Whether you are a ‘leaver’ or a ‘remainer’, or looking in from outside of the UK, one thing is for sure: the Brexit vote from the referendum in June 2016 has kept everyone talking. Most importantly, as negotiations have started, it has left everyone guessing – as no clear deals or rules have been set yet.
So whether you are a candidate from mainland Europe looking for a job in the UK, a candidate from the UK looking for a job in mainland Europe, or a client in either location looking to hire staff, keep reading on what you need to know.
What Has Changed, And Will Change?
Simply put, at the moment nothing has been changed. As a British based, UK recruitment agency we will always work within the framework and guidelines of the UK law. At the moment, absolutely nothing in terms of free movement of travel or free movement of work, or any other agreements the UK has within the European Union have changed.
From a legal perspective, a referendum held in the UK is a form of polling people’s opinion. It does not mean that the government is forced to act upon this, and the negotiations that the UK and Brussels have started are likely to go on for several years.
The negotiations that the UK and Brussels have started are likely to go on for several years Click To TweetWe are in the business of recruitment and staff training, not in the business of guessing and predicting the future. We stay focused on our job at hand, serving you as a client and a candidate, and will only change procedures when UK law will tell us to. No such thing has happened yet, therefore no need for us to change our processing.
What Should You Do – Candidates?
We know there have been, and still are, a lot of people from EU member states, currently living and working in the UK, or looking to move to the UK and find a job here. At the moment, nothing has changed and every person who is from an EU member state has the right to freely travel to, live in and work in the UK.
Negotiations for Brexit are underway but nothing is clear, nothing is set and no rules have been laid out about any changes for people coming into the UK to work.
We are in the business of finding you the right job and getting you the right training. We do not want to take away time from that, contemplating on what might be! Therefore we keep going as normal, we keep trying to find you the right job and have you join our training courses, and we will be the first to inform you if there would be any changes in any of this.
What Should You Do – Clients Looking To Hire?
Although we are a British company and UK based, we will always remain an international agency. We have always worked with clients all over the world, finding them the right staff, and from years of combined experience, we know that sometimes the perfect person for the job is simply not in the same country.
We follow the exact same registration and vetting procedures for every candidate on our books so we will be fully up to date on their passport and visa status, as well as their (legal) ability to work in any country. We have placed European candidates in the United States, American candidates in Asia, just to name a few examples.
Our knowledgeable team will be able to guide you exactly through any candidate’s legal work and travel options and can advise accordingly. Having said that, we must emphasise that at this moment in time, nothing has changed in UK laws so anyone from a fellow EU country has the right to live, travel to, and work in the UK.
As negotiations continue in Brussels we are continuing with exactly what we have been doing and what we are good at: finding you the best, most suited and qualified candidate for your job role.
At Polo & Tweed, we prefer not to speculate about what could or could not be, and like to stay focused on what we do best: finding clients the best candidates, finding the most suitable roles for our candidates, and providing the highest end training in the business.
Of course, we are keeping track of all movements and potential changes that might come in, and will adapt and inform everyone accordingly if there were any changes to be made. One of our senior members of staff has years of experience working in Brussels in the European Parliament as well as for lobbyist firms there, has close connections in Brussels still, and is keeping a close eye on all the developments.
So please rest assured that we are keeping a close eye on things, and will be on the front line on any information or updates if any changes in the UK law will take place. Our main focus is, and will always be, matching the right people with the right clients.