The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 9 letter word LABOUR INTENSIVE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
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More clues leading to the result LABOUR INTENSIVE
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "in need of a lot of work" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case in need of a lot of work = labour intensive.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does LABOUR INTENSIVE mean?
LABOUR INTENSIVE adjective- Requiring a great deal of work, especially physical and manual effort versus capital.