With the Brexit deadline swiftly approaching employers are facing the question of what happens to their employees who are EU nationals. Whilst we can’t predict what will be after ‘the norm’ 1st January 2021, we do know that:

• EU citizens coming to live and work in the UK must be living here by 31st December 2020.
• If EU citizens want to continue to live and work in the UK, they must apply through the EU Settlement Scheme for either pre-settled status or settled status (determined by the length of time they have been in the UK) by 30rd June 2021.
• Any EU citizen that doesn’t comply with these steps by 1st July 2021 will no longer have the right to live and work in the UK and could be subject to immigration enforcement action.

As we know, employers are required to ensure that their employees have the right to work in the UK. This will not change after Brexit.

So, what should you be doing?

It’s important that employers take this opportunity to review their workforce and ensure that any EU citizens are aware of their requirement to apply for pre-settled or settled status. If your employees fail to do this, it will be illegal for you to employ them.

Remember, if your employees do not pass the right to work checks and you still employ them, the business then becomes liable for any penalties and sanctions.

Things you may want to consider:

• Do you have employees who are EU nationals?
• Are they aware that they have to apply for settled / pre-settled status?
• How do you manage those who haven’t applied?
• What is your liability as the employer?

If you are unsure about the process, or action you need to take as an employer, please don’t hesitate to ask us for some advice.