PERMITS granted for licensed work status have been extended to cover educational support staff, nursery workers and extra healthcare roles, while conditions around businesses applying to employ registered employees have been relaxed.
In reforms to the licensing system, Assistant Chief Minister Carina Alves announced several changes to improve access for businesses trying to obtain registered and licensed staff.
Subject to “some simple checks”, an employer will now be able to get a licence for a full-time job with a salary of at least £54,000 – the current average wage – with the employee now able to rent qualified accommodation.
Employees are also able to rent or buy in the qualified market when earning salaries of £60,000.
The minimum hours needed to obtain a licence for an employee have also been reduced from 30 hours to more than 25 hours per week, while the government said it has also streamlined the application form process for new and existing employers.
The move has been welcomed by the Chamber of Commerce who said it was important the government acknowledged the difficult realities businesses face around staffing.
Chamber president Lee Madden said: “If Jersey is to maintain the services and standards the community expects, employers must be able to secure the right people.
“[The new rules] recognise the recruitment pressures our members have raised and offer a more realistic framework for managing the Island’s workforce needs.”
Announcing the changes, Deputy Alves said they aim to make the application process “simpler and more transparent”, ensuring employers can recruit the staff they need.
Deputy Alves also said that licensed permission could now be requested for a range of jobs with lower salaries. The new guidance sets out a publicly available list of the jobs covered.
The St Helier politician said: “It’s important that government makes it as easy as possible for businesses to take on the staff they need.
“We have listened to local employers and have taken action to make the application process simpler and more transparent, with new guidance setting out the rules.
“For the first time, we have also published a list of jobs where the normal salary limits don’t apply.
“As a former teacher, I am especially pleased to be able to expand licensed roles to include educational support staff and nursery workers. We have also included extra healthcare roles to make sure that health care providers can recruit more easily.”
The updated Business Licencing and Employee Status guidance is published online on the gov.je website.
Businesses can also contact the Business Hub on businesshub@gov.je for further information.
