“I have recently been appearing in various media regarding the upcoming potential issues that could occur with Brexit, and have seen them taken with different angles in regards to what I am saying.
“I am fortunate enough to speak with a number of key individuals who are at the forefront of Brexit, and are helping to plan for what could occur. Let’s be clear about one thing, there is a lot of uncertainty! The UK is currently set to leave the EU at the end of October. At present no deal is in place. Jersey, while not directly part of the EU, has enjoyed the benefits through Protocol 3. At this stage, and to preserve our links and everything we enjoy from them, we are following the UK’s decisions on all matters to allow us to remain in the Common Travel Area (CTA).
“So how does this affect hospitality? There are many lines to look at here. One benefit could be to do with tourism, and the attractiveness of the island to both UK residents, and people from the EU. If the pound continues to remain or fall from its current position against the Euro, Europeans will have financial benefit from coming here as their money is worth more than previous years, and for UK residents, it’s the same currency.
“The concerns that I continue to voice primarily surround our seasonal workforce. Last year the number of seasonal permissions granted was 1601. To be clear we are not talking about a lot of jobs that locals could do, these are seasonal jobs that top up our year round staff to help cope with the busier summer season. The jobs last from 6-9 months then are no longer needed. Certainly not something we would want to push someone looking for stability while living here to take up.
“This means we need to bring in those workers. Changes to border policy (it will mirror the UK’s move to retain the CTA status we enjoy) could put pressure on people being able to come over and work here (this is completely unknown at the moment, that fact alone adding negative views on people deciding where to work next season). My concerns lie in the fact that any further impact on job vacancies on an already stretched industry locally, could bring us to the point where we lose businesses.
“We have such a beautiful vibrant hospitality industry locally, and any losses to it will be heavily felt.
“The future is unknown at the moment, but we are doing our best to plan for all eventualities. My only advice is to get anyone from outside the CTA to register for settled status immediately, and follow any advice given out by the government.”
Simon Soar, CEO, The Jersey Hospitality Association
