The Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland (AWB) has confirmed slight pay increases for agricultural workers.
At a meeting of the AWB this month, the Board increased minimum rates for agricultural workers across all grades by 1.75% from 1 April 2017.
The new rates are: Minimum rate, applicable for the first 40 weeks cumulative employment - £6.88 per hour.
• Grade 2 - Standard worker - £7.17 per hour
• Grade 3 - Lead worker - £7.88 per hour
• Grade 4 - Craft Grade - £8.46 per hour
• Grade 5 - Supervisory Grade - £8.95 per hour
• Grade 6 - Farm Management Grade - £9.70 per hour
The operative date for the new rates is the first pay reference period following the 1 April 2017.
The Government has launched a £1.7 million campaign in January this year to ensure that workers know how much they are legally entitled to be paid.
This followed an increase in HMRC’s enforcement budget to £20 million in April 2016 to make more officers available to investigate National Minimum Wage complaints.
