Joe90211

Hi everyone wondered if anyone might be able to point me int the right direction or have any advice with this one, me and a friend of mine are starting a big trip starting in europe with a car - I'm not too concerned about later on in the summer because I'm sure it shouldn't be to hard finding fruit picking and labouring etc, but obviously in March it's a bit colder, not really anything in season, not really sure where we'd find temporary work?

We were planning on working places for about a week at a time while we travel, but if we find something good that we're enjoying or meet some sound people then we'd probably stick around for a while! Our plans are fairly flexible. We have to leave the UK to start the trip in March due to work and living arangements, so we'll probably be starting in Amsterdam, not that we're planning on finding work there too easily, and than probably heading into france or germany. We'd probably be looking for farm type work, I am a steel fabricator / welder by trade and my friend is a dairy farmer so we're pretty capable lads when it comes to that sort of work.

Has anyone worked in europe anywhere at this time of year or could help us out at all? any advice would be appreciated!

KayF

I haven't done it myself but know working on farms through the Willing Workers on Organic Farms scheme is quite popular. I think you get your food and room for free. We met a young German backpacker recently doing it in Australia, she spent a few weeks on an olive farm. You could check it out -

http://wwoofinternational.org/
http://www.wwoof.net/

Another idea is to check jobs on Gumtree. Make sure you have the legal right to work in these countries too - very important.

Kay

nytraveler

Not sure where you are from - but do you have the right to work in europe - typically tourists do not.

Also the recent/current influx of refugees would I think mean that a lot of basic jobs are already being filled by them

stokebailey

similar to wwoofing: workaway.info

My daughter and her friend tried to do a similar thing for a week at a time this summer, but found there weren's that many people who wanted workers for only a week. They got one solid week's work in a Budapest hostel. The few times I checked, there were a lot of people who wanted help in their stables.

The friend's sister had done it successfully in Europe, but I think it was longer stretches. And the friend and her boyfriend woofed for a summer at an organic farm in Tuscany, liked that a lot.

The reason you don't need a work visa is that you're volunteering, and no money is exchanged. You work I think up to 20 or so hours a week and get room and board.

welltraveledbrit

We've ran into European woofers in Nz and they were doing spells for as little as a week at a time, but of course this isn't conventional paid work.

sparkchaser

The answer depends on whether you have the right to work in the EU or not.

If you are allowed to work in the EU, then finding menial work is possible but keep in mind that there's probably going to be a language barrier. Heck, it may only just cover your living expenses with nothing left for moving on to the next place. Speaking of which, where are you planning on staying?

If you're not allowed to work in the EU, then you are going to be competing with an influx of illegals that are willing to work for way less than you. So goo luck with that. And I hope you get caught.

sparkchaser

Forgot to say that in March, German farms are harvesting their asparagus (spargel) so there could be an in there. But you're going to be competing with "professional" farm workers/day laborers from Poland, Romania, etc.

flanneruk

"If you're not allowed to work in the EU, then you are going to be competing with an influx of illegals that are willing to work for way less than you."

The poster's English strongly indicates the poster's British. But whether he is or isn't, he's unlikely to be "competing with an influx of illegals", most of whom will be confined to resettlement camps.

He WILL, though be competing with an influx of legal migrants, all prepared to work - perfectly legally - for far less than he'd get at home

Heimdall

You wrote that you're leaving from the UK — does that mean you have British passports? If so, that would answer the right to work in other EU countries question. If would also help if you can speak French and/or German.

You will have competition for jobs with legal migrants from the new EU countries, and for unemployed workers who are citizens of the countries you are visiting. Greece has an unemployment rate for under-25s of around 50%, for example, and they all speak their native language.

March isn't the best time to find casual farm work I would have thought, as harvest for most crops is late summer and autumn. Grape and olive picking would be mostly September to November, for example.

I doubt you will get much useful advice here on Fodor's, but there are expat internet forums in every country where British nationals live. Find the forums with a Google search, register, and ask your questions there.

Tulips

If you're from the UK, you have the right to work in Europe, but it's not as simple as just picking up a week's work here or there. At least not if it's 'official', with taxes, social security payments etc. If you're working in Belgium, the employer has to withold your taxes and hand them over to the tax authorities. There's all sorts of paperwork involved.

If you are just looking for a place to stay and meals, a site like workaway has lots of opportunities.

sparkchaser

<i>The poster's English strongly indicates the poster's British.</i>

I considered that but I didn't want to make any assumptions.

Heimdall

If the "90211" in the OP's screen name is a Zip Code, that suggests Joe comes from Beverly Hills, CA.

Most farm pickers are hired by companies that contract with farmers to supply the labour. It's backbreaking work, and the pay is low. In the UK, especially the Fens of East Anglia, there is a large population of Eastern Europeans imported to do the work, and I suppose that would also be the case in Germany and France.

Sassafrass

Wasn't 90211 the name of a TV series? If so, maybe the poster just liked the show.

janisj

He's a bloke -- 'labouring', not laboring and other clues.

sparkchaser

Sure but a recent transplant can start saying mate and throwing around the occasional extraneous u and swap z for s to fit in better.

Speaking of which, how long do I have to live in the UK before I can get away with saying quid and mate and fag?

Heimdall

The show was called "90210", which is a neighbouring zip code, both in Beverly Hills. I agree that "labouring" and also "lads" are not commonly used in California, but Beverly Hills has a cricket club, so who knows?

nytraveler

Well since the OP said they "have to leave" the UK because of working and living arrangements I assumed that they are not UK citizens. If they are, I guess they are entitled to work - if they can find any and are willing to be paid little or nothing. But I was reading it that their 6 months in the UK was up and they had to get out of dodge.

(I did see the "labouring" and "lads" but thought they might be from Oz or NZ.)

hetismij2

Tulips makes an excellent point. If they are intending to work legally it isn't that simple.
If they are intending to work in the black market they could have real problems.
Whilst I admire their spirit of adventure I think they need to do a bit more research for themselves into working in Europe and the legality thereof.
They also have to consider health insurance, and car insurance, since they will no longer have an address in the UK. Also things like an MOT on the vehicle need to be considered if they are intending to be in Europe for any considerable time.

As to casual work, getting work for only a week will be tough. Working in the tourist industry, either in bars or campsites or similar would be feasible, but they would be needed for more than a week. Same with building work, and even farm work.

janisj

>>Well since the OP said they "have to leave" the UK because of working and living arrangements I assumed that they are not UK citizens.<<

That isn't exactly what he said:

>>We have to leave the UK to start the trip in March due to work and living arangements,<<

Which I assumed to mean they couldn't start the trip until March 'due to arrangements'.

But until the OP comes back -- we'll never know

stokebailey

At least there's a TV series in there somewhere: Beverly Hills migrant workers find love and self-actualization, if not much money, in the asparagus fields.

Next please resolve sparkchaser's question about how soon we can start saying "quid" and "bloke."