7th August 2026
The challenge for Highland businesses is finding enough workers while maintaining a fair and legal labour market.
Across rural Scotland, many businesses face the same difficult question:
Where will the workers come from?
Tourism businesses need extra staff during busy seasons.
Farmers need additional labour during planting, harvesting and livestock periods.
Food producers need reliable workers to meet demand.
Hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions need people to keep operating during the months when communities are busiest.
But at the same time, the Government is increasing enforcement against illegal working and warning employers that they must ensure all staff have the right to work in the UK.
For rural Scotland, the challenge is finding the balance between two important goals:
ensuring businesses have access to the workers they need;
making sure employment is legal, fair and properly regulated.
Why seasonal workers matter
Many rural industries have a natural cycle.
A farm does not need the same number of workers every month.
A hotel in the Highlands may need far more staff during summer than during winter.
A tourism attraction may be extremely busy for several months and much quieter afterwards.
This creates a demand for seasonal workers.
The need is particularly strong in:
agriculture;
hospitality;
tourism;
food processing;
fisheries-related businesses.
Without seasonal labour, some businesses would struggle to operate at full capacity.
Agriculture depends heavily on seasonal labour
Farming has long relied on additional workers during busy periods.
Examples include:
fruit picking;
vegetable harvesting;
planting;
livestock work;
specialist seasonal tasks.
The UK's Seasonal Worker visa scheme allows overseas workers to come to the UK for temporary agricultural work with approved employers.
The scheme exists because agriculture has historically struggled to recruit enough domestic workers for some roles.
However, farmers also face rising costs, uncertainty over markets and pressure to improve productivity.
Finding reliable labour is therefore another challenge on top of many others.
Tourism faces a similar problem
Tourism is one of Scotland's most important industries.
For Highland communities, visitors support:
hotels;
bed and breakfasts;
restaurants;
cafés;
attractions;
transport providers;
local shops.
But tourism is also seasonal.
A business may need to recruit several extra people for a few months of the year.
For small rural operators, finding staff can be difficult.
The challenges include:
a limited local workforce;
housing shortages;
transport difficulties;
competition from other employers.
In some areas, the problem is not a lack of jobs but a lack of available workers.
Why illegal working becomes a business issue
The Government's crackdown is aimed primarily at employers who break the rules.
The concern is that some businesses may deliberately employ people without the right to work because they can pay lower wages or avoid employment obligations.
This creates unfair competition.
A legitimate business paying:
legal wages;
National Insurance;
pension contributions;
holiday pay;
insurance costs;
can be undercut by an operator ignoring the rules.
That is why enforcement agencies argue that tackling illegal working protects honest businesses as well as workers.
But shortages cannot be ignored
There is another side to the debate.
If businesses cannot find enough legal workers, some may reduce opening hours, turn away customers or struggle to expand.
This is particularly important in rural areas where there may simply not be enough people living locally to fill all available positions.
The solution therefore cannot only be enforcement.
It must also involve improving the supply of legal workers.
The importance of legal recruitment routes
For businesses, the safest approach is using recognised recruitment routes and ensuring all employees have the correct documentation.
This includes:
carrying out right-to-work checks;
keeping accurate records;
understanding visa conditions;
using reputable recruitment agencies.
For small businesses without dedicated human resources departments, this can seem complicated.
But mistakes can be expensive.
Employers can face significant fines if they fail to carry out proper checks.
Housing is a major part of the problem
One issue often overlooked in discussions about seasonal labour is accommodation.
A business may be able to offer someone a job, but if there is nowhere affordable for them to live, recruitment becomes much harder.
This affects many Highland communities.
Housing shortages are already affecting:
young local workers;
key workers;
families;
seasonal employees.
For tourism businesses especially, staff accommodation is becoming an increasingly important issue.
Could technology reduce labour shortages?
Some businesses are responding through investment in technology.
Examples include:
automated farm equipment;
online booking systems;
digital check-in;
improved kitchen technology;
more efficient production methods.
These can reduce the number of workers needed.
However, many tourism and agricultural jobs remain people-focused.
Visitors still need hospitality.
Animals still need care.
Crops still need attention.
Technology can help, but it will not remove the need for workers.
What does this mean for Highland businesses?
The challenge facing rural Scotland is not unique.
Many countries are dealing with the same issue:
ageing populations;
worker shortages;
demand for seasonal labour;
pressure to control illegal employment.
For Highland businesses, the priorities are likely to be:
Recruit locally where possible
Creating attractive jobs and training opportunities for local people remains important.
Use legal routes for additional workers
Where seasonal labour is required, businesses need reliable and compliant systems.
Improve working conditions
Better pay, accommodation and flexibility can help attract and retain staff.
Work together
Tourism operators, farmers, councils and communities may need to cooperate more closely on workforce planning.
The bigger economic question
Rural Scotland faces a difficult balance.
It needs enough workers to support economic activity.
But it also needs a labour market where businesses compete fairly and workers are protected.
A shortage of workers can damage businesses.
Illegal employment can damage the wider economy.
The answer lies in creating a system where legitimate businesses can recruit the people they need through clear and legal routes.
Enforcement and opportunity must go together
The Government's action against illegal working is about protecting the integrity of the labour market.
But for rural Scotland, the wider question is equally important:
How do we make sure that businesses can still find the workers they need to survive and grow?
Tourism, farming and food production are vital parts of the Highland economy.
Their future depends not only on stopping illegal practices but also on ensuring that legal employment routes work effectively.
For rural communities, the goal should be simple:
A workforce that is available, fairly treated and legally employed — allowing businesses and communities to thrive.