Aycliffe Today Business Aycliffe Today Business Issue 38 | Page 21
The magazine for Aycliffe Business Park | 21
Endeavour launch
Brexit Assurance Audit
Just as the UK and the EU are stepping up their
preparations for Brexit, so too should businesses.
A
s the deadline swiftly approaches, and
due to the level of uncertainty around
the final withdrawal agreement, it is
vital from a corporate governance and risk
management perspective that businesses
should carry out a Brexit assurance audit.
This will aid businesses in identifying
Brexit-related risks, and where possible,
shine a light on the steps to take in response.
In addition, the Brexit assurance audit will
assist businesses in identifying opportunities
that are there to take advantage of. We look
at a wide range of areas within a business,
for example, the ability to operate in key
markets, corporate restructuring, contractual
consequences, the workforce and business
immigration.
Workforce Audit considerations
Looking at the workforce and business
immigration elements, many of our
employment laws have derived from being a
member of the EU.
For example, Working Time Regulations,
Agency Workers Regulations, discrimination
under the Equality Act, holiday pay, collective
redundancy consultation and TUPE etc.
Currently we are also bound by case law
decided in the European Court of Justice.
In relation to the free movement of
workers, EU citizens are currently allowed to
live and work in the UK. Going forward, what
will happen?
Deal or No Deal: Employment
If there is a deal, there are no immediate
plans to change UK employment law.
Employment law derived from the EU
will also not change on Brexit unless and
until it is amended by Parliament, which is
very unlikely to be on its list of priorities or
politically desirable.
The pipeline of EU law into UK law will be
broken, but the government has confirmed
that the UK will seek to keep pace with
future EU employment law through separate
arrangements and that Employment Tribunals
will still consider EU case law.
If there is no deal, there will be little
immediate change but as time progresses
the UK will potentially have the freedom to
implement whichever employment laws it
chooses.
During the audit we consider recent
developments in employment law and assist
businesses in ensuring they are compliant
and up to date with UK and EU employment
law
Deal or No Deal: Immigration
If there is a deal the free movement of EU
workers will continue until January 1 2021.
Thereafter, highly skilled workers will be
prioritised, and it has been suggested that
the Tier 2 Points Based Immigration System
will be adapted and expanded to apply to EU
and non-EU migrants alike, allowing more
highly skilled individuals to be able to live and
work in the UK.
In the event of a no deal Brexit, free
movement of workers could end as soon
as March 29 2019, although EU citizens in
the UK pre-Brexit will most likely be able to
stay and work in the UK. The position for EU
citizens arriving post-Brexit under a no deal is
uncertain.
Part of our Brexit assurance audit would be
working with your business to:
• Collate all current right to work
checks on your workforce, with a
view to refreshing these as step one
in preventing your business being
prosecuted for illegal workers.
• Understand how many EU citizens
you employ and what rights they have
accumulated to remain in the UK.
• Proactively explore pre-Brexit citizenship
for qualifying EU nationals, including
completing indefinite leave to remain
applications and introducing employee
support programmes to assist in
securing settlement at Brexit or during
the transitional period.
• Inform the business on future
immigration requirements and how to
continue offering a role to a workers
from overseas
• Assess whether you need to recruit from
a wider talent pool, seek to retain key
employees by ensuring your business is
the favourable place to work or reduce
the workforce in order to minimise risks.
There is no doubt Brexit is creating a
plethora of questions and the need for
reviews and pre-planning. Undertaking a
Brexit assurance audit is a proactive and
sensible way to identify areas of risk and to
consider contingency plans and find new
opportunities for growth and profit.
Endeavour Partnership will help steer
your business through the new employment
landscape being carved out by Brexit,
whether it’s deal or no deal.
Laura Kirkpatrick Associate, Endeavour Partnership
[email protected] | 01642 610335 | www.endeavour.law/brexit