Employment in Cayman

Anybody seeking employment needs to be aware that Work Permits are issued to employers, not to employees. It's an indentured-labour system, and foreign workers can switch employers only with the permission of a politically appointed labour-control committee. Professionals (accountants, engineers, etc) have few problems, usually, but unskilled workers are in general limited to the occupations and employers they start with. Jamaican domestic servants call it “near slavery”, and with some employers that's an accurate description. Law enforcement is always on the side of the employers. The Philippines government put Cayman on its blacklist a few months ago, and I think it's still there.

All three of our Islands can be very, very, pleasant places to live, if you overlook the “near slavery”; and the money is excellent. However, prospective newcomers will do themselves a disservice if they don't prepare for a bit of a culture shock in respect of human and civil rights for expats, including deportation for breaching local censorship rules.

I can't go into all the ins and outs of the system here. The subject is covered in many of my blog entries, and you'll just have to wade through the posts, I'm afraid. I'll be glad to answer specific questions.