Finding Harvesters

Technical articles - Work organization

Viticulture Viticulture

Recruiting grape harvesters can sometimes be difficult. To assist winegrowers in assembling their seasonal worker teams, this article presents a range of solutions to carry out the harvest under good conditions : recruitment sites, social networks, companies...

The traditional job posting on recruitment sites

The first solution to find seasonal workers is the traditional employment offer. This announcement can be distributed via general sites, specialized sites, or social networks.

General sites

Winegrowers can post a job on various sites, regularly consulted by seasonal workers looking for work :

• Pôle Emploi
• Indeed
• Jooble
• Jobaviz (developed by Crous, dedicated to students)

Regional sites

There are specific sites for regions allowing targeting seasonal workers according to their region, which can be interesting when winegrowers have limited space to accommodate harvesters and must therefore prioritize hiring locals :

• Régions Job is the main regional site.

There are also many initiatives led by local authorities : town halls, regions, departments offer solutions to winegrowers to find labor.

Actif51, a successful example of a regional recruitment site

The site Actif51, launched by the Department of Marne, simply connects job seekers and employers. This system, mainly open to people benefiting from RSA, has proven effective and helps promote professional integration for all and encourage local labor.

Specialized sites

To target more qualified and motivated labor, it is better to turn to specialized sites.

• The site Vitijob is the leading recruitment site in viticulture. The site offers a "Harvest Operation" for a cost of €110 excluding tax to carry out recruitment for various profiles : grape pickers, carriers, tractor drivers, cellar workers, press workers, assistant cellar workers, cellar and vine team leaders, oenologists, lab technicians... This offer allows the announcement to be posted for 2 months on the site and sent by email to targeted candidates.
• The site of Apecita is specialized in "agri/agro" employment. Winegrowers can post an offer for free. Support by one of the advisors dedicated to the wine sector (based in Bordeaux, Reims, and Montpellier) is paid, as is targeted dissemination of the job offer and candidate sourcing.
• The site l'Agriculture recrute, developed by Anefa, allows employers to register for free, create a profile, post all types of job offers (permanent contracts, fixed-term contracts, apprenticeships, professionalization contracts...) and consult and save applications. The Anefa network offers support to help write and distribute the job offer on the Employment Exchange and Pôle Emploi and to pre-select candidates (consult the Anefa site to find the nearest association).

Social networks

Besides job sites, posting announcements on social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn also allows contact with seasonal workers.

On Facebook, some groups are dedicated to job search/offers :

• Agricultural seasonal workers (66,000 members)

• The Agricultural Pôle Emploi (39,000 members)

• Vine and Cellar Jobs in Champagne (26,000 members)
• Equipment, jobs and viticulture - announcements (14,000 members)
• HARVEST BOURGOGNE Employment//Recruitment (5,600 members)

Local network

The local network also facilitates connecting seasonal workers with employers. Do not hesitate to approach local shops to post small ads or schools (BTS, DNO), Chambers of Agriculture, local associations, integration organizations...

Employment platforms

Maintenant!

Maintenant ! is a free Pôle Emploi service that directly connects employers and job seekers based on their search criteria, without going through traditional job offers.

• In a few clicks, volunteers can submit their contact details (phone, email) and fill in their profiles (skills, mobility, availability…).
• This data is then made available to recruiters in a predefined sector.
• This service does not require submitting a CV, cover letter, or intermediaries.

This service offers :

• A simple and targeted search submission form for each recruitment need.
• A personalized matching tool that directly selects applications, profiles closest to the employer's criteria.

• An online dashboard.

• An email alert to the candidate and recruiter.
• The candidates' contact details to immediately meet and recruit when an application fits.

Mission

The startup WiziFarm develops the collaborative platform Mission. It connects farmers' offers and potential workers for free.

• When an employer posts an announcement, the platform proposes profiles sorted by skills, availability, location, qualifications, and interests.
• They then have the possibility to contact each other via an internal messaging system to define work arrangements.

VitaBourgogne

Vita Bourgogne is a program developed by the Confederation of Appellations and Winegrowers of Burgundy (CAVB), the Union of Great Burgundy Wine Houses (UMVGB) with the support of the Interprofessional Bureau of Burgundy Wines (BIVB) whose objective is to attract candidates to the Vine and Wine sector.

VitaBourgogne allows :

• Increasing the visibility of winegrowers recruiting via a matchmaking platform. Each year a specific page "Grape harvester job offers" highlights seasonal worker needs. The platform is free.

• Providing clarity on possible training paths to join the Vine and Wine sector to increase the influx of qualified candidates.

Employers' groups

To find labor, it is possible to call on an employers' group.

• The operator then becomes a user of the group which recruits employees and makes them available to the farm.
• No prior administrative procedure for hiring for the operator since the employee is an employee of the group.
• Besides managing human resources and administration, the employers' group organizes training for employees.

The group sends an invoice to the operator who pays for the hours worked. All types of employment contracts can be implemented (part-time, short-term…). As an association, the employers' group requires annual membership, but joining the system can be immediate.

Consult a list of employers' groups here.

Service provision

Service provision consists of delegating all or part of a farm's work to a specialized company. The service provider is an independent professional who signs a tailor-made service contract.

• The service provision involves specific and well-defined tasks that require know-how, equipment, and personnel.
• The service provider's remuneration must be set according to the importance of the work and not the hours worked.
• In this case, what is "purchased" is indeed a complete service and not just the provision of personnel. Thus, if the provider employs staff, it is up to them to supervise their workers and have authority over them. For example, using an agricultural work company (ETA) to carry out mechanized grape harvesting falls under the service provision contract. Indeed, in this case, it is the ETA that provides its equipment (the grape harvester machine) and expertise (its employee drives and maintains the grape harvester machine).

An all-in-one service proposal

The company Viteam offers an "all-inclusive" service for organizing the harvest :

• Support in recruiting grape harvesters

• Management and supervision of teams on site
• Organization of logistics (accommodation, transport, food, …)
• Assistance with administrative procedures (employment contracts, pay slips, salary payments, …)

Temporary employment agencies

It is entirely possible to use seasonal employees made available by a temporary work company (temporary employment agency). Temporary work differs from service provision because its exclusive purpose is to provide salaried labor for profit.

• The employee is recruited by the temporary agency and made available to the winegrower via a mission contract.
• A provision contract is signed between the winegrower and the temporary agency.
• This solution allows the winegrower to entrust the agency with recruiting the employees they need.

Labor lending

Labor lending, or "provision," consists of an operator making one or more of their employees available to another professional.

• Unlike temporary work, the employer, who is not a temporary work company, lends their employee free of charge (non-profit).
• A labor contract must exist between the employee and the employer lending the employee.
• Labor lending must be non-profit for the lending company. It only invoices, during the provision, the salaries paid to employees, related social charges, and professional expenses reimbursed to the employee.
• The employee must give explicit consent and, if they refuse, cannot be sanctioned, dismissed, or discriminated against. They must sign an amendment to the labor contract, which must specify :
  • the tasks assigned in the user company,
  • the working hours and location,
  • the particular characteristics of the workstation.

Family mutual aid

Apart from occasional very short-term help, family mutual aid can only exist between first-degree relatives. This status, which grants certain rights in terms of retirement, must be declared to the MSA :

• An ascendant, descendant, brother, sister, or in-law of the same degree as the farm or business operator or their spouse;
• Over sixteen years old (young people aged 14 to 16 can give occasional help);
• Living on the farm or business and participating in its development without being an employee (generally unpaid).
• The help provided must not be durable or regular, must not be performed under subordination, nor replace a job necessary for the normal operation of a business or professional activity.

Cette technique s'applique aux cultures suivantes

• Vine