GovWire

As the SWS increases in size each year, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) commissioned a review of the visa route to explore how well the route was meeting the needs of employers, employees, and other stakeholders like the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra).

Revealing Reality was commissioned as part of the MACs review into the Seasonal Worker visa to carry out research with farms that do or could use the SWS.

The objectives of the research included exploring:

• employers labour needs, particularly for seasonal work
• employers decision-making around using the Seasonal Worker visa route, such as the perceived benefits, costs, and alternatives
• employers experiences of using or not using the Seasonal Worker visa