Businesses call for overhaul of population policy

The changes aim to help Guernsey employers attract and retain staff

Population law changes risk "placing the island's way of life in peril", a business group has warned.

The States said in April the island's new population and immigration framework meant businesses could recruit staff from anywhere in the world.

However, the Confederation of Guernsey Industry (CGi) has blamed the policy for a "skills drain".

It called for the legislation to be scrapped or "radically improved".

Deputy Rob Prow, president of the Committee for Home Affairs, said the CGi had "failed to understand" the new policy, which he argued had given businesses access to a "global pool of workers".

The new framework, implemented in April, allows firms to recruit staff from outside the European Union, as opposed to the Common Travel Area and EU countries.

It also scrapped five-year employment permits, with more workers eligible for an eight-year stay to help with staff retention, while one-year permits can now be renewed for up to three years.

But the CGi has taken issue with the framework's "inefficiencies and inflexibilities".

'Chronically short'

This had left businesses "chronically short" of trained and experienced staff in sectors including cleaning, catering, care, hospitality, retail, on-island transport and other services, it said.

CGi Chairman Dave Newman, said: "The legislation, in many cases, is simply not fit for purpose, it is broken.

'Businesses affected by this are struggling as the staff they employ are classed as unskilled, but they are not.

"They are absolutely essential to Guernsey's economy."

He said one member had to "halve" their business because they were unable to keep employees due to the law's "inflexibility" and an "inefficiency" in processing applications.

'Restrictive landscape'

He added: "Unless the law is scrapped or some flexibility is permitted, our infrastructure and the way of life of the Island is in peril."

Deputy Rob Prow, president of the Committee for Home Affairs said the CGi "failed to understand" the changes introduced and the repercussions of abolishing the Population Management Law.

He argued its abolition would result in a more "restrictive landscape" and its existence gave Guernsey a post-Brexit advantage over the UK and its points-based system because it could demonstrate to partner jurisdictions an ability to "effectively manage" who enters and remains in Guernsey.

He said the new policy framework gave businesses access to a "global pool of workers" and they were working through applications, the majority of which were for workers who were already on the island and could continue to work in the meantime.

The framework would provide "huge long-term benefits" to businesses, he said, and invited the CGI to engage with staff to gain a better understanding of the policy.

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