Farm workers in Scottish agriculture: case studies

Appendix 5: Themes for migrant worker interviews

1. General details (for each participant) [5 mins]

- Job role (what you do and if it varies)

-Previous work experience here/elsewhere

2. Your home country, family and friends [7 mins]

-Do you have a partner/children in your home country?

-How do you maintain links with family? (plan to bring them here?)

-Do you provide financial support for family members?

3. How and why you came to work in Scotland (Pathway up to now) [8 mins]

-How did you find this job and when/where?

-How long will you work in Scotland in 2017 (why, move or stay on one farm?)

-What was your situation before working here?

-Which countries have you worked in previously and what types of work have you done?

4. Working conditions [5 mins]

-What sort of hours do you normally work (daily, weekly)

-Are you happy with your working conditions? (pay, hours, breaks etc.)

5. Where do you stay/type of accommodation? [6 mins]

-How was it arranged and when (e.g. before you came)?

-Do you have to travel to get to work (how far and what transport)?

-Do you have access to nearby communities/towns etc.?

-Is the accommodation/ living conditions satisfactory? (e.g. cost, Wifi?)

6. Positives and negatives [6 mins]

-While working in seasonal agricultural work in Scotland what challenges have you faced?

-What have been the most beneficial/positive aspects of this work for you?

7. What will you do next when you finish this job and where? [8 mins]

-Will you return to Scotland here for seasonal agricultural work (why/why not)?

-Do you think Brexit will have an effect on whether you work here in the future? Why?

-Where would you like to live and work in the long term?

Do you have any other comments or questions? [2-5 mins]

Interview Format

1. Introduce the team and ask workers their names. Offer some tea/cake if possible.

2. Explain purpose of the work - to accurately identify role of seasonal migrants in farming and the scale and importance of this resource as a base of information which the Scottish Government can use during the Brexit process in their efforts to protect the resource.

3. Explain timing and confidentiality – 40-45 minutes, completely confidential and go through process of singing the consent forms.

4. Make the workers aware that as well as the interviews there is an online migrant worker survey – encourage them to complete.

5. Begin recording interviews (two recorders) and take a note of date and time and location/farm on the recording and on paper.

6. Where possible one person takes notes and the other asks questions (keep discussion informal), additional questions ok but one person needs to watch timing.

If acceptable to the workers take a group photo of them at the end of the interview.