Brexit Preparedness Notice on Professional Qualifications

In order to facilitate freedom of movement and that of services, in 2005 the European Union introduced Directive 2005/36/EC on the EU-wide recognition of professional qualifications. In the absence of a comprehensive withdrawal agreement, from 30 March, 2019 the recognition of professional qualifications of United Kingdom nationals in an EU-27 Member State will be governed by the national policies of the member states, and automatic recognition of qualifications will cease to apply. This applies to temporary or occasional provision of services as well as long term contractual agreements. Professional qualifications that have already been recognized by employers in the EU member states before the withdrawal date on the basis of Directive 2005/36/EC will not be affected. An indicative list of regulated professional qualifications is available here.    

This notice means that professionals, who are currently working for EU employers using UK qualifications will not notice a change in their current contract, however any new work contract - whether for temporary or permanent jobs - will be subject to national level scrutiny regarding the suitability and appropriateness of UK qualifications. In practice this means employers can argue that UK qualifications do not meet the national standards and may be easier to dismiss UK applicants for particular positions. There is no news how the UK will handle EU qualifications in the future but it is possible that, without a withdrawal agreement, in some professions similar measures could be enacted.

Fashion Roundtable's EU expert, Eszter Kantor, had this to say:

"This notice means that professionals, who are currently working for EU employers using UK qualifications will not notice a change in their current contract, however any new work contract - whether for temporary or permanent jobs - will be subject to national level scrutiny regarding the suitability and appropriateness of UK qualifications. In practice this means employers can argue that UK qualifications do not meet the national standards and may be easier to dismiss UK applicants for particular positions. There is no news how the UK will handle EU qualifications in the future but it is possible that, without a withdrawal agreement, in some professions similar measures could be enacted."