson said: “Over the last two years, we have invested £1.5 million to increase capacity due to consumer demand, and now we are having to reduce the number of chicks that we rear because we don’t have the labour to process them. “Brexit and coronavirus have created a perfect storm that has resulted in 1.3 million EU workers returning to their own countries and this has had a significant impact on production. “
    In addition to the training hub, we have introduced several initiatives to encourage new recruits, including flexible ‘school day shifts’, refer a friend incentives, and a training website.”
    Griffiths said the Government could help ease the problems facing the industry by including poultry meat supply chain workers on the ‘skilled worker list’ and reduce unnecessary thresholds on salaries and skills. He also called for pathways for seasonal workers with minimal administrative burden to support seasonal businesses, which would benefit the Christmas turkey supply chain.

    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleExtended entry deadline for National Egg & Poultry Awards until Friday 16 July
    Next Article Poultry housing plans affected as cost of raw materials continues to soar
    Chloe Ryan

    Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

    Read Similar Stories

    Business & Politics

    NFU president highlights why food security matters

    June 28, 2022
    People

    David Holdsworth appointed as new APHA chief executive

    May 11, 2022
    Business & Politics

    Government decision to delay import checks requirement by up to 18 months “flies in the face of common sense”

    May 2, 2022
    Most Read

    Protected: Poultry Business – July 2022

    June 28, 2022

    NFU president highlights why food security matters

    June 28, 2022

    BFREPA calls for more support as 20p/dozen increase nets producers just 4p extra

    June 28, 2022
    © 2022 Lewis Business Media. All Rights Reserved.
    Lewis Business Media, Suite A, Arun House, Office Village, River Way, Uckfield, TN22 1SL

    Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • AA Farmer
    • Farm Contractor
    • Pig World
    • OvertheCounter

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “ACCEPT ALL”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsREJECT ALLAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALBCORS7 daysThis cookie is managed by Amazon Web Services and is used for load balancing.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary1 yearSet by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin, this cookie is used to record the user consent for the cookies in the "Necessary" category .
    PHPSESSIDsessionThis cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    CookieDurationDescription
    AWSALB7 daysAWSALB is a cookie generated by the Application load balancer in the Amazon Web Services. It works slightly different from AWSELB.
    explat_test_aa_weekly_lohp_2021_week_4517 days 8 hoursNo description
    ppwp_wp_session30 minutesNo description
    tk_ai14 daysGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    tk_qssessionGathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    CookieDurationDescription
    OAGEOsessionOpenX sets this cookie to avoid the repeated display of the same ad.
    OAID1 yearThis cookie is set when an AdsWizz website visitor have opted out the collection of information by AdsWizz service or opted to disable the targeted ads by AdsWizz.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    CookieDurationDescription
    _ga2 yearsThe _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookie stores information anonymously and assigns a randomly generated number to recognize unique visitors.
    _gat_gtag_UA_31822138_71 minuteSet by Google to distinguish users.
    _gid1 dayInstalled by Google Analytics, _gid cookie stores information on how visitors use a website, while also creating an analytics report of the website's performance. Some of the data that are collected include the number of visitors, their source, and the pages they visit anonymously.
    tk_lr1 yearThe tk_lr is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_or5 yearsThe tk_or is a referral cookie set by the JetPack plugin on sites using WooCommerce, which analyzes referrer behaviour for Jetpack.
    tk_r3d3 daysJetPack installs this cookie to collect internal metrics for user activity and in turn improve user experience.
    SAVE & ACCEPT
    Powered by CookieYes Logo