Legislation and guidance

Please read this legislation together with the Agricultural Wages guidance. 

The Agricultural Wages (Wales) Order 2025 comes into force from 1 April 2025.

The Order makes the following changes to the Agricultural Minimum Wage framework including:

• increases to minimum hourly rates for all grades and categories of agricultural worker
• increases to all allowances
• overtime rules simplified
• the pay protection provision from 2022, which prevented pay cuts when the grading system changed, is no longer needed because the 2025 minimum rates are higher. Therefore, it has been removed
• employers can reclaim training costs if an employee leaves during or within 12 months of completing the training
• holiday pay calculation is now simpler for part-year or irregular hours workers, using a percentage based on weekly holiday entitlement
• the provision is updated to reflect that agricultural workers can take unpaid leave for statutory reasons like carer's leave or parental leave

The Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2024 is replaced and revoked by the Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2025.

The Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2023 is replaced and revoked by the Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2024.

The Agriculture Wages (No. 2) (Wales) Order 2022 is replaced and revoked by the Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2023.

The Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2022 is replaced and revoked by the Agriculture Wages (No. 2) (Wales) Order 2022.

The Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2020 is replaced and revoked by the Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2022.

The Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2019 is replaced and revoked by the Agriculture Wages (Wales) Order 2020.

The Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales (Establishment) Order 2016 establishes the panel as an independent advisory body to the Welsh Ministers.  The panel’s functions are to promote careers in agriculture, to prepare agricultural wages orders in draft, consult on such orders to submit them to the Welsh Ministers and to advise the Welsh Ministers on matters relating to the agricultural sector in Wales.

The Agriculture Sector (Wales) Act 2014 makes provisions for:

• the establishment of the Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales
• the making of orders which set the terms and conditions for persons employed in agriculture in Wales ( agricultural workers)
• the enforcement of such terms and conditions