Seasonal cherrypicker from Chile files unfair dismissal claim against UK farm

Julia Quecaño Casimiro becomes first worker on post-Brexit scheme to launch claim after flying thousands of miles for short-term employment

When Julia Quecaño Casimiro left Chile to pick cherries in Herefordshire in June, she hoped she might finally save enough money to study biochemistry. Instead, when she left the farm a month later, she ended up homeless in London with little more than £100.

Casimiro, 23, has become the first person on a seasonal worker visa to take a farm to an employment tribunal. Her claim against Haygrove farm for unlawful deduction of wages, unfair dismissal, discrimination and harassment was filed last week and a preliminary hearing is expected in March.