Under the current employment permits legislation, the holder of an employment permit is expected to remain in employment with their first employer for a minimum of 12 months, before a change of employer can be made. At present, a change of employer can only be made by way of a new application for an employment permit after this period.
However, Government has recently approved an amendment to the Employment Permits Bill to allow General Employment Permit and Critical Skills Employment Permit holders to transfer employer within the bounds of the original employment permit, after a shorter period of nine months has passed from the start of their first employment.
The existing policy that allows for a change in employer in certain circumstances within the initial period will be retained in the Bill. In the case of redundancy or exploitation and/or abuse, an employment permit holder may change employer within the first 12 months of their first employment. Policy allows for certain occupations to transfer to another employer under the existing permit.
My Department conducted a targeted consultation during March and April 2023. During this exercise stakeholders from many different industries were invited to submit their views in regard to the introduction of the transfer of an employment permit into the Bill. The content of these submissions was carefully considered in the drafting of these provisions.
