Businesses around the world are curiously awaiting March 30, 2019, which is the day when Britain will officially exit the European Union. This monumental change will especially impact member economies of the EU due to the large volume of trade among those countries.
Although no one is quite sure what the immediate and long term effects are going to be, internationally operating businesses are doing their best to prepare accordingly. The end of March is the current deadline for plans to be in place, but the transition phase for Great Britain lasts until 2020.
How is Germany Preparing?
The German Chamber of Commerce has released a checklist for companies interested in taking action. This checklist includes tasks such as:
- Updating contracts
- Company law
- Employee training
- Taxes and finance
- Trade and transport
"Apart from the politics,
the association tries to formulate steps and procedures for its German members doing business with Great Britain in the light of current developments," states Guntram Maschmeyer, Director, Account Management at Dwellworks in Germany. "You’ll see a concerned view apart from politics or opinion building; really just looking at the consequences in the light of doing business."
Impact on the Relocation Industry
The service based industry of relocation assistance will be observing some changes in volume in the coming years. Some companies may increase international relocations, while others will decrease. This is a result of how the Brexit either facilitates or inhibits business between particular countries. Volume into mainland Europe is likely to increase, yet thus far it has seemed the Brexit is creating more of a challenge for businesses, which leads to conservative relocations.
Assignees, Direct Clients, and RMCs
The three main groups that will be making decisions based on the Brexit outcomes are assignees, direct clients, and RMC clients.
Assignees will consider the overall situation in Europe when deciding whether to accept an assignment. A big decision making factor will be how these changes impact their families. Immigration, schools, and other family-oriented changes will play a vital role.
Guntram adds, "Direct clients will care most because they do see direct consequences posed by a variety of factors, like legal status of entities, or custom procedures obstruction real time supply chain solutions." When a particular industry is impacted, so too are the suppliers to that industry.
Finally, RMC clients will begin shifting volume to previously low areas. Uncertainty of clients and investments will cause general volume to drop. This is compounded for clients that have offices in both the United Kingdom and European Union, where legal statuses will be complicated. The property market in the UK has already started to witness this uncertainty.
Destination Services
Fortunately for clients of Dwellworks, we have team members in locations throughout Europe who are working diligently to ensure that anticipated changes are addressed appropriately. Our Destination Services Consultants (DSCs) recognize the hesitation for those moving in and out of the UK since they too are experiencing changes.
For assignees, Destination Services will become more important than ever. Dwellworks DSCs are keeping up to date on changes that impact their assignees, like immigration, so they can best assist assignees upon their arrival.
