What you will be picking greatly depends on the period you’ll be present. To give you some idea: May and June (strawberries), June and July (plums and cherries), from July until October (apples and pears). This is a rough indication and may therefore vary greatly.
You’ll be working about 8 hours a day; often it will be possible to work longer hours if you wish to do so. You work 5 or 6 days a week. The amount of work to be done strongly depends on the weather. If it is fine, the farmer will ask you to wok more hours, if it is bad then there will be less to do. Working hours are set by the farmer and so are the breaks.
All work is to be done in the open air in the fields. You’ll get dirty, so do take along old working clothes. There is also the possibility that you will have to do `harvest related` jobs, such as weeding or packing. The weather in England is suite variable, therefore it’s important, to have rainwear and rubber boots. As almost all fruit trees are of the short-grown types, you won’t have to climb high up in trees.
You can stay on the farmyard. Most farmers have a couple of caravans for their workers, sometimes just a campsite. If you would like to stay in a caravan, you’ll share it with other seasonal workers. You can camp on the farm, too. All farms have cooking facilities, showers and toilets. Often there are other amenities, depending on which farm you’ll be at work. Usually, shops are within walking distance. Some farmers offer their workers to take them to the shops by car once a week, thus enabling them to do some more shopping.
You’ll be staying together with a large group of people of different nationalities, all working on the farmer’s premises. Which is of course quite enjoyable. Often you’ll organise things together. There will be workers who go home every evening as well.
Farmers charge a fee for accommodation and further amenities. This fee is between 10 and 30 pounds per week, depending on what is being offered. The accommodation fee will be deducted from your wages.
   
  Kent is the region in England where a lot of fruit picking is done. That is why Kent is sometimes called “the orchard of England”. Not all the farms at which we find places for workers are in Kent. We are also in contact with farmers in West Sussex, Essex and Suffolk. During harvest time farmers need lots of people for picking. People from all over the world come to England to have a good time and to earn money.
All Appellation Contrôlée places of work are situated in Kent, West Sussex, Essex and Suffolk. Kent and West Sussex are to the south of London, Essex and Suffolk to the north. England has a great variety in scenery. Chalk cliffs along the coast, beautiful river valleys, woods and beaches, of course. The main agricultural activities are growing hop, fruit and iceberg lettuce. Many sorts of fruit are grown: strawberries, raspberries, plums, cherries, apples and pears, to name just a few. In southern England there are a large number of vegetable growers, too (mainly iceberg lettuce). The kind of daily work you’ll have to do will, to a large extent, depend on the place of work at which you will be deployed and on the season during which you’ll be in England.

The work will be hard as you’ll be doing physical work all day and often in positions you are not used to, probably. So, in the beginning you’ll suffer from aching muscles and at times you might even despair. But after some time you’ll see that everything becomes easier, you’ll even start to enjoy your work and you will have a sense of satisfaction afterwards. The pleasant atmosphere after hours will definitely contribute to this!
As farmers grow many different products, the season in England is long. If you wish you can work from the end of May until the middle of November. We understand that this is too long a period for many of you, so you won’t have to stay the whole season. However, there is a minimum working period of one month.
    You’ll be on piece-work, which means that you are paid per kilogram or the number of products planted or picked. For certain activities, such as weeding and packing, you’ll be on time-work. Then pay is according to tariffs laid down by law, which is at least about £3.69 . How much you earn depends greatly on your pace of work and the amount of fruit that is to be picked. Earnings per person vary widely. Average earnings are between €35 and
€75 per day. Do take into account that it will probably take a bit of time before you get the knack of picking. So, in the beginning you’ll earn less than later when you have some experience. Your wages are paid out in cash, by cheque or they are deposited into a bank account opened for you by the farmer. In the latter case you’ll receive a bankcard with which you can withdraw money from your account. In general wages are paid out once a week. During working hours you’ll be insured by the farmer. If you can’t work because of illness, you won’t be paid.
The weather influences the amounts to be harvested. So, don’t count yourself rich before the start, and then you won’t be disappointed
Conditions for participation in this programme are.
  1. Minimum age of 18 years.
  2. Good health and physical condition.
  3. EU country passport or EC country identity card.
  4. Being available for at least a month.
 
       
       
     
England programme:
  • Appellation Contrôlée books a work place for you with a farmer.
  • We provide you with all information about address, work, working clothes, etc.
  • You organise the journey to the farmer yourself.
We charge €120 for participation in our England programme.
  
       
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