The Employer Pays Principle Feasibility Study, within the Horticulture Value Cha

Tender description

The Employer Pays Principle Feasibility Study, within the Horticulture Value Chain. Background to Defra's Seasonal Worker Team, Stronger Together, and the Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce for which Stronger Together act as secretariat Defra has a Seasonal Workers team within the Agri-Food Chain Directorate, which focuses on seasonal labour and the welfare of seasonal workers. The Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce (hereon, “the Taskforce”) is a multi-stakeholder programme consisting of retailers, growers, suppliers, scheme operators, NGOs, trade unions and non-profits working collaboratively to develop and implement tangible actions to help safeguard and ensure access to workers’ rights in the scheme. Stronger Together is an impact driven, not for profit organisation that provides businesses with practical training, resources, business services and collaborative programmes. Stronger Together is working towards a vision of a world where all workers are recruited responsibly and have fair work free from exploitation. Background to the specific work area relevant to this purchase Migrants using the Seasonal Worker visa route are at risk of exploitation as reported in the ICIBI report (e.g. para 3.45) and DLME's UK Labour Market Enforcement Strategy 2022-23 which notes agriculture is a 'high risk sector' for seasonal workers. These risks include debt bondage from costs incurred whilst travelling to and working in the UK and costs incurred in migrants’ home countries. Adoption of the Employer Pays Principle (EPP) has been cited by various organisations such as the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and many retailers as potentially important to mitigating these risks. IHRB defines the EPP as “No worker should pay for a job – the costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer.” The definition of recruitment fees and related costs in this project will match those of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) definition, i.e. “any fees or costs incurred in the recruitment process in order for workers to secure employment or placement, regardless of the manner, timing or location of their imposition or collection”. Further itemised definitions of recruitment fees and related costs are included in the ILO General principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment and Definition of recruitment fees and related costs. Requirement The objective is to produce a cost analysis and potential models of implementing the EPP for horticulture seasonal workers and to identify the potential economic and welfare implications. The project, as specified below, will be processed via an open competition and the intention is to commence in November 2024 for around six months. The primary goal of this work is to reduce risk for workers whilst reasonably taking into account considerations such as food security, sustainability of the UK horticulture sector, consumers, etc. Desired outputs include: 1. Stocktaking Report: Essential a) End-to-end illustration of how supply chains in the sub-sectors of the horticulture sector that use the most seasonal workers are structured. Desirable b) High-level analysis of implementation of the EPP in different countries. c) Identification and mapping of workers’ types of employment per crop. 2. Assessment of Costs Report: Essential a) End-to-end process map of where recruitment costs are incurred by migrant workers, how much and where costs would fall. Desirable b) This should include an average cost for workers ideally per country with confidence limits, depending on data available. 3. Economic modelling of the implications of implementing costs associated with EPP based on: Essential a) Range of implementation models where costs are shared differentially between different actors within the supply chain. b) Scenarios of partial versus full application of the EPP. Desirable c) Scenarios of a phased approach to implementation over a period of time. Economic modelling should include the potential positive or negative implications on: i. The horticulture sector from applying the EPP, including the sustainability of the sector or the visa route. ii. Impacts on other actors within the supply chain, including the economic impact on competitiveness of the UK horticulture sector vs imports, and wholesalers i.e. hospitality and public procurement. iii. The workers’ welfare, as a consequence of reducing financial risks faced. iv. Risks of illegal fee charging to workers. 4. Assessment of potential operational models by which to implement the costs of EPP based on the options as outlined in part 3 To Note: The successful bidder will be expected to outline a robust methodology to achieve this which may include conducting, among others: • Early project scoping including desk-based review of existing data sources and research. • Kick-off meeting for further input from Defra, the SWS Taskforce and a multistakeholder advisory group to refine project design. • Confidential interviews with relevant supply chain actors to look at current commercial modelling for recruitment and labour costing at different tiers in the supply chain. • Confidential interviews with operators of seasonal labour schemes in other countries that implement the EPP. • Engagement and interviews with wider advisory stakeholders, including worker representative organisations. • Worker-centred interviews with a broad range of migrant workers from different countries represented in the analysis. • Regular engagement and reporting to the multi-stakeholder advisory group at key project milestones. • Consultation with devolved governments to understand the implications for them of applying the EPP to the UK’s horticulture sector. Scope a) Only the horticulture sector. b) Only seasonal workers will be considered. c) UK-wide (given workers can transfer between farms in different regions of the UK) d) All recruitment fees and related costs as defined in the ILO Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, including those that are legal for workers to pay such as travel costs, should be considered within the economic modelling of the cost of EPP. e) Additional illegitimate, unreasonable and undisclosed costs, also defined in the ILO Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs, should not be factored into the economic modelling except in assessments of potential positive or negative consequences. This is a limitation of the study that needs to be managed through effective due diligence in the implementation phase. Variables The bidder needs to demonstrate their methodology to ensure the economic modelling and operationalisation models include a representative sample of the following variables are considered and represented: a. A range of crops that reflect different season lengths. b. A sample of the different recruitment corridors from near, mid and far recruitment (e.g. but not necessarily Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia).  c. A sample of different Scheme Operator Recruitment and commercial models, with appropriate provisions in place to protect any information deemed commercially sensitive/confidential e.g. online, direct in-country office, direct UK teams, indirect via in-country agent. d. A range of scenarios of employment during the season including via transfers (e.g. one employer – full 6 months; one employer – shorter season; multiple employers (via transfers) – full 6 months; multiple employers (via transfers) – shorter season). e. A range of crops for which the direct labour cost is of varying proportion to the overall product cost. Direct labour cost should include the total cost of employment and recruitment, including the fee the Scheme Operators charges f. A range of workforce make-up whereby seasonal worker visa (SWV) workers and other seasonal workers make up varying proportions of the overall workforce. g. The variability on the length of worker contract and any early termination, initiated by the employer or worker. Key Assumptions a. The operation and scheme rules of the seasonal worker visa route remain unchanged. b. The application of the Employer Pays Principle in this context means that recruitment fees and related costs should not be borne by the worker (in line with the ILO Definition of Recruitment Fees and Related Costs) and should instead be reflected fairly in cost prices in the value chain. c. Financing models should be suggested to mitigate impacts on cash flow for those least able to afford, including consideration for worker cash flow and risk of going into debt for migration costs, and challenges at different levels in the value chain. d. The costs of all seasonal workers employed in the UK horticulture sectors (e.g. including those on Seasonal Worker Visas, EU Settled Status, those on Ukrainian visa schemes and UK residents) should be factored in for modelling the EPP with clearly defined representation in the analysis. e. Proposed operational models of the EPP should conform to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. f. The UK will continue to have a food security agenda and an interest in maintaining current levels of UK food production g. The successful contractor will also be expected to apply their own assumptions, in agreement with Defra and the SWS Taskforce, to the modelling. Definitions a. Employer Pays Principle (EPP): No worker should pay for a job - the costs of recruitment should be borne not by the worker but by the employer. b. ILO definition of recruitment fees and related costs: Any fees or costs incurred in the recruitment process in order for workers to secure employment or placement, regardless of the manner, timing or location of their imposition or collection. Full itemised definition here. c. Seasonal worker: A worker whose work by its character is dependent on seasonal conditions and is performed only during part of the year (UN ICMW 1990). A seasonal worker may be a national of the State in which the seasonal work is performed or a migrant worker (see here). d. Migrant worker: A migrant worker is a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national (UN ICMW 1990). e. Seasonal worker visa (SWV) worker: A migrant worker who holds a UK seasonal worker visa to work in UK horticulture or poultry (see here). f. Horticulture: The branch of agriculture that relates to the production, cultivation and management of edible fruits and vegetables, and ornamental plants (see here and here). g. Value chain: In this context refers to the processes and costs associated with recruiting workers from their place of residence through to the consumption of the products they cultivate and harvest in the UK. End Products • The successful contract must make all reasonable attempts to meet requirements for publication of accessible documents, following GOV.UK guidance on how to do so, as found here: Publishing accessible documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ; Document publishing standards | Defra Intranet). They will agree with project officers where these cannot be met because they are a disproportionate burden. • Products, including economic mapping and written conclusions, will be shared with all members of the Taskforce, and publicly. It will be made accessible via GOV.UK.