Brexit: British chalet girls will need a full French work permit to work in the Alps.
Toby Francis, 19, was ready for his rite of passage by working part-time in a chalet or bar in the Alps, as he had seen so many other young people winter abroad. He also wanted to live and work in the mountains while skiing in his spare time with other boys and girls from the chalet.
However, Mr. Francis has just realized that he will not be able to follow in the footsteps of all the gap year workers who paved the way for him.
“I have applied for many jobs across Europe,” he told The Times.
“But they kept telling me that they would only hire people with an EU passport.
“When I started looking, I wasn’t thinking about Brexit.
“I was only worried about the crown.
“But Brexit is the biggest problem.”
Indeed, due to Brexit, French chalet owners are no longer able to hire staff on short-term contracts in the UK with non-EU passport holders who now have to apply for work permits.
Chalets staff in France were offered agreements with clauses agreeing to work six, or in some cases seven, days a week.
“Now we have to pay the staff around £ 1,500 a month,” a chalet boss told The Times.
“It is a big increase, but the overall costs for tourists have not increased in the same proportion.”
As the paperwork is longer when it comes to applying for a work permit, places now tend to employ EU workers.
Crystal Ski, the UK’s largest ski operator, has cut its chalet holiday program entirely, while Inghams has cut its program, including that of sister company Ski Total, from over 120 to 17.