Seasonal staff off the menu?

Friday 20 June 2014

Exorbitant charges to employ non-locals could hit local restaurants and bars hard this summer, according to one restaurateur.

Andrew Hosegood who runs El Tico in St Ouen’s Bay says £75 is too much for students to pay for a registration card before they have even started work and will put off an important part of the workforce from coming to the Island.

He doesn’t know how the States can justify the high price of getting a card - which costs more than it does to get a passport.

Mr Hosegood said: “These young people are fundamental to tourism in the summer, they are really important to our employment pool, lots of people don’t want to work for just eight, nine, or ten weeks.

“The vibrancy of hospitality is that people wash in and out, engaging with visitors and tourists. Young transient workers are a fundamental part of the hospitality industry.”

Mr Hosegood says he understands the Island’s need to control the population but that it’s not always possible to take on local students during the summer months because often there aren’t enough of them around.

One Jersey politician says local businesses shouldn’t have to suffer because of the Island’s attempts to limit immigration.

St Helier Deputy James Baker said: “I don't agree with the barriers put in place by Government or that treating people differently is acceptable in 2014.

Business should not be made to control immigration on top of the other aspects of the regulatory burdens in place in Jersey.”