DAIRY CHAMPION
Taranaki farmer Jacinta Kete works two part-time jobs for two families in a job sharing arrangement to give her full-time employment. Photos by Ross Nolly
Best of both By Ross Nolly
Working two part-time jobs to make up a full-time position is working well for one Taranaki lass and the two farming couples who share her skills and expertise
W
hen life gets busy on the farm, an extra pair of helping hands is a godsend. Often that help is only required for a few days a week and there’s not enough work on the farm for a full-time staff member. Two Taranaki (Auroa) farming families have thought outside the square and have employed a full-time staff member in a job sharing role and spreading the hours across both farming operations in a win-win situation. Everyone benefits. John and Kristina Wyatt are contract milkers on a 121-hectare dairy farm milking 315 cows and Donna and Phil Cram own a 117ha dairy farm milking 241 cows. In the past, the Wyatts have employed someone only over spring, but have thought about having someone throughout the year but don’t have enough work to justify a full-time worker. In an ideal world they’d have employed a worker for two days a week, but they were unsure how to implement it. The Wyatts were at a barbeque and job sharing was mentioned. They knew that neighbouring farmers (the Crams), who only lived 5.5km away, also wanted a part-time worker. Between the two farming operations there was enough work for one full-time worker. Both couples knew that if a job sharing
28
arrangement was workable, it needed to be in conjunction with a farmer who had similar values and ethics. “We were really careful to partner with people who had the same values as us and would want to nurture and grow the person,” Donna says. Before advertising the position, the Wyatts and Crams discussed what they were looking for in the arrangement and in the worker. The job was advertised as a full-time position and the situation was explained to the applicants at the interview. Last season the couples employed Jacinta Kete to work on both farms in a
job sharing arrangement that gave her a full-time position, with two individual employment agreements. They operate a three-week roster. During that period Jacinta works for nine days at the Cram’s and six days at the Wyatt’s. She chose to have six days off during the three-week period, comprising a four-day weekend and two days off during the week. Each family gets one weekend off during each threeweek period. “We feel that the success of the arrangement is due to both parties sticking to the rostered schedule. We’ve swapped the odd day here and there but
Jacinta works six days on Johan and Kristian Wyatt’s 121ha farm milking 315 cows. John and Kristina Wyatt, with Caleb and Danielle, and Jacinta.
DAIRY FARMER
April 2022
