Hire help before overwork leads to fatigue and mistakes

Managing workload at peak is key to both animal performance and the health of the farmer 

For the farmer, fatigue can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed, and it can be hard to keep the bright side out when the pressure is on. File Picture.  

It’s a busy time on farms, with peak calving season now well under way.

Managing the workload at peak is key to both animal performance and the health of the farmer.

When things get too busy, the eye might get taken off the ball, and it’s easy for mistakes to happen, whether it’s not noticing a cow in need of calcium, or a calf that’s off form. 

Equally, for the farmer, fatigue can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed, and it can be hard to keep the bright side out when the pressure is on.

It’s a good time to bring in help wherever and how ever you can get it. 

Whether it’s a student who will work evenings or weekends, or a contractor to help with getting slurry out and the first round of fertiliser.

Contractors are probably the easier option, and most are more than obliging and willing to come at short notice. 

Indeed, some contractors would be more than willing to do extra machinery jobs that the farmer might not even consider.

A number of contractors provide diet feeder mixing and feeding services, beet washing and chopping services, even in the farmer’s own yard, and I have heard of contractors who provide a feeding service for both the main farm and outside blocks. 

There’s little sense in you travelling an hour or two to an outside farm to feed cattle, if your cows are being neglected at home.

Sometimes, the answers are a little less obvious.

There may be beef or tillage farmers living nearby who would be willing to lend a supportive hand at these times of pressure, if both parties can agree a rate that makes sense.

Rule number one; if you don’t ask for help, it’s unlikely you will get help.

In terms of paid labour, it can be harder to source part-time labour which can be brought in for the calving season. Finding someone available to come on board at this time of year with experience in milking (if you are a dairy farmer) or calving cows is nigh on impossible.

However that doesn’t mean that the option of paid labour should be disregarded outright.

There are many non-skilled jobs which take about as much time for a skilled farmer as a person “off the street”. 

Tasks such as bedding calves, cleaning down and liming cubicles, and washing down the milking parlour, doesn’t require much skill, so there is a much bigger pool of people able to do these tasks.

If you are taking on paid employees, ensure you have adequate employer insurance in place. It is also worthwhile giving a basic induction — let your employee know where the first aid kit is, who to contact in an emergency, and give them phone numbers of your family members in case there is an accident.

A contract of employment would be beneficial too, not only to protect employee rights, but also your rights as employer. Such a contract should deal with holiday pay, bank holiday pay, overtime, leave, break periods, rate per hour gross, and notice periods.

It should also deal with the tasks, duties and responsibilities of the employee, grounds for dismissal and suspension, probation periods, and contract duration.

There are statutory rules which govern working times, rest periods and of course minimum pay rates.

From Revenue’s perspective, if a person meets the definition of an employee, it is the employer’s responsibility to operate PAYE, PRSI and USC in accordance with payroll regulations.

Revenue will consider a person to be an employee if they are under the direction and control of another.

In contrast, a person who works independently and autonomously, as a relief milker, for example, would be categorised as self- employed. 

Some of the factors used by Revenue to distinguish between an employee and a self employed contractor are:

1) Does the person supply labour only?

2) Do they receive a fixed hourly/weekly/monthly wage?

3) Can they subcontract the work?

4) Does the employee provide equipment other than the small tools of the trade?

5) Is the person exposed to personal financial risk in carrying out the work?

6) Does the person work set hours or a given number of hours per week or month?

For outsourcing work, your accountant can help you set up payroll for any temporary employees that you might have on board at this busy time.

Chartered tax adviser Kieran Coughlan, Belgooly, Co Cork.

(www.coughlanaccounting.com)