Hospitality Visas

[2112]

Allinsons been on the NPM this morning chirping away how there’s been lots of interest in the new Hospitality Visas whereby foreign people can come to the UK and work in the Hospitality Sector for up to 9 months. 
 

The Islands Hospitality Sector does have a recruitment issue, but at the same time it also has an image issue. Hospitality always involves low working conditions, long hours and not brilliant pay. 
 

To bring staff to the island, where would they live? HMOs and Private Landlords are selling up or closing due to the myriad of restrictions and regulations. Unless you are a decent hotel or employer who has staff accommodation or is willing to purchase a home to house your staff. Jersey recruits lots of workers from Kenya, who are trained and experienced, and the big hotels arrange accommodation or have their own staff accommodation. I can’t see it happening here, due to the amount of red tape and IOMG interference. 

In true Starship Enterprise I can see the Minister using this Visa, as a way to massage the arrivals figures, the figures visiting Manx attractions and the number of bed nights figures. 

Edited March 12, 2022 by 2112

[2112]

7 minutes ago, offshoremanxman said:

I’ve already asked this question. Where will these people be staying when you can’t rent anywhere and even when you can it’s now touching £700-800 PM for anything? On shop or hospitality wages you simply can’t afford to live here even if it’s only for 9 months.

Also you can’t cram a 1 bed or 2 bed flat with lots of people either otherwise it’s called overcrowding. Perhaps the refurbished old nurses home will be used, subsidised by the taxpayers?

[finlo]

Maybe they'll join the eastern Europeans in the tented villages deep in the plantations of Sulby glen.

[Kopek]

Where have the summer influx of temp workers stayed in previous years?

Perhaps these will do the same!

The average Hosp workers these days has changed from the 'Mother seeking Pin money' to young smart Kids or already here Europeans. These tend to group together, sharing accommodation with others of their nationality and of course, some will find that they like it here and will apply to extend their stay and continue to find work as do their compatriots.

[finlo]

24 minutes ago, Kopek said:

Where have the summer influx of temp workers stayed in previous years?

 

In a previous life I did lots of work in Douglas prom hotels and back then (70s/80's) the mostly Irish lasses shared the loft spaces with the pigeons!

Edited March 12, 2022 by finlo

[Non-Believer]

1 hour ago, finlo said:

Maybe they'll join the eastern Europeans in the tented villages deep in the plantations of Sulby glen.

It's a shame they knocked down Griddles/KFC...you could get loads accommodated upstairs in there.... 

[Roger Mexico]

Why do people start new threads to ask questions that could be answered by reading a recent thread on the same topic?  According to the Guidance:

Your employer has certified on the Confirmation of Employment that they will accommodate you and any dependents[1] under the “Financial Support to Migrant” section of that form.   If your employer has not certified this, you must hold a minimum level of funds in your bank account. This is £945. You must have held at least this amount of funds in your bank account for 28 days before the date of application.

So it's expected that employers will sort something out - as has traditionally been the case with hospitality workers.  Sometimes this will be on site in dedicated staff accommodation at the top or back, but other times workers will be housed at a dedicated property, often an old boarding house.  In recent years there seems to have been a tendency for staff to find their own accommodation, but lack of suitably priced places may force employers back into the old model.

There is supposed to be a minimum annual salary of £20,800 (pro rata).

 

[1]  Not only is this misspelled, but earlier on in the form it says "Family members are not able to join Worker (Seasonal) Migrants in the Isle of Man as their dependants".  Still at least they're warned about the competence of the officialdom they'll have to deal with.

[Kopek]

😄

The original thread didn't mention NMP or Tynpotwald?

[SleepyJoe]

4 hours ago, offshoremanxman said:

I’ve already asked this question. Where will these people be staying when you can’t rent anywhere and even when you can it’s now touching £700-800 PM for anything? On shop or hospitality wages you simply can’t afford to live here even if it’s only for 9 months.

Will the Manx Development Partnership be creating accommodation units for low paid hospitality workers with permits?

[jackwhite]

Not even convinced this is the case.

Have been trying to sort out bar work recently with lots of experience and they are ridiculously slow to reply.

Applied to the brewery previously and been rejected without even an interview.

So whilst the industry are claiming shortage they are doing very little to act on it. 

Maybe it's more waiting staff they need which is not something I'd do or want to.

[Happier diner]

7 hours ago, offshoremanxman said:

Even if you own a hotel you’re paying someone say £10 an hour to work for you but they occupy a room you rent out at £100 a night so you don’t actually benefit at all. I just can’t see where these people are going to live unless you stack them into shoddy unregulated HMOs or similar. It doesn’t make any sense. There is little low budget housing out there already and stock is being sold off in advance of the landlord and tenant act coming in making even less available.

Most hotels have staff quarters which are small rooms, not used for guests.

[Banker]

Jersey are hoping to build temporary housing for temporary workers, pity IOMG didn’t want similar in peel, get some on old prison site

https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2022/03/11/temporary-homes-for-workers-proposed/

[2112]

1 hour ago, Banker said:

Jersey are hoping to build temporary housing for temporary workers, pity IOMG didn’t want similar in peel, get some on old prison site

https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2022/03/11/temporary-homes-for-workers-proposed/

Very good idea. Why not use the old Park Road Site? Better still couldn’t the former Fairfield School not be utilised, after all on Thursday Plod were playing Cops and Robbers in the building. No doubt like the Nurses Home and Ballacloan, the building will be beyond repair before long. Good ideas aren’t really IOMG forte, as it’s run by the civil servants.

Edited March 12, 2022 by 2112

[2112]

1 minute ago, offshoremanxman said:

What is a good idea though? Using taxpayers money to underwrite a development so that peoples living accommodation can be subsidized so that they can afford to work for less for a private company? 

I can see your argument but at the moment there are sites being neglected, problems need solving, ideas need generating and without positive thinking then there will be a huge recruitment issue. The politicos aren’t interested or aren’t up to the task, and would rather debate issues from their lofty ivory towers, but nothing will ever happen. 

[2112]

22 hours ago, offshoremanxman said:

So just to be clear. You agree with IOM taxpayers subsidizing off island peoples rent so that they can work for Manx businesses much cheaper than Manx workers can afford to work for them for? 

In all honesty there is no clear winner. Perhaps if Ukrainian refugees come over, they can get a job - a suggestion and many of the UKs leading firms like Tesco and M’&S are wanting Ukrainian labour. I can see this happening here, and we will be subsidising this.

Edited March 13, 2022 by 2112