Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995: Introduction of a one-off 9 month extension to existing 9 month hospitality work permits

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A decision made on 29 October 2021

MINISTERIAL DECISION REFERENCE: MD-HA-2021-0077
Decision Date: 21 October 2021
DECISION SUMMARY TITLE: Introduction of a one-off 9 month extension to existing 9 month hospitality work permits
DECISION SUMMARY AUTHOR:	Acting Director Immigration and Nationality	IS THE DECISION SUMMARY PUBLIC OR EXEMPT? (if exempt state the relevant article/paragraph of the Freedom of Information Law/Regulations)		Public
REPORT TITLE: Ministerial Response: Submission from the Jersey Hospitality Association – Proposed Amendments to the Work Permit Policy
REPORT AUTHOR OR NAME OF PERSON GIVING REPORT: (if different from Decision Summary Author)	Acting Director Immigration and Nationality	IS THE REPORT PUBLIC OR EXEMPT (if exempt state the relevant article/paragraph of the Freedom of Information Law/Regulations)		Public
DECISION AND REASON FOR THE DECISION: Under the provisions of the Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995 the Minister for Home Affairs has approved the introduction of an exceptional, one-off extension to any existing 9-month hospitality work permit and any future work permit that is applied for prior to 1st April 2022 which has a start date on or prior to 1st May 2022. The extension will be for a further 9-month period and will not require the relevant migrant worker to be absent between the two work permit periods. This is decision was made following the submission of a business case from the Jersey Hospitality Association, the Ministerial response to which is available as the report to this MD. 9-month extensions will be granted on submission of an application which must meet the criteria of the hospitality 9-month route, as listed in the work permit policy, other than the submission of overseas criminal certificates.
RESOURCE IMPLICATIONS: None as a consequence of this decision.
ACTION REQUIRED: Appropriately disseminate the availability of the 9-month extension to the Jersey Hospitality Association and other relevant employers.
SIGNATURE:			POSITION: Deputy Gregory Guida Minister for Home Affairs
DATE SIGNED:			EFFECTIVE DATE OF THE DECISION:

Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995: Introduction of a one-off 9 month extension to existing 9 month hospitality work permits

Appendix 2

Ministerial Response

Submission from the Jersey Hospitality Association

Proposed Amendments to the Work Permit Policy

18th October 2021

Background

In October 2020 agreement was reached on the working routes for the Future Border & Immigration System and as such the Work Permit Policy (WPP) was published.

The two main routes at the time were:

A 9 month Temporary Route for low-skilled workers, which does not have a requirement for a salary threshold (other than minimum wage), an English requirement and does not allow dependants to accompany the applicant. This route does not lead to settlement

A 3 year Skilled Worker Route which requires a £30k salary threshold, English language requirement and the role to be at RQF3 or above. This route leads to settlement and allows dependants to accompany the applicant.

Following the submission of a business case by the Jersey Construction Council in January 2021 a further 1 year Temporary Route was introduced. This 1 year permit can be renewed annually for up to 4 years. This was on the basis that the construction sector needed staff to be in place for the duration of a build or project that would be become part of a cohesive team and therefore the seasonal 9 month route with 3 months absence would not fulfil this sector’s requirements.

Jersey Hospitality Association Business Case

Examination of the Jersey Hospitality Association (JHA) business case identifies two clear points and one request;

The hospitality sector has had well documented severe difficulties in sourcing staff over the last 12 months.

The introduction of a longer temporary work permit will make coming to Jersey more attractive, reduce employer’s overheads and give better opportunity to provide training and professional development.

The JHA request is to introduce a 1 year renewable work permit allowing a migrant worker to come to the Island for up to 4 years, in line with the construction route.

Response and Proposal

It is accepted that the hospitality sector has struggled to source sufficient labour to fulfil their needs in 2021.

It is accepted that offering a longer period of work permit may make coming to the Island to work in the sector more attractive, offer a better opportunity to develop individuals and reduce employer overheads.

Examination of the business case and other related information has revealed there is a lack of reliable data and understanding of the cause of the labour shortage. This is a complex matter that has affected the UK and the rest of the world. It is not possible to determine how much of the hospitality labour shortage has resulted from Brexit, Covid or other factors beyond the obvious. As a result it is not possible to determine how much a longer temporary route will alleviate the labour shortage.

Covid-19

Available data from Statistics Jersey shows that the hospitality sector had a reduction in the number of staff in December 2020 of approximately 1,000 compared to previous years. There is a very strong indication that the majority of this change was bought about due to the pandemic as at this time there were no immigration restrictions preventing EU nationals from working in Jersey.

It is noted that the number of hospitality jobs in the UK has rapidly recovered in recent months, making up more than half of the reduction suffered during the pandemic. It is further noted that the number of vacant positions advertised on gov.je has now dropped from 240 to 171.

It is considered that many workers moved away from the hospitality sector due to lack of available work in 2020, it is considered this has caused a lag during 2021 as some of the shortfall may have found fulltime work in other sectors and not wanted or needed to move back into the hospitality sector.

Brexit

In the first 3 quarters of 2021 the Jersey Customs & Immigration Service issued 312 work permits to the hospitality industry, 110 of which were to EU nationals. There is no data to determine how many EU nationals were dissuaded from coming to work in Jersey due to the added requirements and costs of obtaining both a work permit and a visa. There is no data to determine how many of the 17,500 applicants to the settlement scheme work within the hospitality sector and have been able to remain the Island and continue to work in the industry.
It is noted this is the first year that EU nationals have needed to obtain both work permits and visas in order to come and work in the Island. It is therefore anticipated that as this becomes part of the accepted new norm it won’t present the same unknown barrier it has during 2021.It is further noted that when a comparison is made to the UK, where temporary work permits for the hospitality sector do not exist, the number of hospitality workers has increased by 10% over the last 6 months.

Pay and Conditions

It is notable that the JHA business case makes no mention of the pay and conditions that are being offered by the sector. Data indicates that Jersey’s minimum wage is below that of the UK and only marginally more than north western EU countries. This combined with ever improving infrastructure and standard of living across the EU reduces the incentive for migrant workers to come and work in temporary positions in Jersey.

It is noted that an increase in Jersey’s minimum wage is expected to be introduced in 2022, the result of which could have a bearing on attracting more labour.

It is also noted from the most recent data from Statistics Jersey that average earnings for the hospitality sector had a net increase of 5.5% from January 2020 to June 2021, labour shortages in the UK appear to have also resulted in wage rises. Hospitality remains the lowest paid sector in Jersey making this sector less attractive for potential employees. It is unknown whether there will be any changes to wage structures or other sector initiatives in 2022 to provide a more attractive package outside of the proposed changes to the Immigration route.

UK assessment

In September 2021 during the All Party Parliamentary Group on Migration, Madeleine Sumption presented during this seminar. Madeleine Sumption is the Director of the research unit for the Migration Observatory, she sits as a member of the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to the UK Government and is the Chair of the Migration Statistics User Forum. During the seminar she echoed comments from the December 2020 MAC report stating that there was insufficient data at this point to give any evidence based comment of perceived trends in worker shortages.

Work Permit Policy Position

Currently the work permit policy temporary 9 month routes are in place to assist in recruiting staff from outside the Common Travel Area. This route is temporary, does not lead to settlement and is intended as a means to fill a labour shortage, not as route to develop staff and provide incentive for them to stay for longer periods, as is suggested in the JHA business case.

Long term work permits are in place for skilled workers who are on immigration routes that do lead to settlement. These workers must have already attained qualifications and experience to fill the criteria of the skilled worker routes.

Introducing an immigration route where a migrant worker’s ability to remain is dependent on them upskilling is a significant move away from current policy and would require considerable work to develop.

Common Travel Area Compliance

Any substantive changes to the work permit policy will have to be made with consideration to its alignment with the UK’s immigration policy.

Summary

Whilst it is accepted that offering a longer period of work permit may make Jersey a more attractive destination for migrant workers, it is not considered possible to determine how much of a positive effect this will have in alleviating the hospitality staff shortage. It is therefore not considered appropriate to make substantial and permanent changes to the hospitality route at this point as there is no reliable evidence to support it.

Once reliable data is available and the labour market has had time to stabilise further consideration can be given to any changes to the work permit policy.

Proposal

One-off limited Extension to 9 month Temporary Work Permits

In order to assist in alleviating the immediate labour shortage all existing hospitality temporary 9 month work permits can be extended for a further 9 months without requiring the migrant worker to be absent for 3 months. In order to allow for those who have just returned at the end of their summer season to benefit, the extension will be available to any temporary work permit with a start date on or before 01/05/2022. This will allow a migrant worker to come to work in the Island for a continuous 18 month period, subject to the extension of the work permit.

This is a one-off offer with leave being granted outside the Minister’s Immigration Rules in order to alleviate the immediate issues. It would come with the continued restriction of not being able to bring dependants. At the 9 month point employers would need to apply for the work permit extension and the individual would need to apply for Further Leave to Remain.

No permanent changes are to be made to the existing work permit policy at this point.