UK Transition: Is your business ready for the new start?

The UK has left the EU, and the post-Brexit transition period comes to an end on 31st December 2020. Here’s how to prepare your business.

First published on Friday, Oct 02, 2020

Last updated on Monday, Oct 19, 2020

2 min read

The UK’s new start, independent of the European Union, begins on 1st January 2021, which gives you just three months to get ready for the changes to how you do business.

The UK government is still negotiating with the EU, so not all the actions are ready. But regardless of the agreement we reach with the EU on our future trade relationship, we are going to be leaving the single market and customs union, and there are actions you need to take right now to prepare.

Here are some actions you can take now:

  1. If your business website has a .eu domain, check if you need to replace this.

  2. To continue trading with the EU, you’ll have to follow new rules for exporting—including changes to processes and licensing.

  3. If you travel to the EU for work, you may need to get a visa or work permit.

  4. If you’re a business or organisation that receives personal data from the EU, you may need to update your contracts or take other steps.

How to check if your business is ready

If that sounds a bit confusing, don’t worry. Because the government has released a handy online tool, ‘Check, change, go’, so you can find out exactly how your business will be affected.

Check: Answer a few simple questions online and you’ll get personalised information about the changes that will affect your business.

Change: Use the results from the checker to read the relevant information, get the right documents, and make plans to adjust how you run your business.

Go: Once you’ve checked what you need to do and made the changes, you’ll be good to go—ready for the UK’s new start.

Prepare your business with BrightHR

BrightHR’s smart software helps you get your business ready for the UK’s new start.

There’s our new sensitive information report, which helps you make sure all your employee information is up to date before the 31st December deadline. This includes such things as passports, driving licences, visas and work permits.

All you have to do is download the report and it identifies the employee documents set to expire before the Brexit transition period ends and sends you an instant notification reminder to get up-to-date information from your employee.

This is particularly important with visas and right to work permits, which need to be in line with any new government guidance before the transition.

You can also store all of your sensitive information securely with our unlimited document storage. And if you have any UK transition documents that need sharing with your staff? Our new read receipts feature shows you which employees have read them and when.

BrightAdvice Got a question about the UK Transition and how it affects your business? Call our employment law experts now on 0800 783 2806.


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