Raspberry Harvest Picker

You pick from the row you are given, take only the fruit that comes off the cane on its own, and set it in the punnet without pressing it down. Bruised and mouldy berries go in the second bucket, not in the punnet. Every full crate goes to the shaded collection point where it is weighed and your number and the kilograms are written down, and the cold store van takes it twice a day. Picking starts at 05:30 and stops around 13:00 while the fruit is still firm, with a break for breakfast in the field. Rain days are made up in the evening.

No schooling and no experience required, the training is one morning

Careful hands, since a pressed berry is a lost berry

Fit for a morning bent over the rows and for the heat after eleven

Able to count crates and check the weight written for you

Ready to live in the village accommodation for the season

Basic English is enough for the daily instructions

Net pay from 749 up to 824 EUR for a full month of the season

Seasonal contract with the days registered, not undeclared work

Bed in a shared room in the village, two hundred metres from the rows

Three meals a day cooked by the household

Payment every Saturday, in cash or to an account

Punnets, crates, gloves and a sun hat provided

Return travel paid for pickers who finish the season

Pickers who come back are given a row of their own and the weighing point, which is paid better than picking. The plantation also keeps four people through the autumn for pruning and planting.

Open field on a slope, cool at half past five and hot by noon, with water canisters at the end of every row and a shaded tent at the weighing point. Gloves, a hat and long sleeves are advised and provided.