“More than half our colleagues come from Eastern Europe, mainly from Poland, so we rely on immigration. Seasonal workers come over from Eastern Europe and join agencies, and often become permanent. People progress into management and technical roles. They have mortgages, kids at school… they become part of the community and we don’t tend to see them heading back.
“After the result, we had to communicate with staff. People were asking: ‘What does this mean? Will we have to go back?’ Our message is: Everyone is equally valued. Although we have had no examples of people behaving improperly, we reminded people of our policies on discrimination.
“We are assuming people here will stay, but looking forward strategically, we need to know what will happen to the single market and free movement. The question around free movement is tricky; we need people and would be concerned if that labour pool dried up. The feedback from agencies is there has been an immediate impact, with a significant drop in people from Bulgaria and Romania signing up for seasonal work.
“The government must ensure they listen to employers about their workforce needs and use that in negotiations. This is about being pragmatic. A points-based system based on earnings would be a concern. The sooner negotiations start, the better. We are looking for stability and clarity.”
David Frost is group HR and OD director of Produce World
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