However, employers and recruiters attending a seminar last week said they believed the process for taking on non-local workers was ‘significantly detrimental’ to Jersey business in the longer term.
A straw poll of delegates at the ’employee immigration masterclass’ organised by Mourant Ozannes also found that although workers from abroad were thought to have equal rights with local residents once they had been granted permission to work in the Island, it was difficult for employers to get the necessary licences under the Housing and Work Law.
Speaker and Mourant Ozannes partner Helen Ruelle said that this was a trend the firm had already noticed.
‘In our experience it has become more difficult to obtain licences and some sectors are finding that challenging,’ she said.
During the seminar her fellow speakers, senior associate Carla Benest and paralegal Katie Phillips, stressed the importance of allowing sufficient time to obtain permissions – at least six weeks – for anyone recruiting a non-local applicant.
They also advised delegates to keep a full record of the recruitment process, including evidence that the post had been advertised in the local, national and international press, as well as at Social Security, and strong reasons for not taking on applicants already resident in Jersey.
For successful applicants from outside of the European Economic Area, it was important to prepare for the ‘enormous amount of detail’ required for a work permit.
Anyone staying longer than six months would be required to show competency in the English language and could be subject to background and medical checks, the speakers advised.
In addition, in order to live and work in the Island indefinitely, non-EEA recruits would need to pass a citizenship test and thorough background checks, including into any spent convictions.
Ms Ruelle said that the consequences of not complying with such requirements could be serious and embarrassing.
‘We have had experience of people arriving at the Airport without the required permissions,’ she said, adding that Customs had the power to prevent entry.
‘There was also a risk, she said, that attempting to bring someone into the Island without the correct paperwork could constitute a criminal offence.
In conclusion, the lawyer said that the business community as a whole was keen to see what the Council of Ministers intended to propose within their long-awaited population policy.
‘Businesses want to be competitive, both in Jersey and in other jurisdictions, but the States has to balance that against population increase, which is a big concern,’ she said.
