What horticulture and poultry businesses need to know
On 23 September 2026, the Home Office updated its Seasonal Worker sponsor guidance. The update gives clearer information about the work that Seasonal Worker visa holders are permitted to do.
For horticulture and poultry businesses that rely on seasonal labour, the clarification is a useful reminder that sponsorship is tied not only to a sector, but also to the actual work being carried out.
The update does not introduce a new change to Immigration Rules. Instead, the Home Office has expanded its guidance. This makes it easier for employers, growers and scheme operators to identify which activities fall within the route.
What work is permitted in horticulture?
The updated guidance says businesses must not use Seasonal Workers for work that requires year-round labour. Seasonal Workers must also not carry out office-based work.
However, the permitted horticulture activities cover a wide range of seasonal tasks. These include:
- crop maintenance and harvesting
- tunnel construction and dismantling
- irrigation installation and maintenance
- crop husbandry
- packing and processing crops on the employer’s premises
- preparing and dismantling growing areas and media
- general primary production work
- supervising teams of horticultural workers.
The horticulture definition covers many types of edible and ornamental production. These include protected and field vegetables, soft and top fruit, vines and bines, mushrooms, bulbs and cut flowers, pot plants, hardy ornamental nursery stock and tree and forest nurseries.
For growers, the practical point is that the job described to the scheme operator should match the work carried out on the farm.
Therefore, businesses should not move Seasonal Workers into unrelated duties simply because another part of the business needs extra staff.
What about poultry production?
The guidance also identifies the roles that can fall within poultry production. These include certain butcher and bird or game dresser roles, poultry processors, food operatives, poultry catchers and handlers, vaccinators and poultry meat packers.
The poultry element of the route remains tightly time-limited. For 2026, sponsored poultry work can begin no earlier than 2 October and must end no later than 31 December. Visa applications must be submitted on or before 15 November. After that date, scheme operators cannot assign any further Certificates of Sponsorship.
Why does the clarification matter for growers and labour users?
Individual farms and growers cannot directly hold a Seasonal Worker sponsor licence under this route. Instead, approved scheme operators sponsor Seasonal Workers and place workers them eligible employers.
However, growers still have an important role in compliance. Scheme operators must monitor where workers are placed, the work they actually perform, their pay and their welfare.
In addition, the sponsor guidance requires scheme operators to carry out comprehensive workplace monitoring. This includes ensuring workers are paid properly, receive appropriate employment contracts, work in safe conditions and are not subjected to unnecessary charges or other poor practices. Failure to meet the required standards can ultimately result in sponsor enforcement action.
As a result, job descriptions, rota planning and task allocation should form part of the business’ immigration compliance checks. They should not be treated as operational decisions.
What should businesses review now?
Horticulture and poultry businesses using Seasonal Workers should review the duties workers are currently performing against the Home Office guidance, ensure supervisors understand the restrictions and maintain clear communication with the scheme operator where duties or working arrangements change.
Businesses should also make sure that any packing or processing activity sits within the permitted framework and that employment conditions, accommodation and worker welfare arrangements continue to meet the standards expected under the scheme.
For 2026, the Seasonal Worker quota is 41,000 places for horticulture and 1,900 for poultry production. Horticulture permission is generally limited to a maximum of six months in any ten-month period under the current rules.
Why should this be on the compliance agenda?
The Seasonal Worker route is highly specific. A worker having valid immigration permission does not mean they can be deployed to any task a business needs.
The role, sector, duration and working conditions all matter.
The September guidance update therefore gives agricultural businesses a timely opportunity to check that seasonal labour is being used exactly as permitted before peak poultry recruitment and year-end production periods.
Seasonal Workers can carry out eligible seasonal work in UK horticulture and poultry production. Horticulture roles can include crop maintenance, harvesting, crop husbandry, irrigation, packing and processing crops on the employer’s premises, and supervising horticultural workers. Eligible poultry roles include processing, catching, handling, vaccination and packing.
Yes, Seasonal Workers can carry out certain packing and processing work. In horticulture, packing and processing must relate to crops and take place on the employer’s premises. Poultry production also includes specific processing and poultry meat-packing roles.
Seasonal Workers cannot simply be moved into any role within a business. Their duties must remain within the activities permitted under the Seasonal Worker route. Businesses should speak to their scheme operator before making significant changes to a worker’s duties or working arrangements.
No, individual farms and growers cannot directly sponsor Seasonal Workers. Workers are sponsored by approved scheme operators, which place them with eligible employers. Businesses using Seasonal Workers must work with the relevant scheme operator on duties, working arrangements and compliance.
Horticulture Seasonal Workers can generally work for a maximum of six months in any ten-month period under the current rules. For poultry in 2026, work can begin no earlier than 2 October and must end by 31 December. Visa applications must be submitted by 15 November 2026.
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