Brexit won't affect me - I don't trade outside the UK

Another day, another Brexit story.  It's hard not to get a bit bored of it all.  Particularly as Brexit is only really going to have an effect on businesses that deal outside the UK, isn’t it?

Whilst people might have thought this early on, the potential far-reaching effects of Brexit are becoming more and more apparent. We have frequently heard about the potential loss of people to fill roles in businesses across the country.  A couple of other headline areas that SMEs should think about are changes of law and costs of supply/sale.

Changes of Law

As Britain moves to remove/lessen the impact of EU legislation in the UK, new laws are on the agenda. In some industries, “Change of Law” provisions are commonly included in contracts to protect against increased cost arising from new regulations. This can be as simple as covering off all changes in law affecting your cost base to specific areas such as changes in minimum/living wages or Data Protection rules.

Is this something that you can pass on under your terms? If not, is now the time to make changes and cover off the risks? Have you reviewed your existing contracts to see where you might be exposed?

Costs of Supply/Sale

At present, we are in the dark about any customs arrangements that may be in place. For a period of time, there may be no impact on the costs of importing products… other than, say, the performance of the pound. It could be that the imposition of tariffs or customs boundaries has an impact on your ability to deliver your products in the same way as normal.

If your business requires you to import materials for incorporation into other products, do your terms allow a price revision if your raw material cost increases? What if new border controls are going to add delivery delays? Do your terms allow you to delay delivery or are you open to strict penalties?

To find out more or arrange for your contracts to be checked over, get in touch with Punk Legal.  We offer a reasonably priced review to make sure you stay on top of contract risks.