Advertising now required for temporary work permits

For employers, this change means that all local job vacancies, full-time or part-time, will need to be advertised on the JobsCayman portal for 14 days prior to the submission of a TWP. This amendment will align the job registration process with that of full work permits.

The aim of the new requirement is to allow for increased visibility of employment opportunities for Caymanians.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Labour, Hon. Chris Saunders said: “We hope that this new regulation will encourage both job-seeking Caymanians and employers wishing to attract and retain talent to register on the portal now that it’s a requirement to post all available jobs, whether full-time or temporary, before a work permit is issued.

“We also hope that all employers will use the portal as a first line of resource when looking for employees. This PACT government is committed to making the necessary policy changes for Caymanians to be considered first for employment opportunities and this is another step forward in achieving this goal,” Mr. Saunders added.

For the year ending 2022, WORC reviewed and made decisions on 55,000 applications, and of those, 21,040 were approved temporary work permits. For the month of January 2023, 1,830 were approved.

The high numbers could be used as an indication that employers are using it as a first step to import labor instead of taking the time to find a suitable job seeker locally.

Acting Interim Director of WORC, Jeremy Scott, said, “This new requirement means that more jobs will be posted on the portal; therefore, WORC will be better able to assess the employment industry, as well as forecast what required skills job seekers need in an effort to close gaps that are in particular employment categories. Having this data will be vital to building a strong and capable Caymanian workforce. Therefore we encourage all Caymanians seeking employment to register on the JobsCayman portal.”

The new advertising requirement, however does not apply when submitting a temporary work permit for persons who will enter the island for a period of thirty days or less, such as legal counsel acting in any matter; a visiting medical practitioner or other specialists in the medical field; a consultant; an overseas vendor or traveling salesperson; or any other persons coming on short-term assignment.

If a Caymanian applies for a position advertised, but is unsuccessful and a temporary work permit is submitted, the employer will need to provide the names, qualifications, working experience, and background of all applicants who applied for the position, reasons the chosen applicant was hired and details as to why the Caymanian job seeker was not.

In the event employers withhold information from WORC that a Caymanian or holder of a Residency and Employment Rights Certificate (RERC) has applied for the position, which the employer is seeking a temporary work permit for, or if the employer provides inaccurate or incomplete information in an attempt to deceive the Director of WORC either by act or omission, it is considered an offense and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars (CI $5,000).

How to use the JobsCayman portal

Employers who are not familiar with using the JobsCayman portal can find How To Guides to assist them in registering and how to post a job ad on the WORC website. Both stages will require backend authorization by WORC administrators so allowing 2-5 business days for this process to happen is recommended.

Caymanian job seekers seeking employment are encouraged to register and can ask to be a Job Seeker Extended Plus client, whereby a WORC Employment Services Officer can assist them in their search.

Job Seekers and the public at large, without the need to register, may view all jobs actively advertised on the portal by visiting WORC’s website and selecting the Job Search tab on the home page.

This page can be searched using key words, which provide a quick and easy listing of available jobs by categories. Alternatively, the public may also press “perform search” opening thousands of jobs advertised at any one time, identifying occupations, employers, salaries, education and experience requirements etc.

Finally, the Regulations, also provide that the Director of WORC may grant a TWP advertisement waiver under very exceptional circumstances where there is clear evidence that a waiver is urgently required or where the employer is seeking to employ a babysitter, nanny, specialist caregiver, caretaker, private chef, butler or any other worker in a personal capacity.

To review How To Guides and the Immigration (Transition) (Temporary Work Permits and Business Visitors’ Permits) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022, click here or email [email protected].