Agricultural employment vacancies need better marketing

Primary Producers SA chair Simon Maddock said employers had to sell more than their position to secure employees.

"People's perception of agriculture generally tends to be very traditional," he said.

"Primary industries these days are big businesses, global trading and farmers are selling future opportunities on their crops so then you're talking about monitoring yields, causing digital technologies to come in thick and fast.

"There's a whole range of skill sets sitting there in digital futures, that people don't traditionally associate with agriculture.

"If you are looking for something that is fulfilling, that stimulates you, that leads you to engage with a community where you get support and a whole range of other activities such as sporting clubs and social engagements, why wouldn't you look at agriculture?"

He said a jobseeker would be looking for a community where a range of other opportunities would come on board and "it's not just an immediate job on a contract".

"It's also the stepping stone to the next job in that community," he said.

Mr Maddock said the agricultural industry needed to start looking outside the box when it comes to employment.

"We are having to look in non traditional places for our labour force," he said.

"You don't need to have done agriculture in school to necessarily have a set of skills that could be really valuable in a range of primary industry sectors."

Senior consultant with agribusiness recruitment specialists Lucas Group, Tom Lucas, said the national award worked to set the minimum expectations.

"Most positions we recruit for don't have an award, but the ones we do, all pay well above the award wages," he said.

"Minimum award wages are often out of date and don't reflect the industry averages."

Mr Lucas said there needed to be a shift in the way the industry was promoted.

"Agriculture has a reputation for being 'diesel and dust', living in isolated and dry communities," he said.

"We really need to shake this off."

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He said there were more than 5500 jobs under the farming classification online.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to join an industry with any skill set and really get a sense of meaning from what you're doing," he said.

While managing employees had the potential to be intimidating, Murray Bridge dairyfarmer Karen Altmann said there was great support from the industry.

"Dairy Australia have been a wealth of knowledge and provide regular webinars to support businesses in employment practices," she said.

"In the dairy industry there's no excuse not to do the right thing, as there's an awesome website (thepeopleindairy.org.au - powered by peopleinag.com.au), which anyone can use.

"Any other industry in agriculture can get basic information such as contract templates, employee standards and the works."

She said there were also a number of consultants who were experts in this field that could be on hand to find the right information.

She said there were some businesses that used individual flexibility agreements as part of their contract due to the seasonality of work, but these were required to meet the Better Off Overall Test - meaning the new agreement would leave the employee in a better position than the award.

"Under the Pastoral Award 2020, ordinary hours are 152 hours worked over a four-week period and so the roster is flexible to account for milking times," she said.

"There are steps you can follow on the website to help you calculate what the wage requirement would be under the BOOT test guidelines."

MALLEE farmer Robin Schaefer manages three full-time employees and engages casuals during peak times on his property Bulla Burra.

He said his employees were covered by the Pastoral Award and worked a typical 38-hour week.

"Under the award, employees could be either on a wage where they get paid per hour with overtime on top, or they could be on a salary - paid above the award wage - where the overtime is included in the salary package," he said.

"All of our permanents will do a 38-hour week for most of the year and then through the busy times like seeding and harvest, they'll do overtime."

He said hours worked were all managed with employee logbooks to ensure overtime balances were recorded.

"During the peak period, it was usually 10 to 20 hours overtime per week," he said.

Mr Schaefer said there were several potential perks but most people would not include a house in an employment package.

"They might have a house available that they rent to the employee at normal rental rates, which are low in the country anyway," he said.

"You don't tend to have a house within a package because fringe benefits tax is so huge that it discourages it."

Lucas Group managing director Geoff Lucas said the best practice for managing hours worked was for "an employee and an employer to keep a thorough record".

He said minimum standards, like leave and hours, were set by National Employment Standards, but there were no restrictions on enticements and benefits.