(Newswire.net — January 3, 2020) — With Brexit, it can often feel like the only certainty is… uncertainty. Nonetheless, the United Kingdom has edged a little closer to finally departing from the European Union. The UK Parliament recently passed a Brexit deal, putting the country on course to leave on January 31, says BBC News.
However, given that the EU allows both people and trading to proceed unhindered between its 28 member states, many of the usual communication customs could soon be thrown into disarray. This is especially worrying if you run a business, hence the question: how can you prepare for Brexit?
How is Brexit currently shaping up?
The good news is that the much-feared “no-deal” outcome, whereby the UK crashes out of the bloc sans a withdrawal agreement, has largely faded – though it remains a disconcerting possibility. With a deal ratified by both the UK and EU parliaments, a “transition period” is set to start on January 31.
This is where some EU regulations will continue applying to UK law while the UK and EU thrash out agreements on what to replace them with. Only once this transitional period comes to an end, currently scheduled for December 31, 2020, will Brexit finally be “complete”.
This transitional stage is intended to help businesses in adapting more easily to Brexit. Without it, as in a “no-deal” scenario, the EU would have treated the UK identically to other countries lacking free trade agreements concerning tax, customs and moving goods and people within the bloc.
In what industry does your business operate?
The answer to this question can have major implications for how your business ultimately handles Brexit. The accountancy firm Sage has published a list of aspects that will no longer be covered by EU law post-Brexit – such as transport, logistics and transferring personal data between the UK and EU.
Reading through the whole list could give you a lot of food for thought. Certain EU ports could hold up the previously smooth flow of goods into and out of the UK; Sage warns that 50% to 85% of HGVs are unlikely to comply with French customs requirements, potentially leading to days-long delays.
What’s the picture when it comes to telecommunications?
Of course, no matter where your vehicles – or, at least, the vehicles you rely on – are at any given time, one form of communication you can continue to rely on is the trusty telephone. Still, if your UK-based firm has staff who often call from other EU territories, you could miss out on EU roaming.
That’s a warning sounded by DW, which points out that such staff will no longer be on EU mobile plans. The site does, however, acknowledge that EU membership is not a prerequisite to a country participating in this scheme banning prohibitive roaming charges across the continental bloc.
Consequentially, EU roaming could yet remain available to UK staffers, who – whatever course Brexit takes – could also save costs by switching to unified communications by Gamma, a business-focused telecoms provider.