Ministers are introducing measures in Jersey to reduce the number of permissions available to businesses to employ newer migrants.
The aim is to ensure migration is more focused on delivering the greatest social and economic value, while also creating a fairer allocation of permissions across businesses.
Over the next 12 months, large businesses employing more ‘registered’ workers than other businesses in the same sector will have their requirements assessed by the Population Office.
As a result, businesses could be placed into a new ‘step down’ programme to reduce the number of registered staff they employ. Or they could be placed in a work permit-type scheme requiring them to demonstrate the value of each new registered worker before they are permitted to recruit them.
The Council of Ministers wants to see more productive businesses making more profit and paying higher wages, with migration targeted toward delivering the greatest benefit for islanders.
The Assistant Chief Minister, Senator Paul Routier, said: “Jersey is a small island, so it is right that we target migration to get the most social and economic value we can. This new initiative will help us do that by focusing on businesses that employ the highest proportion of registered staff.
“We welcome newcomers who bring the skills Jersey needs – in areas such as construction, financial services, private education and healthcare – but we need to do more to limit migration.”
Ministers are exploring other initiatives to better target migration, including strengthening compliance checks and controls and criminal record checks for newer migrants as government becomes increasingly digital.