DairyNZ launched its Rural Employee Support Hub earlier this year to provide information and help to farm employees, so they had the best possible experiences and careers on farm.
The hub is a DairyNZ and Ministry for Primary Industries initiative, being delivered by FederatedFarmers and supported by Dairy Women's Network and New Zealand Young Farmers.
The hub is a website ruralemployeesupport.co.nz and a free employee support phone line (0800 694 121) where people can have their questions answered, big and small.
The hub would help farmers with "anything that impacts their employment conditions on farm," DairyNZ people team leader Jane Muir told The Country Sport Breakfast's Lee Piper.
"Employment agreements, training, remuneration, wellbeing and a whole lot more ... we're trying to ensure that everyone's experiencing great employment conditions."
DairyNZ people team leader Jane Muir. Photo / Supplied
The website is packed with information and tips to support and help employees excel in their jobs on farms.
Information included careers, training and development, remuneration and tenancies.
There are sections on personal health including keeping active, nutrition and mental health support.
On a practical level, there's help on animals, farm health and safety. There's even access to legal support if needed.
"I guess the concept is no question is too big or too small. So we think picking up the phone and finding answers to questions farm employees have is helpful, so it prevents that frustration brewing and it will help us keep good people in our sector," Muir said.
So far the support hub has been "going really well," with numbers increasing every month, Muir said.
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Popular topics in October were remuneration, pay and minimum wage and employment agreements around disciplinary action, Muir said.
"It's currently a pilot ... but it is actually available to all employees who work on farm in New Zealand so matter whether they're dairy, sheep, arable etc. we'd really encourage farm employees, not matter the sector to get in touch."
