States ‘helping hospitality industry during tough time’
HELP continues to be given to local employers, particularly in the hospitality sector, to overcome an ongoing staffing crisis, the States has said.
Home Affairs president Rob Prow said the States has been supporting the industry in several ways – by developing its own bespoke employment permit policy, extending employment permits where it can, and has waived States charges in several areas.
The States brokered an agreement with the UK to implement a bespoke employment permit policy rather than adopting the UK’s points-based immigration system post-Brexit.
‘Having our own bespoke employment permit policy has enabled us to make decisions that effectively guarantee that all hospitality roles will be granted an employment permit if the businesses can find the staff from within the European Union or European Economic Area,’ said Deputy Prow.
The committee has also granted employers the ability to extend short- and medium-term permits to seven years, rather than the previous limit of five years.
‘In short, if hospitality sector businesses can find the staff then they can get an employment permit for them via the population management regime. Our immigration office has also been supporting the sector as businesses have begun seeking to recruit from outside the EU,’ Deputy Prow said.
The States has also waived all charges for work carried out by our immigration team as part of the Guernsey application process in recognition of the increased visa fees as a result of Brexit.
‘Since Brexit, businesses seeking to recruit new staff from the EU have faced the requirement for any EU national to secure visa to enter the UK or crown dependency and this is an additional process and expense from an immigration perspective. This is a UK system that affects the Crown Dependencies.
‘This system is outside of our control, Guernsey does not receive any money from it, but we fully acknowledge the challenges it presents to businesses wanting to recruit from the EU.'
The States is now conducting a review of population policy to assess whether States policies or external factors are primarily to blame for the problems being experienced by local employers.
However, Deputy Prow said the staffing crisis was not just a challenge for Guernsey.
‘The UK is also reporting Britain’s employers are struggling with the worst staff shortages since the late 1990s and other jurisdictions are too, in what is a challenging recruitment market globally,' he added.
