A new government accommodation service has been set up to help key workers coming the island, but it means some current employees will have to move into other homes.

45 existing HCS staff are being moved out their government-subsidised homes to make way for newcomers.

They are being given £1,000 to help with the cost of moving into a permanent home, since the houses they are currently in are temporary accommodation.

Mark Grimley, Chief People and Transformation Officer, says most homes were only meant to be transitional for a year while staff found their own accommodation.

"We’ve written to staff in the temporary properties to let them know what’s happening and reassured them of the support in place to help them move."

Those recruited into the island can choose between one, two or three-bedroom properties, and 494 beds are part of the new service.

Of those, 160 are Government of Jersey owned, 284 are owned by Andium and the remainder are leased privately or through a trust.

Key staff and their families can stay in the houses for up to a year while they settle in Jersey and complete their probationary periods.

All new key workers in Jersey can access the latest government accommodation service, not just health workers.

Mark Grimley says government is enhancing the offer to people to improve recruitment and retention.

"To do this, we need to ensure the housing stock we have available to us is utilised fairly to support better recruitment and retention for key workers across all departments and not just for health professionals, as has happened historically."

Temporary accommodation will be at a lower cost for those moving to the island:

1. 80% for the first six months,
2. 90% for the second six months,
3. £1,000 will be given to support workers relocating to permanent homes after 12 months.

The government believes this plan will give key workers enough time to find permanent accommodation in Jersey.

"We continue to explore ways of expanding provision in Jersey to enable Islanders to gain skills for key worker roles as part of the Government’s focus on recruitment and retention."