People working in Guernsey on a license that find themselves out of work because of coronavirus will be able to lawfully remain in the island, thanks to the proactive work of the Committee for Home Affairs.
The Committee has made changes to the Population Management regime to reflect the fact the sudden lockdown the island is now in will have an immediate impact on some businesses.
Those businesses may find they struggle to keep all of their staff working full time, and so there will be people who may unavoidably be made unemployed, and in such circumstances would ordinarily have to leave the island. In reality though, those individuals could possess skills in a wide range of areas which will help the Bailiwick in its efforts to battle the pandemic.
The Committee has therefore approached the Civil Contingencies Authority to make some proactive adjustments to the regime. Regulations come into force today (Friday 29th January 2021) and will enable individuals holding an employment permit to continue to lawfully remain in Guernsey.
The President of the Committee for Home Affairs, Deputy Rob Prow said: “When the Committee made changes to population management policy to provide support for seasonal workers in November last year, we acknowledged the importance of working with the business community as they sought to recovery from the financial impact of Covid-19.
“As we go into a second lockdown the Committee recognises it is critical that there is maximum flexibility so individuals, regardless of their employment status, can do the jobs that need to be done to support the community at this difficult time. We are committed to continue working with the business community through this difficult time and as restrictions ease to understand how the population management regime might support recovery”.
The Committee will publish further guidance for employees who hold work permits, however, the message is simple: if there has been a change in your working or living arrangements that would ordinarily impact on your employment permit you are asked to email population@gov.gg with their change of circumstances.
