FRUIT PICKING JOBS

Fruit Harvesting

When picking fruit, you will be required to pick a targeted number of trays of berries per hour. A bonus is also set allowing workers the opportunity to earn extra. The target and bonus will depend on the quality of the crop, the weather and time of the season. 

Due to crop availability, customer demand and the weather we are unable to give you any assurance about the continuity of work. You will only be offered work when it is available. This condition is reflected in your contract. 

As the fruit needs to be picked in the coolest part of the day, work may start as early as 4.30 am. Depending on the availability of work you will normally work a five day week, but we may ask you to work some additional time, particularly during the peak harvest period. Working hours per week cannot exceed 60. Rest days will be allocated by the company and will be at least 2 in 14. 

All seasonal workers must realise that crops can be delayed by weather conditions which may result in you working less than five days per week. This generally only happens for a short period of time and most workers can gain this time back as the season advances.

Picking Strawberries

The main job is to pick and maintain strawberries to be sold to major supermarkets. The best quality strawberries are picked into small plastic containers called punnets. These are termed First Class strawberries, and are sold to the major supermarkets. 

First Class strawberries are a good shape with a nice, even, red coloring. The lower quality and misshapen strawberries are picked into plastic trays. These are called Second Class strawberries. Diseased and pest-damaged strawberries cannot be sold, but must still be picked in order to clean the plants properly. 

Cleaning the plants prepares them for the next pick of berries to mature and ripen, and is essential in order to keep the plants healthy. If all of the ripe First Class and Second Class strawberries are picked, and plants cleaned properly, the next pick of berries will have less Second Class, thus enabling you to make more money by picking more First Class strawberries.

Picking Asparagus

Asparagus is a vegetable grown in the ground. Each asparagus plant produces a number of spears through its harvesting cycle. It throws out 2 to 3 spears at a time. Each can grow as fast as 2 cm per hour in hot and sunny weather conditions. This makes asparagus highly volatile to temperatures and requires different picking patterns. When it is hot, asparagus is picked twice a day. 

You will be cutting it with a knife close to the ground, bending towards it each time you need to collect a bundle of spears. When picking you will be following a tractor and will do so with a group of people - your team members. Your success as of a picker will depend on your productivity and that of your team.