News

Brexit and the effects on your business

14 January 2021

The UK has now left the European Union, and this has brought a raft of changes to for the way many of us work. We have flagged up a number of these issues already, and you can find out about them on our Brexit pages.

We are updating our external facing guidance to reflect the position from 1 January 2021 for firms and individuals, and will review and update on a regular basis as the position develops. We are also reviewing all our guidance to make sure all are up to date and accurate.

We have already made a number of amendments to our rules. These include changes to the Qualifying Lawyers Transfer Scheme (QLTS) to permit applicants worldwide to seek exemptions, and bringing the registered European lawyer regime (REL) to an end (other than for Swiss lawyers).

We are also working with Government departments, as well as the Law Society, on the future recognition of EU professional qualifications, as well as for qualifications from the rest of the world.

Keeping data safe

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has a campaign on keeping data safe post Brexit. DCMS believes a large number of business are unaware that they might need to take action to adhere to new rules from January.

You can find out more about the Government’s advice on their website.

DCMS has worked closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to prepare supporting guidance for UK organisations receiving personal data from the EU, and the advice includes a link to the ICO End of Transition hub to keep the data flowing.

Financial sanctions changes

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has also published advice on what to do in the new year. After the transition period ends, the UK will no longer apply EU sanctions regulations. The piece from OFSI can be found on its website.