Rent allowance for States’ employees extended to four years

Sunday 28 August 2022

States of Guernsey employees who are eligible for financial help in paying rent, will have the benefit extended from two to four years.

The decision has been made as finding and retaining essential workers continues to be a challenge.

A States of Guernsey HR spokesperson said: “The States of Guernsey (as an Employer) continues to face challenges in terms of the recruitment and retention of staff into key roles. 

“These challenges are not unique to Guernsey, and are affecting many sectors of the workforce locally, nationally and globally. A small change has recently been made in order to support both the recruitment and retention of staff.”

That change is the extension of rent allowance from two to four years.

“It is expected that this will not incur additional cost for the States, but will help to reduce turnover as staff who relocate will be less inclined to leave at the end of two years, which would ordinarily trigger a new recruitment process,” continued the spokesperson.

“It is important to note that wider analysis is also underway, looking at a range of issues relating to recruitment and retention, which takes into account the needs of all staff including those who are already locally-based, not just those eligible to receive rent allowance.”