Impact of Brexit and Covid-19 on UK business

Brexit could not have come at a worse time as the UK tries to navigate through the Covid-19 crisis bringing with it a number of issues some of which we will not be able to predict.

There was always going to be transitional issues with Brexit such as importing or exporting goods adding costs and time when the UK economy is not in its strongest position posing another test of resilience for UK businesses.

What we know so far

• Legal and regulatory requirements — understanding what permissions a business needs to continue operating in the EU or with EU businesses is essential for a smooth continued operation and having a backup plan in place if permissions no longer apply.
• Supply chains — the pandemic has helped us to understand more about how business can still work in a time of crisis and how strong our relationships are with suppliers.
• Digital revolution and the end of presenteeism — we have experienced a digital revolution showing us that much of the work performed can be done online where previously this was thought not possible. Through the use of tools such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom we are still able to meet and make decisions.
• Contracts — having contracts in place with suppliers will only go so far as to clarify the intentions of the parties, it will not provide a solution to every eventuality and businesses will find that their strongest relationships are the ones which are more likely to want to work through this time to find workable solutions for both parties. Businesses will need to be certain about what they want to achieve and be ready to adapt as and when issues arise.
• Lessons learned from the 2007 financial crisis — hiring skilled workers in a crisis is not easy and employers may want to hold on to their employees for as long as they can particularly now, as prospective employees will expect employers to be more flexible with working arrangements.

Brexit is a huge transformational change coupled with the Covid-19 crisis however, businesses have become more flexible with their workforce which may give rise to other opportunities internationally. This gives us a reason to be optimistic as we shift to a different but more flexible way of working and living despite the challenges that we may face.