CORONAVIRUS GUIDANCE

Best practices to avoid the spread of coronavirus

for seasonal workers on fruit and vegetable farms

This best-practice guide is intended to assist

These are exceptional circumstances and industry employers of agricultural seasonal workers in applying
needs to comply with the latest government advice on the PHE guidance in practical ways. The information
coronavirus (COVID-19). This best-practice document and examples provided in this guide are illustrative
is based on Public Health England (PHE) guidance; only and may not be suitable for every business.
other restrictions and advice may apply in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland. This guide was produced in collaboration with the
National Farmers Union, The Association of Labour
This guidance does not change or amend the Providers, AHDB, G’s Fresh and Defra.
statutory duties of an employer under the health and
safety legislation, including, in particular: Introduction
● Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Government guidance
etc. Act 1974 (HSWA), which requires an The Government has introduced new measures to reduce
employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). These social
practicable, the health, safety and welfare at distancing requirements include requiring people to stay
work of its employees at home (except for buying food, one form of outdoor
● Regulation 3 (1) (a) of the Management of exercise, for health reasons, or for work that cannot be
Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 done from home) and keeping at least 2 metres away
(MHSWR), which requires an employer to make from other people.
a suitable and sufficient assessment of the Farms are a place of work, just like other essential
risks to the health and safety of its employees businesses, and there will be a risk of spreading
to which they are exposed while they are coronavirus while operating during the pandemic. As with
at work in order to identify the measures any other business, agricultural employers must follow
the employer must take to comply with the government guidance for food businesses in response
requirements of the health and to the pandemic. Employers must also ensure the safety
safety legislation of their workforce generally from other hazards.
Further guidance is available on the Government
website here.

April 2020
Sector-specific guidance in relation to social distancing In these circumstances, groups of people are effectively
in the workplace is available here. living in the same household.
Workers from defined extremely vulnerable groups During the harvesting season, there may be a need
are strongly advised to stay at home shielded and not to transport workers to fields separate from their
go to work as they are at increased risk of severe illness accommodation or normal place of work, between
from coronavirus. different fields, or to and from shops to buy essential items.
Anyone, including key workers, who lives in a household Those working on farms are considered to be key
with someone who is shielding from coronavirus infection workers. A key worker is someone who has been
should stringently follow guidance on social distancing. identified as critical for the continuation of essential
public services, and includes ‘those involved in food
Symptoms of coronavirus production, processing, distribution, sale and delivery,
The most common symptoms of coronavirus are as well as those essential to the provision of other key
recent onset of a new continuous cough and/or goods (for example, hygienic and veterinary medicines)’.
high temperature. A full list of key worker sectors can be found here.
Anyone, including a key worker, who develops
symptoms of coronavirus (a new, continuous cough and/ Best-practice examples for farming businesses
or a high temperature) must not go to work and should Importance of communication
stay off work for 7 days from the onset of symptoms. Clear and regular communication between employers
Anyone, including key workers, living in a household and employees is important to ensure that all workers
where someone develops symptoms of coronavirus must understand the reasons for the measures being adopted
not go to work for 14 days from the day when the first in the workplace and is more likely to effect sustained
person in the house became ill. behavioural change. Some examples of how to ensure
good communication are outlined below.
Government guidance on best practice for all businesses
● Ensure new workers are fully briefed, in the
● Keep everyone updated on actions being taken to appropriate languages, on all the symptoms of
reduce risks of exposure to coronavirus in the workplace coronavirus, what to do if they experience symptoms
● Ensure employees who are in a vulnerable group are and the measures put in place to prevent the spread
strongly advised to follow social distancing guidance of the virus
● Ensure employees who are in an extremely vulnerable - The most common symptoms of coronavirus are
group and should be shielded are supported to stay recent onset of a new continuous cough and/or
at home high temperature. If you have these symptoms,
however mild, stay at home and do not leave your
● Make sure everyone’s contact numbers and house for 7 days from when your symptoms started
emergency contact details are up to date if you live alone, or 14 days if you live with someone
● Make sure managers know how to spot symptoms who has symptoms. You do not need to call NHS
of coronavirus and are clear on all relevant processes, 111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms
for example sickness reporting and sick pay, and worsen during home isolation or are no better after
procedures in case someone in the workplace becomes 7 days, visit NHS 111 online. If you have no
unwell with potential coronavirus symptoms and internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a
needs to take the appropriate action medical emergency, dial 999
● Make sure there are places to wash hands for - Wash your hands more often than usual, for 20
20 seconds with soap and water, and encourage seconds, using soap and hot water, particularly
everyone to do so regularly after coughing, sneezing and blowing your nose,
● Provide hand sanitiser and tissues for staff and or after being in public areas where other people
encourage their use are doing so. Use hand sanitiser if that’s all you
have access to
Context for farming businesses - To reduce the spread of germs when you cough or
There are some sector-specific operational challenges for sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue,
farming businesses, such as on-site living accommodation, or your sleeve (not your hands) if you don’t have a
transporting of workers, on-site social and entertainment tissue, and throw the tissue in a bin immediately.
areas and the multilingual nature of the workforce. Then wash your hands or use a hand-sanitising gel
On some farms, a large proportion of the workforce will - Clean and disinfect regularly touched objects and
travel to and from the farm every day and live off site. surfaces using your regular cleaning products to
Many farms are set up to house seasonal workers on reduce the risk of passing the infection on to
their sites. On most farms, the living accommodation is other people
set up for groups of people using shared facilities, such
● Translated versions of all guidance is available on
as showers, toilets, kitchens, communal areas and
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
laundry facilities. Accommodation could also be provided
in static caravans with their own kitchens and showers
but with access to other communal areas.
● Ensure communication channels are in place to ● Employers may choose to regularly assess the health
encourage and enable ongoing engagement at all of their workforce. For example, this could involve
levels – good examples include using posters and the use of daily employee checking forms to confirm
signage (in all languages used on site) in communal that workers are not suffering from any symptoms of
areas and accommodation coronavirus, such as a new continuous cough or a
● Remind workers on a daily basis and in the high temperature. You can download the form here
appropriate languages of the basic rules around ● Government guidance must be followed where
hygiene and social distancing symptoms are identified
● Wherever possible, make use of technology (see ● Employers should consider reviewing their absence
figure 1). Consider using a translated (in all relevant policy, ensuring they have a robust system in place to
site languages) linked self-developed “service portal” identify workers that are absent and have a process
for reporting any work, accommodation, HR or to follow up on any absences that have not been
welfare-related issues while in the accommodation to reported or are suspected to be related to coronavirus
mitigate person-to-person contact with front-line staff
Use of cohorts and social distancing
● The principles of social distancing should be used at
all times

● If social distancing is not possible, consider using

the social distancing in the workplace during
coronavirus (COVID-19): sector guidance
● If essential, organise as small a group of workers as
possible who live and work on site into fixed groups
that work and live together, known as ‘cohorts’, which
then do not mix with other groups. Where a cohort
lives and works together, it can be considered as a
Figure 1. Digital service portal
‘household’. Workers who travel to the farm each day
could also be grouped into cohorts that always work
Risk, hygiene and health management
together, although social distancing measures would
● Undertake and document a formal risk assessment still apply in the workplace
for each specific area or process in the business and
● This practice is encouraged to minimise any potential
implement measures accordingly to minimise the
spread of coronavirus, as well as to ensure maximum
risks of spreading coronavirus. The Health and Safety
business continuity where symptoms are identified in
Executive (HSE) has published guidance on how to
an individual
carry out risk assessments here: www.hse.gov.uk/risk/
● There is no set definition of a cohort in terms of group
● HSE has recommended the following hierarchy of
size (although there should preferably be as few
control measures to reduce risks:
people in a group as possible) or types of workers.
- ELIMINATE – implement methods that are known Businesses may choose how best to apply cohorting
to kill or remove the risk, such as increased in a proportionate way to accommodate risk factors
handwashing, cleaning, etc. relevant to their business
- SUBSTITUTE – change the process to reduce the
Managing shared living arrangements
risk with a lesser risk, for example touch points on
doors. Example 1: replace handle with a sanitiser ● Every effort should be made to secure
gel handle for ‘pull’, or push a door with the use of single-occupancy accommodation for workers.
the elbow. Example 2: open all doors that can be left If single-occupancy accommodation is not possible,
opened and introduce fire-safety release mechanisms occupancy in each shared space should be as low
so that in the event of a fire, the doors close as possible and organised in cohorts. Such cohorts
should be as small as possible and kept separate from
- ISOLATE – examples include following the 2 metres
other cohorts
social distancing guidance. Isolation can also be
supported by time or shift management or people flow ● Face-to-face contact should be minimised as much as
possible by introducing scheduled access, in cohorts,
- ADMINISTRATE – this includes policing the rules,
to shared facilities such as showers and kitchens
signage to communicate the rules and documents
to change SOPs ● Ventilation in all rooms and buildings should
be maximised
- PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE)
– besides wearing PPE already identified as ● In addition to normal cleaning regimes, it is best
appropriate for the job, PPE can make people feel practice to ensure frequent cleaning and disinfecting
safer, but PPE can also potentially have the biggest of objects and surfaces that are touched regularly,
detrimental impact. If an employee wears gloves using standard cleaning products, active against
and then washes their hands less, the risk viruses and bacteria, particularly at the start and end
increases, but they feel safer! of the day
● Employers should consider supporting workers ● Consideration should be given to staff reception
with shopping by selling basic supplies on site or areas by screening, but still permitting, verbal
facilitating food deliveries. If workers need to travel communication with staff and employers
off site to buy food and essentials, the Government ● Postage/document-transfer procedures should be
guidance must be followed. It is best practice for considered, such as using transfer drawers to limit
employer-organised shopping trips to be managed hand contact
in cohorts

Managing new arrivals to stay in shared living

accommodation
● Every effort should be made to secure single-
occupancy accommodation for new workers. It is best
practice for new arrivals to the accommodation to
self-isolate for 14 days. They can start to work on site
in accordance with social distancing guidance
● If single-occupancy accommodation is not possible,
occupancy in each shared space should be as low
as possible and organised in cohorts. Such cohorts
should be as small as possible and kept separate from
other cohorts
● New live-in worker cohorts should be kept separate
from cohorts that are already on site
● Employers may choose to ask new workers to
complete checking forms to confirm that they are not
suffering from any symptoms of coronavirus. You can
download the form here
Managing new workers on site
Employers will need to plan how to integrate new Figure 2. Example screened reception area and transfer drawer
workers to their existing workforce safely by applying
social distancing measures and using cohorts to ● Consider using floor and wall markers to indicate
minimise contact between working groups. Best-practice distances, including outside areas for social
approaches include: entertaining (eating, sport, recreation)
● Businesses may choose to ask new workers to
complete checking forms to confirm that they are not
suffering from any symptoms of coronavirus before
arrival. You can download the form here
● All new workers should receive health and safety
training prior to starting work on site
● All new workers should receive training on hand and
respiratory hygiene
● All new workers should receive training on the social
distancing guidance
● All new workers should be clear on who to alert if they
or a colleague start showing coronavirus symptoms
● All new workers should be clear on who to raise
concerns with about health and safety provisions on site

Managing the farm workplace

Figure 3. Social distancing in smoking area
Government guidance on social distancing in the
workplace can be found here. The key principle is that ● In enclosed spaces such as polytunnels, glasshouses
workers should remain at least 2 metres apart from each and packhouses, increased ventilation should be
other, wherever possible. considered, wherever possible
Hygiene and social distancing ● Where it is not possible to follow the social distancing
guidelines in full in relation to a particular activity,
● Where practical, cohorts should work together at all times you should consider whether that activity needs to
● Consider people flow and ‘pinch points’ – one-way continue for the business to continue to operate, and,
systems, staggered shifts, etc. are possible ways to if so, take all the mitigating actions possible to reduce
minimise the risk of transmission. the risk of transmission between staff
● If you decide work should continue, staff should work ● Employers should, where possible, increase the
side by side or facing away from each other rather number of hand-washing and sanitiser stations
than face-to-face, if possible. Screens to divide available in rest areas and canteens
workstations may also be used ● Where possible, promote the use of contactless
technology for any payments and ensure that where
canteen staff cannot maintain a 2 metres distance
from workers (for example at serving hatches or
tills) they are physically shielded (for example by a
Perspex screen)
● Consider introducing a policy for the cleaning down of
tables and collection of cutlery, condiments, etc. that
takes account of social distancing. Consider removing
shared condiments, e.g. salt and pepper holders

Managing transport arrangements

Where employees are travelling to and from the
workplace in private vehicles or using car pooling,
employers are encouraged to remind them of
Figure 4. Examples of methods used to screen workers with
plastic sheeting. Other methods could include solid
current government advice (see section: ‘Use of
Plexiglas screens
private vehicles and car pooling’) on best practice.
Where employers are providing transport for employees
● Employers may wish to use pictorial signage to between accommodation and the workplace, between
communicate specific hygiene procedures. You can different work settings, and for essential shopping
find an example here purposes, please see the below best-practise suggestions:
● It is good practice to identify key ‘touch points’ (door ● Where possible, daily self-reports of employees’
handles, keypads, vending machines, etc.) and ensure health should be undertaken before workers are
these are regularly sanitised using sanitising agents transported to the site
that are certified as effective against enveloped
● Within vehicles used for transport, ensure there is
viruses (EN 14476)
frequent cleaning and disinfecting of surfaces that are
● Where practical, automatic door opening should touched regularly, using standard cleaning products,
be considered to prevent hand contact and ideally after each trip
contamination
● Where social distancing is not possible, and only
● The use of additional PPE to any used in standard where essential, cohorts may travel together
practice should be a last resort and guidance should
● Consider hand sanitiser or handwash stations
be given to ensure colleagues are notified of the
being made available for use at the start and end
increasing risks with PPE if they use them at the
of each journey
expense of higher-risk control measures – “unwashed
gloves are worse than regularly washed hands” ● Maximise ventilation
● Where possible, where social distancing cannot ● Where shared transport is unavoidable, employers
be maintained, essential, suitable PPE should be should minimise the number of workers in each
provided, with relevant training in its implementation, vehicle by considering multiple trips with fewer
use and removal. Suitable systems should be put in persons and/or staggered starting and finishing
place to keep the PPE clean and free of contamination times. Wherever possible, workers in shared transport
should enter and exit the transport in a staggered way,
Managing rest areas and canteens
not ‘squeezing past each other’, maintaining social
It is very unlikely that coronavirus is transmitted through distancing guidance
food. Workplace canteens may remain open, where there
are no practical alternatives for staff to obtain food. It is best ● If workers have to share enclosed spaces, such as the
practice to risk-assess the use of canteen and rest areas. cabs of vehicles, wherever possible they should keep
The following examples may be used to mitigate risks: the window open for ventilation and they should be
careful to avoid touching their faces at all times.
● Employers should ensure, as far as reasonably On leaving the enclosed space, they should wash their
possible, a distance of 2 metres is maintained hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or more, or
between users of rest areas and canteens. use hand sanitiser when they cannot wash their hands
Consider removing some tables to enable
social distancing in canteens ● Anyone found to be unwell in transit should be
taken off the shared transport, returned to their
● Employers should, where possible, introduce staggered accommodation and supported to follow the
breaks for cohorts to minimise the amount of people stay-at-home guidance. If those travelling in the
using rest areas and canteens at the same time shared transport are also part of the symptomatic
● Employers should ensure that notices promoting person’s cohort (household), they should also
hand hygiene and social distancing are placed visibly return and begin household isolation
in rest areas and canteens
● Posters can be put in the windows of minibuses, etc. Managing suspected symptoms
to remind people of the hygiene rules Workers that are suspected to have symptoms of
● Enabling contactless payment is recommended, coronavirus should self-isolate at home for least 7 days in
wherever practical a suitable environment, in line with government guidance.
If a worker with suspected symptoms lives on site and is
part of a cohort that lives and works together, then the
entire cohort will also need to self-isolate as a
‘household’ for a minimum of 14 days – for more
information, visit: www.gov.uk/government/
publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance
Employers will need to provide separate accommodation
for workers that are self-isolating, recognising this decision
will depend on the way that each farming business
Figure 5. Example of a bus with reduced numbers of passengers operates and whether they have cohorts in place.
– the seats coloured red should be left empty
It is best practice for employers who provide
accommodation for their workers (either on or off-site)
Minimising visitors to have plans in place to support workers who are
Actively minimise the number of external visitors to the self-isolating with suspected symptoms of coronavirus.
workplace as far as possible. Social distancing and This should include ensuring regular contact is made
handwashing measures should be followed by any and support provided with shopping, etc. where needed.
visitors, and employers may wish to use visitor checking
forms to screen visitors before entry is granted. This is
particularly important when external contractors and
employees are picking up loads. You can find an
example here.

Produced for you by:

AHDB Horticulture T 024 7669 2051
Stoneleigh Park E [email protected]
Kenilworth W ahdb.org.uk
Warwickshire @AHDB_Hort
CV8 2TL
If you no longer wish to receive this information, please email
us on [email protected]

While the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board

seeks to ensure that the information contained within
this document is accurate at the time of printing, no
warranty is given in respect thereof and, to the maximum
extent permitted by law, the Agriculture and Horticulture
Development Board accepts no liability for loss, damage
or injury howsoever caused (including that caused by
negligence) or suffered directly or indirectly in relation to
information and opinions contained in or omitted from
this document.

© Agriculture and Horticulture

Development Board 2020.
All rights reserved