Seasonal Worker Interest Group calls for mandatory implementation of the Employer Pays Principle
A new report published on 8 July 2025 by Alma Economics, commissioned by DEFRA and the Seasonal Worker Scheme Taskforce, explores how the Employer Pays Principle (EPP) could be operationalised in the UK horticulture sector. The report follows numerous calls from civil society actors in recent years to reduce and ultimately eliminate the recruitment costs paid by migrant seasonal workers as part of their journey to the UK on the Seasonal Worker Visa (SWV).
The EPP states that workers should never pay for a job, employers should cover all recruitment costs including visas and flights. When migrant seasonal workers, who often arrive indebted from traveling thousands of miles from countries like Nepal and Tajikistan, have to foot the bill for these expenses, they are put at serious risk of exploitation and debt bondage.
In response to this report, the Seasonal Worker Interest Group (SWIG) is calling for the full and immediate adoption of the EPP, not just as a best practice, but as a common standard. This implementation must be grounded in worker protection. Models that rely on workers paying costs upfront, even if in the form of so-called “ethical loans”, are unacceptable. Similarly, the group believes that the EPP would fail on its key purpose if it does not account for the hidden costs of transfers. Workers must retain the right to change employers freely and not be financially trapped.
However, implementing the EPP alone isn’t enough. The SWV scheme requires deep structural reform to address the power imbalance it creates from tying workers to their employers. Previous independent reviews and research have shown that it exposes workers to systemic risks including forced labour, trafficking, and exploitation.
The UK government must take responsibility for protecting migrant workers and for holding private sector actors accountable. If the government is serious about ethical recruitment and human rights, it must mandate and oversee the safe implementation of the EPP now.
Read more of our research and policy work about seasonal workers on UK farms.