06 June 2014
Recruitment has started for the organisation that will handle islanders' complaints about financial services in Jersey and Guernsey.
The post of chairman of the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman is being advertised. It's the start of a recruitment process that will involve both Jersey’s Economic Development Department and Guernsey’s Department of Commerce and Employment. The appointment of the non-executive directors for the shared board will follow.
The office will be based in Jersey with shared staff, resources and premises, and funded by the financial services industries in both jurisdictions.
Ombudsman being legally established
The Financial Services Ombudsman for the Channel Islands is in the process of being established by law and will have powers to investigate and determine customer complaints.
On 1 April 2014 Jersey’s States Assembly approved the law enabling the organisation to operate, and approval from the UK Privy Council is anticipated this summer. Guernsey's law is being drafted and will mirror Jersey's law as far as possible. It is hoped that it will be registered by the end of 2014, creating the new organisation and allowing it to prepare to open for complaints as soon as possible after that.
Guernsey's Minister of Commerce and Employment, Kevin Stewart, said “This first role of chairman will present a unique and exciting challenge in shaping the direction of a new dispute resolution service and establishing it across two jurisdictions.”
Jersey's Minister for Economic Development, Senator Alan Maclean, said “I look forward to working with our Guernsey colleagues to find a chairman for this new ombudsman scheme which will both benefit the people of the Channel Islands and support our flagship financial services industries."
gov.je