Employer Assessment Policy

If your business is new to Guernsey we would encourage you contact us, for guidance before completing an Employer Assessment.

If you are planning to relocate a business to Guernsey, the team at Locate Guernsey will be happy to assist you.

• Why does my business need an Employment Assesment?

  • The Employer Assessment has been designed around the core themes of the States Policy & Resource Plan, to ensure that businesses are supported by Employment Permits. The businesses that can bring people to live in Guernsey under Employment Permits are those that will help the States of Guernsey move towards its 20-year vision for the Island's future, and fulfil its 5-year plan.
  • Before a business can access Short, Medium and Long Term Employment Permits for jobs that are listed in the Employment Permit Policy, the Employer assesment must be completed.

• When does the Employer Assessment happen?

  • Applications for Employment Permits are made on-line, via the Employer Portal.  The first time an employer makes an application for a Short, Medium or Long Term Employment Permit under the Population Management Law, they will be prompted to complete the Employer Assessment questions, as well as information about the job they want a Permit for.  [Reference EA1]

• There are two levels of Employer Assessment

  • Full Assessment:
    Employers who meet this assessment threshold will be able to access Short, Medium and Long Term Employment Permits for jobs listed in the Employment Permit policy.  Employers will automatically be asked to complete this assessment if they are applying for a Medium or Long Term Employment Permit, and can chose this option if they are applying for a Short Term Employment Permit, but expect that they might want to make a Medium or Longer Term Employment Permit within the next three years.  The fee for this assessment is £300.  [Reference EA2]
  • Short Assessment: 
    Employers who know that they will only want to apply for Short Term Employment Permits can select the Short Assessment.  This assessment asks fewer questions than the Full Assessment, and the assessment threshold is lower.  The fee for this assessment is £60.  [Reference EA3]

• How does the Employer Assessment work?

  • The Assessment starts by asking employers to confirm they understand, and comply with:
  • The Minimum Wage (Guernsey) Law, 2009 (and relevant Regulations); and
  • The Conditions of Employment (Guernsey) Law, 1985
  • This is to make sure Guernsey employers are aware of, and comply with their legal responsibilities to their employees.
  • The Assessment then asks questions relating to the following 4 areas, and, based on the responses, the business is 'scored' out of a maximum of 5 points in each area.  At the end of the assessment, if the business has at least 12 points, it will reach the Full Assessment threshold [Reference EA4], if it has at least 4 points it will reach the Short Assessment threshold.  [Reference EA5]

The Employer Assessment areas:

 

• 1. Business activity

  • We need to understand what the business does, and how its activities fit in with other business activities in Guernsey.  The questions are designed to help us assess how closely the activity of the business aligns with, and supports the Fulfilment of, the States strategic objectives, as set out in the Policy & Resource Plan.
  • Businesses will be classified, and scored, as follows:

    • Classification

      Classification	Score
      High Value Economic Generators	5 points
      Supporting businesses making an essential contribution to the operation of High Value Economic Generators	5 points
      Essential Island / community businesses	5 points
      Other supporting businesses	3 points
      All other businesses	1 point

• 2. Direct economic benefits

  • We assess the direct economic benefit (the money) that stays in Guernsey because the business operates here.  We do this so that we can understand how the business helps the States to fulfil its strategic economic objectives.  To be able to compare businesses of differing sizes, we also ask employers to tell us how many full-time equivalent (FTE) employees they have, so that we can divide the direct economic benefits by the number of (FTE) employees and produce a score that is fair, even though the size of the businesses will vary.

    • Direct

      Direct economic benefit per (full-time equivalent) employee
      £300,000+	5 points
      £200,000 - £299,999	4 points
      £100,000 - £199,999	3 points
      £50,000 - £99,999	1 point
      Up to £49,999	0 points

• 3. Environmental & reputational impact

  • Guernsey is small island, and we strive to nurture and respect our natural environment.  We also have an international reputation as a world-class financial services centre, holiday destination, and an attractive place to live to protect.  Because of this, we want to be sure businesses operating here do not pose significant environmental or reputation al risks, and that any risks that do exist are being well managed.  The questions help us assess this, and the resultant scoring is:

    • Env

      Environmental & reputation al impact
      Enhance	5 points
      Maintain current position	3 points
      Neutral impact	0 points
      Low risk / low negative impact	minus 3 points
      High risk / evidence of existing negative impact	minus 5 points

• 4. Employees & the community

  • We know that many businesses offer training and development to their employees, and also support their local community.  These things help to make sure the Island continues to develop a skilled workforce, and that we live in a caring and inclusive society.  These are key themes of the Policy & Resource Plan.  The questions help us assess this, and the resultant scoring is based on the strength of the business's contribution towards the development of its employees, and the extent of its contribution to supporting the local community.

    • emp

      Employees & the community
      Strong contribution	5 points
      Limited contribution	3 points
      Very limited contribution	1 point
      No evidence of any contribution	0 points

• What happens if the Employer Assessment Threshold isn't met?

  • If the business doesn't meet the assessment threshold, we will explain how and why we have reached that decision.  We will explain what you should do if you think we've got the assessment scoring wrong.  [Reference EA6]
  • You can still apply for Employment Permits if you don't reach the assessment threshold, but you will not be able to automatically access Permits for jobs listed in the Employment Permit Policy.  This means we will assess each Employment Permit Application you make on a case-by-case basis.  [Reference EA7]
  • Don't forget that if people live in Open Market Part A or Part D housing, they don't need an Employment Permit to be able to work for you.

The questions:

We think it's helpful for you to know in advance the questions asked in the employer assessment, so we've listed them below.  After each question, we show (in brackets) if the question is asked on the Full Assessment or the Short Assessment.

• 1. Business activity

  • Please give us a short description of your business so that we can understand what it does.  Also explain plans for the future, so we understand how the business might grow.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • If this is a new business to Guernsey, please upload a business plan.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • Please describe how your business is essential to Guernsey even if there are already similar businesses here.  (Full Assessment)
  • Please describe how your business supports other local business activities and/or Guernsey's infrastructure.  (Full Assessment)
  • Please describe how the business creates additional revenue for other Guernsey-based businesses or institutions.
  • (This might be by renting premises or vehicles; buying goods and services in Guernsey; banking with, or investing through, Guernsey-based institutions.) (Full Assessment)

• 2. Direct economic benefits

  • (Based on the most recent year of trading - or projections for the next year if the business is new)
  • Turnover; Total operating expenses; Extraordinary expenses; Profits distributed to Guernsey-resident equity owners; Profits retained in the Guernsey business; Direct tax on profits paid to the States of Guernsey; Expenditure on Guernsey-based staff (salaries, training etc.); Expenditure on other goods and services etc. in Guernsey; Total number of Guernsey-based employees (full-time equivalents); New capital invested in the business.  (Full Assessment)
  • Turnover; Direct tax on profits paid to the States of Guernsey; Expenditure on Guernsey-based staff (salaries, training etc.); Expenditure on other goods and services etc. in Guernsey; Total number of Guernsey-based employees (full-time equivalents).  (Short Assessment)

• 3. Environmental & reputation al impact

  • Please describe any activities the business carries out (or plans to carry out in the future) that impact, positively or negatively, on Guernsey's image and/or reputation, and how any risks are managed.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • Please describe any activities the business carries out that impact, positively or negatively, on Guernsey's environment, and how any risks are managed.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • If any sanctions, restrictions or special measures have been imposed on the business by a regulator or governing body in the last 3 years, please tell us the details.
  • (This includes for example, enforcement notices from the Office of Environmental Health and Pollution Regulation, or licence conditions imposed by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission.)  (Full & Short Assessment)

• 4. Employees & the community

  • Please describe how the business benefits the employment market in Guernsey.  Please include information about training and development programmes, bursaries and work-experience placements.
  • (This might include creating new jobs, or introducing new skills.  You can also tell us about your training and development budget, and how this reduces the need to recruit from overseas.)  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • Because Guernsey is a small place, we need to make the most of our potential workforce.  Please describe the business's policy on flexible working arrangements.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • Please describe your normal recruitment process.  Include information about where and for how long you normally advertise vacancies; whether you participate in careers fares; or visit schools to promote career options.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • Please upload examples of recent recruitment efforts in Guernsey.  (Full & Short Assessment)
  • Please describe the business's involvement (or planned involvement) with charity and community activities in Guernsey.  (Full & Short Assessment)

• Policy Review

  • This policy was reviewed in April 2020. The Administrator reserves the right to review this policy after the published date if there is good reason to do so.

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