Important Information (changes every April)

	2007	2008
Minimum Hourly Rate (£)	5.35	5.52
Minimum Hourly Overtime Rate (£)	8.03	8.28
Tax Concession (£)	5225	6035
Basic Rate Of Tax (%)	10 / 22	20
National Insurance Primary Threshold (£)	100	105
National Insurance Deduction (%)	11	11

Tax
Concordia is a farming sponsor and all students who are accepted for a placement are allowed the same tax concession as British students in the UK tax year (April to March) without paying tax. This allowance increases after April 6th each year, but details are not available until the end of March. Once you have reached this figure all of your earnings are taxable.

P38s and P45s
After you have successfully applied to work with Concordia a form entitled P38s will be sent to your farm with your information. This informs your employer to deduct tax when the total amount you have been paid exceeds the tax threshold. Your employer will ask you to sign this form. By doing this you are declaring that your full earnings for the tax year (April - March) have not (and will not) exceed the tax threshold. If you sign this form wrongly and this information is not true, your farmer may report you to the H M Revenue and Customs (HRMC) office. This is a serious offence.

If your placement changes or you have a double placement which means you leave a farm and start work on a new farm your first employer may issue you with a P45. This will state everything you have earned in your employment so far. You can take this to your new farm and it will help your new employer calculate how much tax you must pay. If you are unsure how much you have earnt in total and do not want to sign a second P38s form you can ask your previous employer for a statement of earnings. Alternatively, some employers will ask you to sign a P46 in the absence of any other previous earnings details or a signed P38s. This is another declaration form that allows the correct tax code to be issued.

Please note: some employers will charge you tax on all your earnings before you reach your allowance, but any tax paid that is not required can be reclaimed at the end of your stay in the UK. To do this, you will need to complete form P85s, available from your local tax office (or download from www.hmrc.gov.uk), at the end of your work period. However, any refund can only be made in GBP stirling so it may be advisable to keep a UK bank account open if your bank does not charge you for this.

National Insurance
National Insurance (NIC) is another form of tax that you may be required to pay.

NIC will be deducted from your gross earnings. Any income above threshold per week will be charged at the deduction rate above.

Please note: if you are from the following countries you must pay NIC on all of your earnings, regardless of your student status. The countries where this rule applies are:Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo.

If you are a non EU student studying agriculture or horticulture you will not have to pay NIC. You need to bring proof with you to benefit from this exemption in the form of a certificate translated into English. This must be from your college and state that you are a student of agriculture or horticulture. This must be given into the office on your arrival at the farm; otherwise you will have NIC deducted. If you plan to work at more than one farm, you should bring additional signed certificates with you. If you do not bring your certificate with you, Concordia may provide a copy, but you will be charged £10.
Please note: If you are unable to work because of illness, it is not possible to claim compensatory sick pay.

Rates of Pay
Work on all farms in the UK is paid in two ways. This can either be:

Piecework rates: This means the more you pick, the more you can earn. Rates vary according to crop and weather conditions, and may change daily. OR
Hourly: This means you will be paid at the Agricultural Wages Board rate (this rate will rise in October every year).

There is no variation in wages between foreign and British students.

For further information, please visit Defra.

Piecework rates fluctuate according to the crop and its condition and to the season. If these rates do not add up to the minimum wage then your employer is obliged to make up your wages. This does mean that if you are not able to earn the Agricultural Wages Board rate, after having had the relevant training, or you continue to work too slowly the employer is likely to dismiss you. This is because he will have to make up your pay to the minimum hourly rate and he will end up losing money. When working on piecework, many students are able to work hard and earn considerable amounts of money. However, variations in earnings should be expected, and your expectations of how much you will earn in the UK should be realistic.

Your farmer is required to provide you with a regular wage slip which should detail exactly how your wages have been calculated, and include all deductions for accommodation, tax etc. This will be information of both your gross pay and net pay (pay after deductions). Any deductions that are made must be itemised separately and can only be taken if they fit into the rules below:

• The deduction is required by UK law (i.e. Tax and National Insurance)
• The deduction has been authorised previously in your contract
• The deduction has been previously agreed with you in writing
• The deduction is a repayment of any expenses and/or overpaid wages

For any deductions that are taken you must have been given written notice before this happens.

You also have the right to see your pay records at any time.

Hours of work

Most placements are based on a 39 hour week, however most farms are able to offer well in excess of that. If your farmer requires it or there is enough work for you to work more than 48 hours per week you must sign an agreement in order to do this.

You are expected to be available to work for at least 39 hours a week.

Overtime
If your farmer requires you to work overtime, they must pay you at overtime rates. Overtime is paid if any of the following apply:

• You have worked more than 39 hours in any week

OR

• You have worked more than 8 hours in any day

Holiday Pay
Holiday pay will be due for the time you are working on the farm; most farms prefer to pay you this at the end of your placement, rather than allowing you to take time off during your placement. The farmer will calculate this for you, in accordance with the rules of the Agricultural Wages Board.

Further Information
For further information, please see Defra

Please note: work cannot be guaranteed - unusual weather conditions do occur and the harvest may be of a different duration to that which was anticipated. If there is not enough work available to allow you to earn the minimum amount, the farmer must reduce the cost of the accommodation for that period.