Redundancy and job loss in rural and farming communities

Support lines

Why rural job loss is different

• Farming and rural work are often tied to your identity, your family's history and where you live.
• Work may come with a house. Losing the job can mean losing your home as well.
• Fewer local jobs, long distances and patchy phone and internet coverage make support and job hunting harder.
• Culture of 'just get on with it' stops many people, particularly men, from asking for help.
• Unpredictable pressures such as weather, commodity prices, debt and succession add stress.

If your house goes with the job

1. Check your employment agreement for what happens to accommodation on termination. Get it in writing.
2. Ask for a reasonable timeframe to move and put it in writing. If it's a tenancy, tenancy rules may apply.
3. Ring Work and Income about the Accommodation Supplement, a Special Needs Grant or Temporary Additional Support for urgent costs (see the urgent costs guide).
4. Contact the Citizens Advice Bureau (0800 367 222) or Community Law for free advice on your rights.

Finding work

• Register with Work and Income (0800 559 009). Ask what help is available for people in rural areas, including help with relocation costs.
• Email MSD redeployment support (RedeploymentSupport@msd.govt.nz) if a larger employer is making redundancies. You don't have to wait.
• Ask the Rural Support Trust about employment support. They list employee and employer support on their website.
• Transferable skills: machinery operation, animal husbandry, fencing, mechanical repair, health and safety, logistics and people management. Employers outside farming value them.
• Seasonal and contract work (shearing, harvest, dairy relief milking) can bridge the gap. Check how this affects benefit entitlements before you start.

If you own or run the farm

Self-employed people have different rules. See the self-employment guides on this site and talk to your accountant, bank and Rural Support Trust early. Banks have hardship teams. Free financial mentoring is available from MoneyTalks (0800 345 123).

For men and anyone who finds it hard to talk

• Talk side by side with someone you trust: in the ute, at the fence, over a cuppa.
• Call 1737 (free mental health support). You can text if you'd rather not talk.
• Keep up sleep, food and some movement. Farmstrong has practical tips.
• Watch for warning signs in mates: withdrawing, drinking more, giving things away, saying they're a burden. Ask them directly if they're okay, and if they're thinking of suicide, see the crisis guide.