Farm relief service

farmerman

Hi I just wanted to enquire if anybody has and experience working for the farm relief service as I have recently been on the look out for a job and was considering applying to work for them. If anybody has any information on what the work is like etc I would be greatful if they could pass on there advice. Thanks

Sam Kade

I haven't used the farm relief in a long time but when I used to get them to milk they were doing 2-3 herds in an evening. They would be running around like headless chickens going from one farm to another paying for their own transport as they went. That was back in the 90's and anyone that was doing it didn't last long. Most just get a list of the farmers they work for and cut out the relief. I couldn't say what way they work now.

Nettleman

farmerman wrote: »

Hi I just wanted to enquire if anybody has and experience working for the farm relief service as I have recently been on the look out for a job and was considering applying to work for them. If anybody has any information on what the work is like etc I would be greatful if they could pass on there advice. Thanks

Rang them a few weeks ago looking for their services-not milking- and no call back. Either unprofessional or under-resourced. Made alternative arrangements.

Madisonmenece

Something I am also interested in , can you make a half decent wage out of it?

Currently working full-time but we are expanding at home and will soon get to the stage that the old fella can't manage on his own, but also won't be a good wage for 2 persons off the farm.

It may be 70:30 spilt where I was hoping to earn off farm income doing something like relief milking. will be holding on to the job for a while yet.

Cherrybomb

Does anyone know if you work for farm relief are you employed by them or self employed. Thanks

djmc

I got them a few times any lads I spoke with were happy enough working there and seemed to be getting enough hours if they wanted them don't know the tax side of it but I'd say they take care of it.

Chris.

Cherrybomb wrote: »

Does anyone know if you work for farm relief are you employed by them or self employed. Thanks

I'm with them and I'm self employed. I'm not sure but I think they do directly employ operators as well, you'd be best off ringing your local branch to find out.

Cherrybomb

Thanks for the info guys will ring the local branch tomorrow. The farm my partner is currently working on wants him to go through FRS so we are trying to figure out how it will work as its only 3 days a week it's not worth it if its self employed (the joys of having kids to feed lol)

gazahayes

Cherrybomb wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys will ring the local branch tomorrow. The farm my partner is currently working on wants him to go through FRS so we are trying to figure out how it will work as its only 3 days a week it's not worth it if its self employed (the joys of having kids to feed lol)

Rang them before christmas for a job 10.50 an hour they'll sort tax out. Farmer is charged around 14.40. We've gone through at least 10 different lads over the last year where I work.

farming93

I got a bit of work through Farm relief, I dont think I worked on a farm once with them! I was travelling from Golf course to Golf course doing irrigation systems at one stage it was a right crack. I was getting a tenner an hour gross pay.

Cherrybomb

gazahayes wrote: »

Rang them before christmas for a job 10.50 an hour they'll sort tax out. Farmer is charged around 14.40. We've gone through at least 10 different lads over the last year where I work.

Were you Paye or classed as self employed though

gazahayes

Cherrybomb wrote: »

Were you Paye or classed as self employed though

Never went with them after but talking to any of the lads that are with them they're all paye.

ford4610

Lads, what kind of money are people getting for doing 1/2 hours feeding cattle a day?

Sam Kade

ford4610 wrote: »

Lads, what kind of money are people getting for doing 1/2 hours feeding cattle a day?

I rang about feeding cows during the winter one time 1-2 hours a day and the man they had lined up for the job said it wouldn't pay him even though he was only 10 miles away.

ford4610

How much money are you talking?

cute geoge

Local silage contractor would give me a bell to help out when he is short staffed ,I would be carting silage or mowing ,it would be mostly only half days work as i have more then enough to do myself .what sort of pay per hour should i expect .All by the book

lakill Farm

cute geoge wrote: »

Local silage contractor would give me a bell to help out when he is short staffed ,I would be carting silage or mowing ,it would be mostly only half days work as i have more then enough to do myself .what sort of pay per hour should i expect .All by the book

I charge 12e plus vat but going forward it will be e15 plus vat an hour.

Reggie.

lakill Farm wrote: »

I charge 12e plus vat but going forward it will be e15 plus vat an hour.

Your not worth the half of it

davidk1394

What are people paying for relief milkers ? A good lad to do the job

Gotya

davidk1394 wrote: »

What are people paying for relief milkers ? A good lad to do the job

Depends on how many cows are being milked with FRS.

I relief milk for them.

dar31

Gotya wrote: »

Depends on how many cows are being milked with FRS.

I relief milk for them.

Really bugs me with some of the frs offices.
The amount of cows to be milked has bugger all to do with it. It's how long it takes from arriving in the yard to leaving that matters.
Would have no problem paying the same amount, but on a per cow basis is just daft.
Anyone milking here is paid what they ask for...with in reason, same for a busy spring milking as a leisurely summer afternoon or just 2 rows at Xmas.

Injuryprone

Things must've changed since I did it back in the summer of '99. Back then it was a flat rate for the first 2 hours on site, and an extra rate then per quarter hour thereafter.

Don't see the sense in charging it any other way

Gotya

dar31 wrote: »

Really bugs me with some of the frs offices.
The amount of cows to be milked has bugger all to do with it. It's how long it takes from arriving in the yard to leaving that matters.
Would have no problem paying the same amount, but on a per cow basis is just daft.
Anyone milking here is paid what they ask for...with in reason, same for a busy spring milking as a leisurely summer afternoon or just 2 rows at Xmas.

Which works out more expensive, if FRS is 43e for 100 cow single milking?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Gotya wrote: »

Which works out more expensive, if FRS is 43e for 100 cow single milking?

Local FRS is about 90 euro for a weekday double and 100(or110?) for a Sunday double.

Reggie.

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

Local FRS is about 90 euro for a weekday double and 100(or110?) for a Sunday double.

How much does the worker get out of that?

Buford T. Justice XIX

Reggie. wrote: »

How much does the worker get out of that?

No idea, Reggie. But there are a lot of overheads to come out of that like insurance for inhibitors, admin wages etc etc.

Reggie.

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

No idea, Reggie. But there are a lot of overheads to come out of that like insurance for inhibitors, admin wages etc etc.

Worker might get 30 or 40 a milking

davidk1394

I'm getting 30 off one fella but I do a lot of hire work for him and get the breakfast every morning. I get 40 off the other people I do milking for. 45 if it goes over 2.5 hours

lakill Farm

davidk1394 wrote: »

I'm getting 30 off one fella but I do a lot of hire work for him and get the breakfast every morning. I get 40 off the other people I do milking for. 45 if it goes over 2.5 hours

Do you give them invoices or is that all cash

J.O. Farmer

lakill Farm wrote: »

Do you give them invoices or is that all cash

Of course he's giving them invoices.
You don't expect him to say anything else on a public forum where anyone including the revenue commissioners could wander by.

lakill Farm

J.O. Farmer wrote: »

Of course he's giving them invoices.
You don't expect him to say anything else on a public forum where anyone including the revenue commissioners could wander by.

Might be a cheque.

Wilberforce Buckshot

I work full time and do relief milking with FRS as a part time job. So, taking into account the full time job, the tax man takes 52% of what I earn from FRS. this leaves me with roughly €6.15 per hour net. So a relief milker is on roughly €12.50 per hour gross.
Rate of pay can change if a deal is made with farmer and FRS. For example, getting paid by the hour instead of by the number of cows.

White Clover

Wilberforce Buckshot wrote: »

I work full time and do relief milking with FRS as a part time job. So, taking into account the full time job, the tax man takes 52% of what I earn from FRS. this leaves me with roughly €6.15 per hour net. So a relief milker is on roughly €12.50 per hour gross.
Rate of pay can change if a deal is made with farmer and FRS. For example, getting paid by the hour instead of by the number of cows.

I presume you are at or over the SRCOP in your full time job and all of your tax credits are with your employer in the full time job?

Wilberforce Buckshot

White Clover wrote: »

I presume you are at or over the SRCOP in your full time job and all of your tax credits are with your employer in the full time job?

Yes. I don't get paid overtime so FRS was the best option for me. The rub is that ppe and diesel has to come out of that. Not great I admit but I'm looking into other options.

Mooooo

You could set yourself up as a sole trader and if you have regular relief work charge them directly, a perctage of diesel car maintenance and all ppe etc could be then paid for pre tax calc as they are costs.

White Clover

Wilberforce Buckshot wrote: »

Yes. I don't get paid overtime so FRS was the best option for me. The rub is that ppe and diesel has to come out of that. Not great I admit but I'm looking into other options.

Are you an employee of frs or a contractor? If you're a contractor you can offset your costs against your tax like any other contractor.
Does your full-time employer give you diesel money and Ppe?

Wilberforce Buckshot

Mooooo wrote: »

You could set yourself up as a sole trader and if you have regular relief work charge them directly, a perctage of diesel car maintenance and all ppe etc could be then paid for pre tax calc as they are costs.

Mooooo, your spot on. Only you need to set yourself up as a limited liability company as opposed to a sole trader as the tax man will still combine the two incomes and tax you on the net after expenses. Ltd company is a separate entity which gives you more manoeuvreabity with regards to expenses, pension options etc.

Buford T. Justice XIX

Wilberforce Buckshot wrote: »

Mooooo, your spot on. Only you need to set yourself up as a limited liability company as opposed to a sole trader as the tax man will still combine the two incomes and tax you on the net after expenses. Ltd company is a separate entity which gives you more manoeuvreabity with regards to expenses, pension options etc.

There are also much higher compliance expenses to running a company rather than trading as a slow trader.

Wilberforce Buckshot

White Clover wrote: »

Are you an employee of frs or a contractor? If you're a contractor you can offset your costs against your tax like any other contractor.
Does your full-time employer give you diesel money and Ppe?

As far as I'm aware, all relief milkers are employed by FRS who deduct all contributions at source. I'm not sure what the score is with say freeze branding or hoof care.
No. My employer does not contribute diesel or ppe 😞

Wilberforce Buckshot

Buford T. Justice V wrote: »

There are also much higher compliance expenses to running a company rather than trading as a slow trader.

I know. I went on a"start your own business "course, which I would recommend to anyone who might just have an incling into a business idea. After adding all the costs up I decided to go the Ltd company way. It's hard going to reach your base rate and keep afloat but, I'm still going to be better off because I can claim back the expenses. Some of My wages could go towards my pension which I'd get tax relief on. Then I only pay tax on my meagre profit.. What an eye opener that course was......

White Clover

Wilberforce Buckshot wrote: »

As far as I'm aware, all relief milkers are employed by FRS who deduct all contributions at source. I'm not sure what the score is with say freeze branding or hoof care.
No. My employer does not contribute diesel or ppe 😞

It may be worth asking for clarification re employee/contractor. You may be losing out on a good chunk of expense claims.

Wilberforce Buckshot

White Clover wrote: »

It may be worth asking for clarification re employee/contractor. You may be losing out on a good chunk of expense claims.

I've never given it a thought. Cheers for that. I'll ask them when I hand my next docket in. You just never know until you ask.

Rapht05

My husband has been working for the same farmer through farm relief services for the past 15 months. He is being returned as Class S and i have been told he is not entitled to holiday pay. He gets a regular P60/payslips etc and as he is Class S Farm Relief pay no PRSI - seems like a convenient arrangement for them with no obligation to pay holiday entitlements etc. Anyone else in this situation?

Dakota Dan

I know a farm manager that is finding it impossible to get relief milker’s especially at weekends. The young lads nowadays want weekends free, hard to blame them chasing p***y.

wrangler

Rapht05 wrote: »

My husband has been working for the same farmer through farm relief services for the past 15 months. He is being returned as Class S and i have been told he is not entitled to holiday pay. He gets a regular P60/payslips etc and as he is Class S Farm Relief pay no PRSI - seems like a convenient arrangement for them with no obligation to pay holiday entitlements etc. Anyone else in this situation?

The option is there to do that alright, it also removes the entitlement to redundancy, I know farmers that do it this way
I'm surprised that FRS can get anyone at all, maybe they're offering a better rate than's quoted on here.
There's way better money available now on the buildings, and they can't get enough workers

Gotya

Rapht05 wrote: »

My husband has been working for the same farmer through farm relief services for the past 15 months. He is being returned as Class S and i have been told he is not entitled to holiday pay. He gets a regular P60/payslips etc and as he is Class S Farm Relief pay no PRSI - seems like a convenient arrangement for them with no obligation to pay holiday entitlements etc. Anyone else in this situation?

It's definitely in the favour of FRS and the farmer. I've heard, that when someone is with the same farmer for over 12 months then they are entitled to be taking on as an employee, now I've heard lads who have come to that stage and were pretty much told, it's more expensive to the farmer who has the option to a different lad in

It's a hard way to make a full time living, as you as say no holiday pay, sick days and if for whatever reason couldn't work, might find it a little more awkward to sign on social welfare because of the tax being paid.

All in all, farm relief have themselves covered and the actual worker get the short end. It probably works best for the lads part time, few days here and there

whelan2

Gotya wrote: »

It's definitely in the favour of FRS and the farmer. I've heard, that when someone is with the same farmer for over 12 months then they are entitled to be taking on as an employee, now I've heard lads who have come to that stage and were pretty much told, it's more expensive to the farmer who has the option to a different lad in

It's a hard way to make a full time living, as you as say no holiday pay, sick days and if for whatever reason couldn't work, might find it a little more awkward to sign on social welfare because of the tax being paid.

All in all, farm relief have themselves covered and the actual worker get the short end. It probably works best for the lads part time, few days here and there

Are all self employed people not in the same boat?You make your own contingency funds for illness etc and organise your own holidays.

wrangler

whelan2 wrote: »

Are all self employed people not in the same boat?You make your own contingency funds for illness etc and organise your own holidays.

Not much room for contigency funds at 12.50/hr.....A parttime farmer on the building tells me he has to sell 7 lambs/wk to replace his wages when he takes time off to farm..........and paid holidays as well

Mooooo

If not happy with farm relief go directly, nobody making anybody do anything.

Gotya

whelan2 wrote: »

Are all self employed people not in the same boat?You make your own contingency funds for illness etc and organise your own holidays.

I don't think anyone else who is in, the as boat, as in being self employed isn't being paid the rate lads are at FRS. At they're rates, lads trying to make a living wage can't take unpaid holidays during the year.

For the point that was made there too, if your not happy with farm relief go work somewhere else, that's a fair point and all, but doesn't answer the question that woman had about her husband.

FRS should cover at least two weeks paid holidays for thier full time "self employed" operators. 10-11 euro an hour ain't gonna cut it

Rapht05

whelan2 wrote: »

Are all self employed people not in the same boat?You make your own contingency funds for illness etc and organise your own holidays.

What i dont understand is how on the one hand you're an employee with P60 (PAYE, USC etc deducted)and on the other hand you're self employed. Seems to be some 'special' arrangement in place between Revenue and farm relief agencies. Makes me think workers don't have enough clout so the status quo remains. Regardless as to whether my husband has the option to change jobs, your rights should be protected.