Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

International shearers win concession to travel to UK this summer

International shearers will need a contract of employment in order to enter the country.
International shearers will need a contract of employment in order to enter the country.

International sheep shearers – particularly those from Australia and New Zealand – are being given special dispensation to enter the UK to work with contractors this summer.

The  concession, won by the National Association of Agricultural Contractors (NAAC) , is intended to ensure the national flock will be shorn by professional and experienced shearers as usual.

NAAC chief executive Jill Hewitt said: “It is a big relief that the concession is now in place and we can start putting together the necessary paperwork for shearers to safely enter the UK”.

However,  NAAC warns that regular shearers from other countries will be unable to travel because of Covid restrictions, so farmers are  being urged to get in touch with their shearers as soon as possible to plan work and ensure the season can run as smoothly as possible.

A  Covid shearing checklist has been published  to ensure that shearers, wool handlers and farmers  can operate safely and maintain high animal welfare standards.  Actions include shearers travelling to jobs in their own vehicles wherever possible and if their are accommodated on farms, ensuring physical distancing is in place.

A  minimum of 2m separation should also be observed wherever possible, vehicle cabs should be disinfected between users,  and  the minimum number of people should employed to undertake the job.

The new conditions for international shearers mean those coming from the antipodes will be able to travel to the UK  between  April 1 – June 30  for a  maximum period of three months..

Shearers arriving in the UK will need to satisfy an immigration officer they are here, for a temporary period only, to be employed as a sheep shearer, and have a contract of employment.

The NAAC is supplying its members with the necessary paperwork to smooth the entry process.