A groom who spent years earning 200 for working +70-hour weeks in breach of employment law in a top competition yard said she is not surprised by staff shortages.
The groom, who asked not to be named, contacted H&H in response to comments about the difficulty of finding grooms.
She said she spent four and a half years working for an eventer. She was not on the books, without regular days off, holiday pay, a contract or other legal requirements.
“It’s no wonder if competition yards can’t get anyone,” she said. “I was paid 200 pounds a week. I got accommodation and had a horse there but I had to pay things like my wi-fi, and my horse’s hay, bedding and feed.
“From other grooms I’ve met too; often people aren’t treated well. There would be the event days when you got up at 2.30am and didn’t get back till 10pm, and you never got paid overtime or time back. And although it isn’t about the money, it also has to be; if you ever wanted to buy a house, you just couldn’t on that wage.”
The groom moved to racing, and for the past year and a half has been paid 450 per week, plus overtime of between 300 and 400 per month. She works about 55 hours, with a day and a half off, per week.
“I get 28 days’ paid holiday a year, sick leave, contracts, everything,” she said. “Any job with horses is physically and mentally draining but having that day and a half off is time to rest, do what you want to do and rest, and it makes a big difference to how you cope with the workload.”
The groom...
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