HR rules for seasonal workers – how your business can stay compliant

HR rules for seasonal workers – how your business can stay compliant

The scorching sun has signalled the start of summer, and that brings with it the need for seasonal workers.

Seasonal workers are a vital part of many businesses, particularly those that deal with a high number of tourists.

However, seasonal workers bring with them their own HR challenges.

Your business needs to know the pitfalls so that mishandling seasonal workers does not spoil your summer.

What are the concerns around seasonal workers?

One of the biggest challenges that businesses face when dealing with seasonal workers is failing to adequately classify them.

This is often the result of poorly drafted contracts that are not given the same care and attention as long-term employment contracts.

However, it is important that seasonal workers have clearly defined work periods, rates of pay, and employment status.

This is all essential information that is needed for handling payroll without becoming noncompliant.

Even seasonal workers will require consideration of your regular employee expenses.

All seasonal workers must receive at least the National Living Wage or the National Minimum Wage, depending on their age.

Keeping track of whether a seasonal worker is going to have a birthday that places them into a new wage threshold is essential to ensure that you remain payroll compliant.

For example, if you employ someone for a month and they have they turn 18 in that time, you will need to increase their pay accordingly.

Keep a close eye on the hours that your seasonal workers actually complete, as they may be less reliable than those who serve longer contracts.

You want to avoid overpaying workers if they fail to attend to their commitments.

How can I be efficient when handling seasonal workers?

Being proactive with record keeping is one of the best ways to maintain efficiency with seasonal workers.

Alongside the mentioned payroll data that should be kept on file, it is also important to keep employment agreements and contracts.

These need to be stored for at least seven years, as you do not know when it will be necessary to refer back to them.

Although unlikely, if you offered any benefits to your seasonal workers, then it will also be necessary to retain a record of these.

Given that seasonal workers will not be with you for long, you need to have a robust onboarding and offboarding process.

This needs to include a verification of their right to work in the UK, as failing to do this risks your business facing penalties.

You will also incur penalties if you delay paying your workers, so ensure that accurate information is set up with payroll as soon as the work commences.

When the work comes to an end, make sure that all wages and holiday pay are paid promptly, at least by the end of the next payroll period.

Seasonal workers are a valuable resource but only when they are treated with the same considerations and respect afforded to regular workers.

We are on hand to help you deal with the unique challenges that seasonal work can present in terms of the administrative burdens placed on your business.

We can help you factor in the necessary employment costs so that hiring seasonal workers does not negatively impact the financial health of your business.

If you are looking into seasonal workers, you must expect good revenue over the summer, and we can help you maximise this opportunity.

Keep your summer of seasonal workers stress-free. Speak to our team today!

Juliet Mellues