Dear Brexit Brenda
With a significant chance remaining that the United Kingdom could leave the European Union without a deal on October 31st, many in the advertising industry are still curious about exactly how processes they have been used to for decades will work. No matter on which side of the debate your opinion lays, and whether you work in the UK or in collaboration with British business, it’s likely that you still have questions.
So, in partnership with the UK’s Advertising Association and the Advertising Producers Association, we put the industry’s anxieties to Brexit Brenda, our agony aunt. She’s locked herself in a room for months, neck-deep in official and legal documents, swatting up on any and all implications the UK’s exit from the EU may have for the advertising industry. And she’s ready to put your minds at ease and help you get Brexit ready.
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Dear Brexit Brenda,
I am the managing director at a UK-based production company. We’ll be producing a TV commercial for a Dutch advertising agency and we plan to shoot it around Sicily in early November. We’ll be bringing a director and core production team, consisting of a Brit, a German who has settlement status and a French producer who hasn’t started his application yet… will we all be OK to travel? And will Pierre get back in the country?
From,
The Italian Job
Dear Italian Job,
Good question, particularly about your French producer… Does Pierre live in the UK now? If so, he should apply for the EU Settlement Scheme ASAP. It’s free and will take five days to process in most cases. He has until December 31st 2020 to apply. But he’ll need to keep an eye on the developments and be ready in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Your UK and German team members should be fine. Enjoy Sicily and, remember, ‘you’re only supposed to blow the bl**dy doors off’!
Yours in readiness,
Brexit Brenda
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Dear Brexit Brenda,
I run a production service company based in the UK. We’ll be facilitating a shoot for a film and series of stills for a major auto brand in a variety of locations around the Lake District. The production company would be bringing the director, photographer and a core production team with them from Germany, as well as the star of the show, a state-of-the-art electric car worth €200,000. The shoot is set to take place in December – what do we need to do to make sure it really does take place?
From,
Location, Location, Location
Dear Location, Location, Location,
While December might not be the best time of year for your German clients to visit the Lake District weather-wise, you can make things easier for them on the Brexit front by seeing if the car can be temporarily imported using the HMRC’s temporary admission procedure, alternatively they could get an ATA Carnet. ATA Carnets are usable in 78 countries and allow movement of the goods shown on the Carnet as many times as needed within a 12-month period to any destination applied for. Each country has its own rules about what goods you can bring in with an ATA, so check out the finer details. After we’ve left the EU, your German visitors should be able to continue to enter the UK unchanged for stays up to three months, even in the event of no deal. So they should be able to experience all the thrills of the fells this Christmas!
Yours in readiness,
Brexit Brenda
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Dear Brexit Brenda,
We are a UK-based indie agency. After a year of searching, we have just found the perfect person to join us as our new CCO – she’s smart, a rising rock star with the ideal blend of vision, guts, and experience. She’s a Spanish national, currently living in Madrid, and we are looking to employ her full time and relocate her and her family to London… so what do we do?
From,
Desperately Seeking a CCO
Dear Desperately Seeking a CCO,
Congratulations, your new hire sounds like a real find! The best thing is to try and get her over before October 31st, and apply for the EU Settlement Scheme. If all goes well she should be able to get pre-settled status. Her family can follow shortly afterwards. Hopefully this won’t be too much of a Spain in the neck for your Iberian superstar!
Yours in readiness,
Brexit Brenda
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Dear Brexit Brenda,
My insomnia’s bad at the best of times but in recent weeks I keep reading things about WTO rules and trade tariffs that are keeping me up from dusk till dawn. I’m the sales rep at a British animation company – if we end up with a no-deal Brexit, how will that change how I invoice and charge my EU clients?
From,
Sleepless in the Sales Team
Dear Sleepless in the Sales Team,
I’m assuming you are supplying services to your EU clients, as the rules will be different if it is goods. If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the main VAT ‘place of supply’ rules will still be the same. But note that the UK will lose access to the VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS). But if you are supplying digital services you might need to register with the non-union MOSS scheme. Otherwise, you might have to register in each EU Member State you are currently doing business in. I hope VAT solves your insomnia.
Yours in readiness,
Brexit Brenda
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Dear Brexit Brenda,
Last year my creative technology studio won its biggest account ever – a French cosmetics company, for which we do innovative digital projects that involve using consumer data from across the region. What do we need to do to ensure we can continue using this data and keep the account?
From, Croydon Catfish
Dear Croydon Catfish,
Well done on the win, it sounds like you’re becoming a big (cat)fish. To keep your data flowing freely from your EU data controller you should aim to include standard contractual clauses (sorry for the jargon) in your contracts with them. You can check out the Information Commissioner’s Office website for the full lowdown on these. They will be very useful if we leave without a deal as they give standard legal clauses and a framework for you to transfer data from the EEA to the UK. Also, if you don’t have an office in any other EU country, you will need to appoint a data representative in the main country where you are transferring data. So, if your granny has retired to the Riviera you might want to tap her up. But, be warned, this rep is for local data protection authorities to liaise with in the event of a data breach – make sure you do things by the book or the Gendarmes will come knocking for grandma!
Yours in readiness,
Brexit Brenda
