60% would consider employing staff across borders post-pandemic

A Walkers survey found 60% would consider hiring someone to work for them from a foreign jurisdiction. Credit: PA Images

A survey of HR professionals and business leaders, conducted by Channel Island law-firm Walkers, has found 60% would consider recruiting someone to work for them, based in a foreign jurisdiction.

54% said they would offer flexible working after the pandemic, with 36% requiring a minimum number of days in the office and 17% being fully flexible.

51% said they would be open to employees working remotely from overseas, provided it was a suitable person in a suitable role.

The survey was conducted as part of a virtual employment conference on 'Covid-19 and the Evolution of the Workplace'.

Sarah Ash, senior counsel in Walkers' Guernsey's employment law team, said that the results of the survey supported the idea that Covid-19 would continue to have an impact on the workplace even after restrictions are lifted.

Daniel Read, senior counsel in the Jersey employment law team, said the time has come for employers to assess how they want to position their businesses in a post-Covid world.

79% of respondents also said business travel would reduce significantly in the longer-term, and be restricted to key-meetings only.

The employment conference saw between 145 and 167 attendees at the sessions which stretched over three days at the end of February.

A snapshot survey of 40 people in Jersey, conducted by recruitment consultancy Kendrick Rose, also found the trends predicted by employers to be reflected in the expectations of employees, with 53% of respondents saying they would only go for a job if they could work from home some of the time. Shelley Kendrick, Managing Director, Kendrick Rose, said the pandemic has brought forward many changes that had been happening very slowly, such as flexibility in the workplace.