Letter - Work Permit Holder Welfare Review Panel re Ministerial Response - 13 December 2023

Accepted Recommendations (5)  

Partially Accepted Recommendations (5)

Accepted / marked as Completed' Recommendations (5)

Rejected Recommendations (10)

Recommendation 1 (Target date of action/completion: Q.4 2024)

Recommendation 3 (Target date of action/completion: Q.1 2024)

Recommendation 2

Recommendation 5

Recommendation 9 (Target date of action/completion: Q.1 2024)

Recommendation 3 (Target date of action/completion: No date provided)

Recommendation 4

Recommendation 6

Recommendation 12 (Target date of action/completion: No date provided)

Recommendation 13 (Target date of action/completion: No date provided)

Recommendation 11

Recommendation 7

Recommendation 15 (Target date of action/completion: No date provided)

Recommendation 14 (Target date of action/completion: No date provided)

Recommendation 18

Recommendation 8

Recommendation 21 (Target date of action/completion: End of 2025)

Recommendation 16 (Target date of action/completion: No date provided)

Recommendation 23

Recommendation 17

Recommendation 19

Recommendation 20

Recommendation 22

Recommendation 24

Recommendation 25

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

2

The Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for  Economic  Development,  Tourism,  Sport and Culture should undertake a process of consultation  with  key  stakeholders  from community  groups  and  industry representatives  to  identify  gaps  in  the information provided to work permit holders.

MHA EDTSC

Accept  – complete.

A  range  of  stakeholder  engagement  has  already  been undertaken, which resulted in the creation of the ongoing Employer Standards Oversight Group and the creation of the Your rights as an employee working in Jersey' leaflet. This has been delivered on a cross Government basis, under the direction of the Population and Skills Ministerial Group and the  leaflet  on  employee  rights  has  been  developed  as discussed with the Panel. This will be available on Moving to Jersey  webpages  and  links  to  it  via  JCIS  notices  and webpages.

Complete

Recommendation 2: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Friends of Africa

Deputy B.B. de S.DV.M Porée :

"Do you feel that work permit holders who are new to the Island are well-informed about life in Jersey prior to their arrival?"

Chair, Friends of Africa Jersey C.I.: "No."[1]

Kenyan Jersey Committee

Public Hearing – Kenyan Jersey Committee – 30th May 2023: Deputy B. Porée :

"I appreciate that. Thank you. Do you feel that work permit holders who are new to the Island are well informed about their lives prior to arriving here?"

Public Hearing – Kenyan Jersey Committee – 30th May 2023: Mr. J. Muchiri:

"I do not feel that they are at all, judging from the questions and grievances that they direct to us. There is a lack of information and that is what has encouraged us to do these social gatherings to be able to give this information to them".[2]

Jersey Hospitality Association

Public Hearing – Jersey Hospitality Association – 11th May 2023: Co-Chief Executive Officer, Jersey Hospitality Association (2):

"But we again said to them that we would like to create a golden standard. We were informed that it is our Government's decision at this stage that there is no need for a golden standard and that the law is sufficient. We made it publicly clear at that meeting that we still, as an Association, will strive for a golden standard because we believe that things can be done better. The majority of which all stems around communication. Just clarity and having clear easy communication for employer and employee will iron out 95 per cent of any problems that have been happening." [3]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

4

The Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for  Economic  Development,  Tourism,  Sport and Culture should consult with Government departments  to  provide  more  detailed information about the cost of living in Jersey for work permit holders.

MHA EDTSC

Accept  – complete.

This has been led by SPPP on a cross Government basis and the leaflet on employee rights was developed as one of the outputs, which includes this information. This will be available on Moving to Jersey webpages and links to it via JCIS notices and webpages. There is a responsibility on GoJ departments to  ensure  that  the  information  on  the  Moving  to  Jersey webpages are accurate and kept up to date.

Complete

Recommendation 4: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Friends of Africa

"We find a lot of people once they get into Jersey and they realise that it is not cost effective, they are caught between a rock and a hard place. Going home is not an option anymore because they have invested"

"It is comparative to London in terms of cost of living" does not mean anything to somebody who is coming from India or Zimbabwe or the Caribbean. They cannot make the comparator. Somebody living in the U.K. they can make the comparator, so I think the information even just online, has to be different for those areas as well."[4]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

5

The Minister for Home Affairs should introduce a  requirement  that  the  Seasonal  and Temporary Workers Guide is provided to work permit holders prior to signing a contract of employment  to  undertake  employment  in Jersey

MHA

Reject

Unclear how this would be enforced. This information is made available after a Work Permit has been secured but, crucially, before  a  visa  application  is  made  to  allow  potential employees to make an informed decision.

N/A

Recommendation 5: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Friends of Africa

"Just to add to that in terms of even the government website in itself, absolutely it has information around tax but when you are ... and I think it was designed for a certain market which, was potentially the U.K. (United Kingdom) and comparative western countries. The Island is resorting to go further afield in regards to who they are employing in terms of Africa and the Caribbean

Recommendation 5: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

and probably in India and Asia. So the information available should definitely be different for those cohorts."[5]

Jersey Hospitality Association

So, again, it is a communication thing. These things are too complicated and use terminology that is misunderstood by people who are coming, maybe not multilingual options on website, et cetera, so these mistakes are made. Then I do not think that they realise that you can debate it or question it. To get in contact with somebody again has been incredibly difficult. It is not like you could just walk in there anymore and stand in a line and wait. It is not an easy, accessible, hospitable process. It is very difficult."[6]

Minister for Treasury and Resources

"When we met with the Panel on the 7th of July, we all agreed that this information ought to be in the hands of prospective workers in time to inform their decisions about working in Jersey. The information is available on our website and employers and employment agencies are able to reference that or access hard copies."[7]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

6

The  Minister  for  Social  Security  should introduce  a  mechanism  to  refund  the employee  paid  pensionable  component  of social security contributions for work permit holders who do not transition to a Skilled Work permit or remain in Jersey for at least five years to qualify for a pension.

MSS

Reject

The  review  provides  no  evidence  to  support  this recommendation.

Social Security contributions support a worker by providing access to both working age benefits and old age pensions. An old age pension can be claimed anywhere in the world once a worker has a record equivalent to 10% of a lifetime record. At present this requires 54 months of contributions – these do not need to be consecutive. For workers with less than  a  10%  record,  reciprocal  agreements  with  some

N/A

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

countries allow these contributions to count towards their overall pension entitlement.

Until a person is within 54 months of their own pension age it would not be possible to know if they would qualify for a pension or not.

It would be complicated and time consuming to track non- residents over time (possibly decades) and make refunds of relatively  small  amounts,  including  the  administration involved in making sterling payments into non sterling areas (or converting those payments into local currency).

It would also be inappropriate to refund the contributions if the worker had made a claim for a working age benefit, such as short-term incapacity allowance. Although not all work permit holders will satisfy the contribution conditions for a working age benefit, the increasing use of roll-over 1-year permissions will make it more likely that workers will qualify.

Workers may be reluctant to claim these short-term benefits (e.g. if they are ill) if they will forfeit a lump sum repayment at the end of their contract. This may encourage workers to continue to work during periods of illness, to the detriment of their overall health and wellbeing.

Social Security contributions are also used to fund the Health Insurance Fund, having made 6 months of contributions in Jersey,  all  workers  are  able  to  make  use  of  the  Health Insurance Fund which supports the cost of general practice services and fully meets the cost of prescribed medicines

Recommendation 6: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Government of Jersey: Seasonal and Temporary Workers Guide

"People in Jersey pay social security contributions. These are payments into a general insurance fund that pays for things like short term incapacity allowance, carer's allowance and old age pensions.

If you're working in Jersey and pay the required contribution amounts for 6 months you may be entitled to these benefits. You usually pay 6% of your wages as contributions. Your employer also pays around 6.5% for you."

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

7

The  Minister  for  Social  Security  should introduce a mechanism to refund the employer paid pensionable component of social security contributions  to  employers  of  work  permit holders,  whose  employees  who  do  not transition to a Skilled Work permit or remain in Jersey for at least five years to qualify for a pension.

MSS

Reject

As above.

N/A

Recommendation 7: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Government of Jersey: Seasonal and Temporary Workers Guide

"People in Jersey pay social security contributions. These are payments into a general insurance fund that pays for things like short term incapacity allowance, carer's allowance and old age pensions.

If you're working in Jersey and pay the required contribution amounts for 6 months you may be entitled to these benefits. You usually pay 6% of your wages as contributions. Your employer also pays around 6.5% for you."

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

8

The Minister for Home Affairs should ensure that the Work Permit Policy is updated by no later than 31 December 2023 to make it clear to  work  permit  holders  and  employers  that information about any deductions should have been provided prior to signing a contract and should make it clear what the consequences are for employers who do not do so.

MHA

Reject

This  is  already  covered  in  the  policy,  which  places  a responsibility on employers to manage the expectations of their employees, including what deductions should be taken from their salaries

N/A

Recommendation 8: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Work Permit Holder Survey

Respondents whose employer deducted amounts from their earnings, by permit type:

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

11

The Minister for Home Affairs should consider additional  support  should  be  available, especially  for  small  employers,  to  ensure compliance with the Work Permit Policy.

MHA

Accept  – complete

It is unclear exactly what support is envisaged by the Panel, however, JCIS have already increased the support available to employers to ensure compliance with the Policy.

As of earlier this year, any employers applying for the first time are invited in for a meeting to discuss their application and ensure they understand their responsibilities. The team have also been able to undertake increased compliance.

JCIS will seek to increase awareness of this via the Employer Standards Oversight Group.

N/A

Recommendation 11: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Chamber of Commerce

"It would be helpful to clearly stipulate whether or not the employee must work 40 hours per week, or if this is just a guide for calculating the'going rate''. Can they work less or more and therefore be paid less or more? This is not clear, and this comment applies to each type of permit."[8]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

17

The Minister for Home Affairs should work with the  Minister  for  Economic  Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture, the International Cultural  Centre  Steering  Group  and  the Minister for Social Security to ensure that the physical  support  resource  includes independent and confidential support for work permit  holders  on  matters  related  to employment disputes. This should be reported back  to  the  Panel  by  no  later  than  31 December 2023

MHA EDTSC MSS

Reject

The Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service (JACS) has a statutory duty to provide advice and assistance in relation to employment issues.

To create a separate function would be confusing and lead to a duplication of responsibility for advice services. JACS have carried  out  this  statutory  duty  since  2003,  which  was extended  to  employment-related  discrimination  issues  in 2013.

Having seen an increase in the number of employees on work permits seeking advice in 2022, JACS have worked with JCIS and other bodies to offer clear advice to such employees. This has included the creation of a video Working in Jersey' and various additional online resources that are available, and to which employees are signposted by JCIS. Work permit advice from JACS is clearly signposted and no additional advice resource is necessary or desirable.

The 'Your rights' leaflet includes details of how to approach JACS or Citizen's Advice.

N/A

Recommendation 17: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Kenyan Jersey Committee

"We came together as a group post-COVID because there was a big migration of Kenyans and I think a combination of COVID and the numbers that came meant that there was a lot of people out there who were short on information in terms of settling into Jersey, what to expect from the employers, what to expect from the Government of Jersey. Further to that, we came together and we started providing that service. It is predominantly provided through a WhatsApp group that most of the Kenyan work permit holders working here are members of. We also have a Facebook group, which incorporates all Africans and we are widening the net for other work permit workers. The way we deliver that is we organise events where we will tell them about the things they need to know. Most of us have been under work permits so we understand the struggles that they have and that is why we felt empowered to provide that service. So it is predominantly advising them on how to navigate Island life, organising social events to give them a bit of fun, answering their questions about anything they are unsure of and the latest has been they have been directing 3 a lot of grievances to us, whether that be from the employer or from the Immigration Department, and also questions about the immigration policy.[9]"

Friends of Africa

"...It is very difficult for us in terms of us navigating and supporting people. We found working between different departments within government has been very complex in terms of bringing Immigration or Social Security together or even the Tax Department because of confidentiality. It becomes very difficult. It just adds another layer of a department that you need to address.[10]"

Jersey Advisory and Conciliation Service

"JACS role is to offer advice on employment and discrimination issues to all employees we do not offer advice specifically on work permits as this is not an area that falls under JACS (just as we do not advise on matters in relation to say Social Security/tax or Data Protection). To this end we added a landing page tab on our website setting out employee's rights when working in Jersey and a brief guide to such rights was developed and has been available since May 2022.[11]"

Recommendation 17: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

International Cultural Centre

• "Information for non-CTA workers

Develop information to support non-CTA employees arriving in Jersey for the first time, in consultation  with  community  groups  and  trade  representative  organisations.  Information available from June 2023 Information for non-CTA workers

Develop information to support non-CTA employees arriving in Jersey for the first time, in consultation with community groups and trade representative organisations.

Information available from June 2023.

• International Cultural Centre

Development of an International Cultural Centre to provide information about services in Jersey; improve access to those services across the community; celebrate Jersey's cultural identities; and bring Islanders together by raising awareness of different cultures. The Centre will promote and signpost cultural events in the community; provide welcome packs to new arrivals to the island and consider outreach work to underrepresented communities as required.

The Centre has been established in the Jersey Library and is due to be launched publicly in Q3

2023.[12]"

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

18

The  Minister  for  Home  Affairs  and  the Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture  should  ensure  that  the  information provided to work permit holders is inclusive for people who speak different languages.

MHA EDTSC

Complete

The  Employee  Rights  leaflet  has  been  translated  into  a number  of  different  languages.  This  approach  has  been reviewed  by,  and  amended  following  feedback  from, community groups.

For example, the Kenyan Jersey Committee provided advice about whether it should be translated to Swahili.

Recommendation 18: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Kenyan Jersey Committee

Mr. J. Muchiri:

Not officially. We have heard about it on the grapevine and heard that it will be translated into Swahili, but we have not heard about it officially and in fact we have separately started compiling our own following this fatal incident that happened due to misinformation. We have taken it upon ourselves.

[]

Mr. A. Nyatta:

The assumption is, which we understand in one respect and we account for it, that because we are a Swahili-speaking country, Swahili is what everybody would be able to communicate in but when we go to school for our education, all of it foundational to postgraduate would be in English.

So English is technically our first language but Swahili equally. So it would be very hard for ... not very hard but it would be a bit difficult for most people to read it in Swahili as opposed to English. English would be a very preferred and easily understandable language...

Recommendation 18: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Mr. J. Muchiri:

I saw one of the brochures that had been translated. I did not understand it in Swahili.

Mr. A. Nyatta:

It would be very generic Swahili as well and Swahili has moved on quite a lot.

Deputy M. Tadier :

I think there is a disconnect. It has probably been well intentioned but it has completely missed ... thank you.

Mr. A. Nyatta: Exactly, yes.[13]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

19

The Minister for Home Affairs should amend the Work Permit Policy to improve the specific protections  from  Modern-Slavery  and exploitation.

MHA

Reject

The Work Permit Policy includes specific provisions designed to protect against modern day slavery, which is appropriate given our current legislative framework. These protections are targeted at prevented behaviours that are recognised as contributing to modern day slavery.

N/A

Recommendation 19: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Friends of Africa

Deputy L.V. Feltham – Public Hearing – 30th May 2023:

"The work permit policy states that its purpose is to protect people from modern day slavery. Do you feel that it achieves this goal in line with international definitions of that term?"

Founder, Friends of Africa Jersey C.I. – Public Hearing – 30th May 2023: "No."

Kenyan Jersey Committee

Deputy L.V. Feltham – Public Hearing – 30th May 2023:

"One of the statements within the work permit policy is that its purpose is to protect people from modern day slavery. Do you feel that it achieves this goal in line with international definitions of that term?"

Mr. M. Robbins, Kenyan Jersey Committee – Public Hearing – 30th May 2023: "It does not, is the short answer based on what I have just said to you."

Recommendation 19: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Jersey Customs and Immigration Service

Deputy M. Tadier – Public Hearing – 7th June 2023:

"The panel notes that one of the functions of the work permit is to protect employers from modern day slavery. It is noted already that we do not have a definition to employees, yes?"

Head, Jersey Customs and Immigration Service – Public Hearing – 7th June 2023: "That is right"

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/ completion

20

The Minister for Home Affairs should consider the introduction of a Jersey employer licensing scheme and licensing standards, with clear sanctions for noncompliance, for local labour providers.

MHA

Reject  at this time

The  Population  and  Skills  Ministerial  Group  (PSMG) considered this option in order to meet the policy intent to improve standards for employees. Given the relatively low levels of data that indicate this being a widespread issue and the feedback from stakeholders, it was agreed that a first stage  would  be  to  establish  the  Employer  Standards Oversight  Group  to  drive  better  practice  in  industry  and support  employees  through  the  Your  rights'  leaflet  and engagement.

N/A

Recommendation 20: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority

• "Workers receive fair treatment, the pay, benefits and conditions they are entitled to.
• Labour providers are not undercut by those who pay less than the minimum wage or avoid tax. Industry standards are raised.
• Labour users can check their workers come from a legitimate provider and are informed if their labour provider's licence is revoked.
• Consumers  can  be  assured  that  their  food  has  been  picked  and  packed  in  an  ethical environment. Illegal activities which lead to a loss of public revenue – income tax, VAT and NI – are reduced."[14]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

22

The Minister for Home Affairs and the Minister for  Housing  and  Communities  should introduce  guidance  to  employers  and  work permit  holders  about  the  definition  of accommodation  that  supports  health  and wellbeing  and  set  out  the  enforcement mechanisms  in  place  to  ensure  that  work permit holders are suitably accommodated'.

MHA MHC

Reject

The  responsibility  for  public  health  and  safety  of  rented dwellings sits with the Minister for the Environment under the Public Health and Safety (Rented Dwellings) (Jersey) Law 2018. The scope is defined in Article 2, which includes staff accommodation.

The enforcement mechanism is dependent on the approval in the States Assembly of P.40/2023. These Regulations, which were approved in principle on 18 July 2023, introduce a Rented Dwellings Licensing scheme.

The second and third reading are due to take place on 28th November 2023. If adopted, the scheme will provide the

N/A

enforcement team with the data they require in order to carry out inspections.

The Minister for the Environment, in his response to the recommendations published by the Environment, Housing and  Infrastructure  Scrutiny  Panel  (P.40-2023(Com)),  has given a commitment to publish a Code of Practice, ahead of enactment.

Recommendation 22: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Chamber of Commerce

"It would be helpful to have further clarity/guidance as to the level of expectation of the employers' responsibility in this area in a scenario where an employee chooses to seek their own accommodation."[15]

Friends of Africa

We also have incidents in health where people are living together but they are working different shifts. So some are night shift, some are day shift, some are coming in, so it is very difficult to even rest.

... I think also just to add on to that, the fact that you have got complete strangers being asked to live in a hostel-style accommodation - professionals - is not quite appropriate.[16]

Recommendation 22: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Work Permit Holder feedback

"Shared accommodation which was very expensive and there is no privacy for instance two people living in one room and each paying £150 every week whereas other people live in studio apartments each person with their room and they pay less amount".

"I prefer to stay by myself for privacy reasons but there's no option but to stay with a colleague. Pretty uncomfortable".

"I was not used to sharing my space but it's fairly ok considering what I earn especially since renting is very expensive in Jersey and where I stay the probability of getting anything that would fit into my earnings is close to none."

Minister for Home Affairs

"In short, we do not. We put into the work permit policy that, as I have said, accommodation must be provided,  suitable  accommodation  that  supports  their  health  and  wellbeing.  Unsatisfactory accommodation over here is regulated by the Environment Department although what we will ensure is that  obviously  there  is  cross-departmental  working.  If  we  did  become  aware  of  an  issue  in accommodation because somebody made a complaint, the police, for example, might pay a visit for a particular reason and they could report back to Immigration. We would then report that to Environment for suitable enforcement."[17]

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

23

The Ministers for Social Security and Health and Social Services should introduce specific guidance to work permit holders that includes information about their rights to healthcare in Jersey.

MSS MHSS

Accept  & Complete

This requirement was already identified by the Population and  Skills  Ministerial  Group  in  Q4  2022,  following engagement with employers and operational groups. The Your rights' advice leaflet has already been distributed for employees coming to live and work in Jersey. It is available in online form and in various relevant languages. This is a joint effort between departments and representatives from the various employment sectors in the Island. The leaflet includes information about healthcare services.

N/A

Recommendation 23: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Work Permit Holder Survey

Were you made aware of how the healthcare system operates in Jersey prior to your arrival?

140 120 100

80 60 40 20 0

Yes No

Recommendation 23: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Work Permit Holder Survey

During your time living and working in Jersey, did you need to access healthcare?

106 104 102 100

98 96 94 92 90 88

Yes No

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

24

The Minister for Home Affairs should introduce a requirement to the Work Permit Policy to ensure that all work permit holders are covered by  an  appropriate  travel  insurance  policy during the first six months of living and working

MHA

Reject

It is not clear whether travel insurance would provide the cover required/envisaged by the Panel.

Equally, whilst the intent is understood and supported, it is not considered that this would be something for the MHA to mandate.

in Jersey, and that the costs associated with this travel insurance requirement are met by the employer.

Recommendation 24: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

When do I need travel insurance? – Citizens Advice Bureau New Zealand

"You can get travel insurance coverage to minimise the considerable financial risks of travelling: accidents,  illness,  missed  flights,  cancelled  tours,  lost  baggage,  theft,  terrorism,  travel-company bankruptcies, emergency evacuation, and even death while abroad."

Government  of  Jersey  –  Health  agreements between Jersey and other countries

Therefore, agreements cannot take the place of health travel insurance and you are advised to have insurance cover to meet the cost of any health care costs when travelling outside Jersey.

Recommendation 24: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Work Permit Holder Survey

Were you advised to take out health insurance prior to your arrival in Jersey?

160 140 120 100

80 60 40 20 0

Yes No

Recommendations

To

Accept/ Reject

Comments

Target date of action/

completion

25

The  Minister  for  Health  and  Social  Services  and  the Minister  for  External  Relations  should  work  with  the Minister for Economic Development, Tourism, Sport and Culture to ensure that reciprocal health agreements are made  with  countries  where  formal  arrangements  have been established by the Government of Jersey regarding the employment of work permit holders in Jersey.

MHSS MER EDTSC

Reject

Reciprocal  Health  Agreements  (RHAs)  by  their nature require all jurisdictions involved to benefit from  the  agreement.  For  those  agreements  in which the Island is a signatory in its own right (rather than by extension through the UK) this is the case. The UK RHA benefits both UK and Jersey residents as there is tourism and working between both jurisdictions.

The Island would not necessarily benefit from a blanket  approach  of  introducing  RHAs  with  all jurisdictions  where  formal  arrangements  have been established. The numbers of individuals from X  jurisdiction  travelling  to  the  Island  for work/tourism purposes is likely to be greater than the number of Islanders travelling to X jurisdictions and therefore reciprocity is limited.

The  absence  of  an  RHA  does  not  prevent individuals  accessing  healthcare  on  the  Island; however, it is recognised that accessing healthcare may incur a cost. Costs can be met through private insurance  where  people  are  in  Jersey  for  an extended period for the purposes of work, and through most standard travel insurance policies for tourism purposes.

N/A

Recommendation 25: Stakeholders

Evidence considered

Friends of Africa

"I think access to healthcare is a fundamental issue that we have been pushing. You have got people who are on 9-month visas who have been coming to the Island year-on-year for the last 20 years but every time they come back they have to start from zero to get that 6-month point where they can get subsidised healthcare in terms of accessing G.P.s (general practitioners)."

Kenyan Jersey Committee

"Yes, but you could be coming here for 20 years and every year they treat you as somebody new. The usual system - and correct me if I am wrong - is if you are a new arrival to Jersey you have to contribute for 6 months before you can access government services like healthcare and what have 22 you. So there are people who have been coming here for 20 years on a 9-month permit and they only have healthcare for 3 months of the year because every year they are treated as somebody new for the first 6 months."

Ministerial Decision (Minister for Health and Social Services) - Residents and Non-Residents Charging Policy: Amendment – 22nd August 2022

"remove the requirement for returning persons who are in possession of a 9-month work permit and who have completed the required 6-month qualification period to re-complete that 6-month qualification period before being eligible for access to non-emergency health care provided that person returns to Jersey within three years;"