2020 has been an extraordinary year for everyone in business, however 2021 will continue to bring a new set of responsibilities.
Now that the UK has left the EU, all businesses will experience some kind of change from 1 January 2021 as the transition period comes to an end. With this in mind, we have put together a list of the top five things private businesses must address now, ahead of the end of the year.
If you have existing EU national employees or are due to employ EU nationals post 1 January 2021, you must take steps to make sure you have everything in place to support them.
EU nationals who are able to evidence UK residency before 31 December 2020, will need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme before 30 June 2021. Many EU countries have also published information about similar schemes for British nationals who are working in Europe. Business owners should identify their impacted employees both in the UK and Europe and provide support with their applications under the transitional arrangements.
In addition, from 1 January 2021 British nationals travelling to Europe will need to meet the immigration requirements. With this in mind, if you are planning to hire new EU employees from 1 January 2021, you should apply for a sponsor licence if you have not already done so, taking advantage of Home Office processing times as soon as possible is encouraged.
If you’d like more information on the implications for your EU national employees, our free immigration Brexit readiness tool allows you to identify what further measures are required to prepare your business and employees for the upcoming changes.
