Wednesday 19 October 2022
The Committee for Employment & Social Security has decided to extend the suspension of income limits for people in social housing until the end of 2024.
This means that people living in social housing who are already working or are about to start work can maximise their earning potential without putting their tenancy at risk.
The Committee originally made this change in November 2021 as an interim step after examining ways it could support employers in response to the labour shortage. The Committee believes the island continues to face a labour shortage so has decided to extend the suspension for a further two years. The Committee will examine the impact of this suspension during the next two years.
Importantly, the Committee is giving the guarantee now that even if any income limit is re-imposed in future, it will not adversely impact anybody whose earnings have increased during the period of suspension. "Grandfather rights" will be applied, meaning no one's tenancy will be at risk in future just because their income exceeds a future income limit, if they can show that those increased earnings first occurred during the period when the income limit policy was suspended.
Workers living in social housing who also receive a "top-up" through income support will still need to declare all their earnings in the normal way.
Deputy Peter Roffey, President of the Committee for Employment & Social Security, said:
'Labour shortages continue to be a concern for businesses. We have very low unemployment and there are many jobs available. Extending the suspension of income limits applied within social housing is something my Committee considered an important step in order to further increase States support to the business community.
'I'd also like to take the opportunity to remind employers and jobseekers of the support offered through the Job Centre, such as the recruitment grant for employers, various schemes to enable employers to open up work opportunities for jobseekers and access to training for jobseekers to improve their chances of finding work.'
