Article – Agricultural Wages (Wales) Order 2025

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In addition to their duties under general UK employment law, employers in the agricultural sector in Wales must also comply with additional requirements which are updated annually. The Agricultural Wages (Wales) Order 2025 came into force from 1st April 2025, replacing the Agricultural Wages (Wales) Order 2024.

All those employed in agricultural, horticultural and agri-forestry in Wales (whether employees or workers in law, or those employed by agencies or gang masters) benefit from additional rights under the Order. In particular, they are entitled to at least the Agricultural Minimum Wage, which is a separate from the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. Agricultural Minimum Wage is determined by a worker’s ‘grade’ and employers must determine the workers appropriate grading depending on their age, experience and qualifications.  Employers must ensure that agricultural workers receive the higher of either National Minimum or Living Wage, or Agricultural Minimum Wage.

There are a number of additional obligations including in relation to:

  • holiday leave (which is more generous than the statutory minimum for non-agricultural workers);
  • agricultural sick pay (payable after 52 weeks of continuous employment subject to certain conditions);
  • paying certain additional allowances;
  • provisions relating to periods of rest;
  • provisions relating to pay in respect of overtime.

It is vitally important that employers comply with their obligations under the Order as it is a criminal offence to not pay agricultural workers at least the Agricultural Minimum Wage. Non-compliance with the Order can also result in civil action being taken against the employer by employees.

Key updates under the 2025 Order include:

  • Agricultural Minimum Wage: increases in minimum pay rates for all grades, linked to National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increases effective from April 2025;
  • Allowances: all allowances (dog allowance, on-call allowance, night work supplement and birth and adoption grants) have been increased by 10%;
  • Overtime: the rules have been clarified and simplified. The term “basic hours” now means up to a maximum of 39 hours per week or any other hours agreed in the worker’s contract or apprenticeship. This is a welcome amendment as it clarifies that workers will only get paid for overtime after they have worked all their regular hours and it removes the confusion that overtime is paid after an 8-hour workday;
  • Training costs: under the Order, the employer is responsible for paying for training course fees, and travel and accommodation costs, if the worker has attended the training course with the prior agreement of the employer. The Order clarifies that employers can now reclaim training costs if an employee leaves during or within 12 months of completing the training, subject to certain conditions. Importantly, this is not an automatic right to recover training costs; there must be a contractual provision between the employer and worker to recoup such costs and which is subject to the usual principles of employment law.
  • Holiday entitlement and pay: the calculation of holiday leave entitlement and pay has been simplified for ‘part-year’ or ‘irregular hours’ workers. Instead of using a 52-week period to calculate holiday pay, a percentage calculation based on the workers weekly holiday entitlement can be used. The calculations for those with regular hours remain unchanged.
  • Unpaid leave: the provision has been updated to reflect that agricultural workers can take unpaid leave for statutory reasons like carer’s leave or parental leave.

Employment law can be something of a minefield for employers at the best of times; those employing agricultural workers in Wales have additional obligations which, despite having been simplified in recent years, can be confusing. If in doubt, employers should seek professional advice from advisers with knowledge of the law in Wales. Failing to comply with the law can have very serious implications.

Written by Luke Evetts, Consultant and is based near our Newcastle Emlyn Office.

Original article published in the TFA Cymru newsletter to their members. www.tfa.org.uk.