Brexit – Through the Eyes of a Contractor

Now that the genie is out of the bottle, the future is set and it is time to get on with it! We are going to look at are some of the issues facing Contractors.  That said, it is early days so there might be a few “if my aunt had …. She’d be my uncle” scenarios!!

Currency Fluctuations For Irish contractors who bill to UK clients, the Brexit vote will have an immediate impact on their monthly earning ability. Much of this will revolve around currency fluctuation, and while there may be short term losses, a level of stability is likely to return. On the flip side of this, clients who bill in US $ will see a nice short term gain on the currency conversion.

Opportunities for Professional Work Being a professional Contractor brings the benefits of excellent rates for work on important projects, over the past few months, the sector has continued to grow in Ireland, however, the UK market has been stagnant, this reluctance was driven by the massive focus on Brexit, and all the fear being sold by both sides. Some multinationals have threatened to remove themselves from the UK market, as Ireland is the only other English speaking member of the EU then Ireland should pick up some of this business. This can create a surge in employment in this sector and as a result in increase in contract positions and an increase in foreign Contractors coming into Ireland. This could be seen long term as a positive to the Contracting market. Ireland needs to be ready to attract these businesses and people. Major companies based in attractive tax jurisdictions such as Gibraltar will surely need to assess their operations. Spain have already made the first move to start sharing Gibraltar. The opportunities on these type of major infrastructure projects can be very positive if some of this business can be brought to Ireland.

Peeling the UK away from the EU I can’t even begin to think how much this extraction will cost the UK, the amount of work that available to contractors on this could be massive. UK Government departments already use contractors extensively, potentially massive chunks of IT infrastructure will need to be revised by the UK Government. Border restrictions on workers from many countries could open the door for Contractors from Ireland Icon Accounting will be monitoring events and reporting on the knock on effects of how this dramatic change will affect the world of the professional contractor.