Employment of Voluntary Overseas Workers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

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A decision made 17 December 2009 regarding: Employment of Voluntary Overseas Workers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Decision Reference: MD-HA-2009- 0121
Decision Summary Title :	Employment of Voluntary Overseas Workers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust	Date of Decision Summary:	7 December 2009
Decision Summary Author:	Director Legal Status and Revenue	Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written	Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Employment of Voluntary Overseas Workers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust	Date of Written Report:	2 December 2009
Written Report Author:	Assistant Director	Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: Temporary Employment of Voluntary Overseas Workers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Decision(s): In exercise of the powers conferred by section 1(4) of the Immigration Act 1971 of the United Kingdom, as extended to Jersey by the Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993, the Minister for Home Affairs decided to instruct the States of Jersey Customs and Immigration Service to make changes to the current Immigration Work Permit Policy and Procedures to allow nationals of countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA) to take up temporary voluntary work at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust under a work experience programme subject to the following requirements being met: The worker is 18 years old or over; The worker is an undergraduate or graduate student of a related degree (eg. zoology, animal behaviour); The placement will be of 12 months maximum duration.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Minister considers that there should be the facility within the Immigration Work Permit Policy and Procedures for nationals of countries outside the EEA to take up temporary voluntary work at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Resource Implications: None
Action required: The Customs and Immigration Service to amend the Work Permit Policy and Procedures to allow non EEA nationals to undertake voluntary training and work experience as work permit holders at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust subject to the following requirements being met: The worker is 18 years old or over; The worker is an undergraduate or graduate student of a related degree (eg. zoology, animal behaviour); The placement will be of 12 months maximum duration.
Signature:	Position: Minister for Home Affairs
Date Signed:	Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Employment of Voluntary Overseas Workers at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust

Customs and Immigration Service

Amendment to Work Permit Policy and Procedures

Legal Basis

The Minister for Home Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1(4) of the Immigration Act 1971 of the United Kingdom, as extended to Jersey by the Immigration (Jersey) Order 1993, has made the Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995.

Background

Work permits for persons not having the right of abode in Jersey are administered by the Customs and Immigration Service under the Immigration (Work Permits) (Jersey) Rules 1995 and are issued for a limited period of time where a genuine vacancy exists and where particular qualifications or skills are required that are in short supply from the resident and European Economic Area (EEA) labour force.

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, a registered charity, is a Jersey-based international conservation organisation which is dedicated to research, education and professional training. The organisation operates a work experience programme in Jersey for university students of related degree subjects from all over the world.

As there is no provision in the Directions of the Lieutenant-Governor (Immigration Rules) for the admission of non-EEA nationals to engage in these voluntary placements, work permits are required in order for them to do so.

Following 2 applications received from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust this year, for an Indian citizen and a United States citizen to participate in their programme, work permits were issued by the Service.

The Service will continue to receive such applications from Durrell. In the interests of supporting this charitable work the Minister for Home Affairs is asked to ratify and thus formalise the practice of issuing these short-term work permits for overseas students seeking a voluntary placement under Durrell’s work experience programme.

Matters for Consideration

The programme, which is designed to provide practical experience in the areas of husbandry, animal care and research, benefits Durrell in a number of ways, namely:

The programme contributes to their capacity building programme for conservation practitioners around the world;
It allows the sharing of skills and knowledge to further conservation efforts;
It reinforces Durrell’s global network of conservation practitioners;
Approximately 50 placements are undertaken each year, providing an equivalent contribution to 10 full time members of staff. The organisation directly employs about 100 staff in the Island at any one time.

It is the view of the Customs and Immigration Service that Durrell is uniquely placed in Jersey; its mission to save species from extinction invariably requires wide-ranging international co-operation and collaboration. Whilst it is possible that other charitable organisations may seek to employ voluntary or temporary workers from outside the EEA, there is currently no evidence that this will occur. Work permit applications from other organisations would therefore need to be considered on a case by case basis.

The work placement students are unpaid, self-supporting and place no financial burden on the States of Jersey.

The Population Office has confirmed that Durrell has capacity within their existing staffing licence to engage non-locally qualified volunteers each year.

Durrell anticipate that they will apply for approximately 6 work permits each year for overseas nationals.

Recommendation

The Minister for Home Affairs is recommended to direct the Customs and Immigration Service to amend the Work Permit Policy and Procedures to allow non-EEA nationals to undertake voluntary training and work experience, as work permit holders at Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, subject to meeting the following qualifying criteria:

The worker is 18 years old or over;
The worker is an undergraduate or postgraduate student of a related degree (eg. zoology, animal behaviour) and provides documentary proof of this from the educational establishment;
The placement will be of 12 months maximum duration.

Andrew Hunt

Assistant Director, Immigration and Nationality

11 December 2009