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Voyonic’s Neil Carrington looks at how Brexit and social security will affect employment in the yachting industry?
Brexit is a matter of great uncertainty and yet it is likely that it will have a huge impact on all of our lives in one way or another. Below we have summarised the recent events of Brexit and look specifically at how it will affect the global employment industry including superyacht crews.
Firstly: when will the UK actually leave the EU? Following numerous meetings between the UK government and EU representatives, Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was moved from April 2019 to October 2019.
We are still awaiting some indication of what Brexit will mean in terms of social security, particularly following the collapse of Theresa May’s much-maligned Withdrawal Agreement, which would effectively have preserved the status quo for a couple of years.
Currently, EU social security is co-ordinated under EC 883/2004 and related legislation. However, the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the common market, including the free movement of labour, will mean this may no longer apply.
In an announcement in April 2019, HMRC stated baldly that if there was no deal, then international workers and/or their employers could have to pay contributions in two states, depending on any agreements those countries had outside the EC 883/2004 framework. HMRC went on to state that the UK government was working on reciprocal agreements with other EU states to ensure cover until at least 31 December 2020.
Prevailing opinion is that existing reciprocal agreements – such as those currently covering the Channel Islands and/or Isle of Man – will be relied upon. It is notable however that there are no agreements of this kind with many of the EU states, such as Poland.
It is also notable that some of these agreements apply only to nationals of the agreement states – unlike the EU provisions which were based on residence. A South African national resident in France, for example, would not be covered under the pre-existing France-UK agreement.
With such a diverse workforce in the industry, serving aboard UK and EU flagged vessels, management of social security liabilities is not going to get any easier.
It also seems highly likely that European and British authorities alike will take a greater interest in mobile workers.
We strongly recommend that anyone concerned about their position contact a professional advisor and ensure that their payroll provider really can handle the modern marine employment environment.
Voyonic have highly-qualified individuals on the Board who are well-versed in the tax and regulatory environment from a corporate perspective as well as marine specialist areas such as MLC compliance, Quality Management, seafarer tax and social security.
This article was published in the ONBOARD Summer 2019 edition which you can view here.
We are pleased to welcome back Richard Bartram for his second summer with us as a support administrator. Richard is currently at the University of Bath studying physics and will be going into his fourth and final year there in September. After he has finished university he hopes to spend some time off island experiencing life in London!
We asked Richard why he likes working here and this is what he had to say: “The staff are all really friendly and helpful which makes communicating with everyone much easier. It is nice to feel part of a team where you are valued and also have independence with people relying on you to complete your own tasks.”
It is great to have Richard back here with us and we wish him the best for his future endeavours.
We would like to say congratulations to Lara, our marketing assistant, for the completion of her degree and graduating from Oxford Brookes University with an Upper Second Class Honours in International Business Management.
Lara joined us at the end of May and will now be changing hats from student to our Marketing Assistant. She will be working on driving the business forward, increasing brand recognition and helping us to have a more proactive and organised approach towards our marketing activities. With previous experience in social media management and a keen interest in the sea and sailing, Lara is looking forward to growing into her role with us.
Make sure to keep an eye out to hear the latest news from Voyonic as we hope that you will be hearing from us a lot more with Lara on board!
Rising confidence in the stability of oil and gas prices in the North Sea are helping to drive growth for a local company that specialises in providing services to the maritime industry globally.
Voyonic is responsible for employees in more than 90 jurisdictions from its Elizabeth House, Ruettes Brayes, St Peter Port, headquarters and has just taken on an additional six staff to meet demand from Britain’s offshore energy sector.
‘We may not be the best known Guernsey company locally,’ said chief executive Neil Carrington, but we are probably the island’s biggest employer.’
The reason is that Voyonic recruits, manages, pays and handles the tax and social insurance affairs of more than 6,000 individuals whom it employs on behalf of a wide range of maritime and aviation clients.
The rising confidence in oil and gas prices has created a surge of activity in the North Sea as fresh investment is pouring into the offshore energy sector and operators in the exploratory and production arenas need staff. Increasingly, they outsource the full HR, payroll and other employment elements of crewing to specialists like Voyonic.
The benefits to Britain’s seafaring community of offshore employment companies were recognised by then deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, himself a former seaman, as far back as 2001 and confirmed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
‘As a result, we operate in a highly regulated and technically challenging environment providing essential employment services to people who are constantly moving across the planet,’ said Mr Carrington.
Future growth is anticipated and since incorporation locally in 2007 with just one senior manager, Voyonic has grown to a team of more than 40 people and has recently moved into larger accommodation at Elizabeth House because of demand for its services.
‘We’re a company for whom regulation is beneficial,’ said Mr Carrington, ‘as it ensures we not only comply with all HMRC requirements and those of the other jurisdictions in which we operate, a good selling point for quality clients.
‘We also welcome the new “economic substance” regulations introduced by the States because to our clients and potential clients it offers further comfort that Guernsey is a well-regulated jurisdiction, unlike some of our competitors elsewhere, we are fully tax resident here and carrying on what are classed as relevant activities under the substance legislation.’
Voyonic was also experiencing strong demand for its services from the superyacht and aviation sectors and expected to continue recruiting throughout 2019, he said.
Welcome to our first newsletter of 2019!
Click the link below to read all about what we have been up to including our recent office move due to continued growth, changes in legislation and all about Samantha Downes, our Office Support Administrator with a need for speed!
Voyonic Crewing Limited are on the move!
From the 1st April the Company will be relocating to new office space which thankfully from a logistical perspective is in the same building again.
This will in effect the 4th time that the company has moved and for the same reasons, space or more exactly the requirement for more!
We started the journey in 2007 located in Louisiana House overlooking the beautiful Havelet Bay and Castle Cornet however after a brief stay there we relocated to Elizabeth House in 2008 occupying a small corner of the top floor until growth of the business necessitated the move to a small self-contained office on the ground floor of the building. Later that year.
Having outgrown that small office when we recruited our 12th employee Voyonic took up residence in our current location occupying the large ground floor of Elizabeth House.
We now find ourselves in need of more room because despite our utilisation of systems wherever possible, when dealing with the employment of people a human element is unavoidable. With responsibility for overseeing the employment of some 6,000 professionals working globally our HR & Payroll teams continue to expand in order to ensure that our robust employment solutions are delivered to the very high standards that we set ourselves.
The move back to the top floor of Elizabeth House will provide us with space for an additional 14 work stations which will hopefully see us through for the next 2/3 years although at our current rate of growth, taking on a new client each month from January to July this year alone, who knows?
The European Commission has today stepped up its “no-deal” outreach to EU businesses in the area of customs and indirect taxation such as VAT, given the risk that the United Kingdom may leave the EU on 30 March this year without a deal (a “no-deal” scenario).
The outreach campaign launched today is part of the Commission’s ongoing efforts to prepare for the UK’s exit of the European Union without a deal, in line with the European Council (Article 50) conclusions of December 2018, calling for intensified preparedness work for all scenarios. This campaign should help to inform businesses that want to continue trading with the UK after 30 March on what they need to do to ensure as smooth a transition as possible. Preparing for the UK becoming a non-EU country is of paramount importance if significant disruption for EU business is to be avoided.
Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: “With the risk of a no-deal Brexit increasing as we get closer to March 29, the European Commission and national customs authorities are working hard to be ready to introduce checks and controls on goods flowing between the EU and the UK. This is key to protecting our consumers and our internal market. A lot depends on the ability of businesses trading with the UK to get up to speed with the customs rules that will apply on day one in case of no deal. There is no time to lose and we are here to help with the information campaign.”
Today’s launch aims to raise awareness amongst the EU’s business community, especially SMEs. In order to prepare for a “no-deal” scenario and to continue trading with the UK, these businesses should:
Assess whether they have the necessary technical and human capacity to deal with customs procedures and rules, e.g. on ‘preferential rules of origin’.
Consider obtaining various customs authorisations and registrations in order to facilitate their trading activity if the UK is part of their supply chain.
Get in touch with their national customs authority to see what other steps can be taken to prepare.
A range of material has today been made available to businesses, including a simple 5-step checklist, providing an overview of the steps that need to be taken. The campaign material is available in all EU languages.
While the overall impact of a “no-deal” scenario cannot be mitigated, today’s campaign should complement national efforts to inform EU businesses and help to reach out to affected businesses in the EU27 Member States.
Preparatory work, supported by the Commission, is also underway in Member States to ensure that national customs infrastructure and logistics are ready to deal with a no-deal scenario.
Background
The ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement continues to be the objective and priority of the Commission. This ratification however remains uncertain. Given the risk of a ‘no-deal’ scenario, the Commission has been engaged in intensive preparedness work since December 2017. It has consistently called on European citizens, businesses and Member States to prepare for all possible scenarios, assess relevant risks and plan their response to mitigate them.
As emphasised in the Commission’s first Brexit preparedness Communication of 19 July 2018, irrespective of the scenario envisaged, the United Kingdom’s choice to leave the European Union will cause significant disruption.
Stakeholders, as well as national and EU authorities need to prepare for two possible main scenarios:
If the Withdrawal Agreement is ratified before 30 March 2019, EU law will cease to apply to and in the UK on 1 January 2021, i.e. after a transition period of 21 months. The Withdrawal Agreement includes the possibility for a single extension of the transition period for up to one or two years.
If the Withdrawal Agreement is not ratified before 30 March 2019, there will be no transition period and EU law will cease to apply to and in the UK as of 30 March 2019. This is referred to as the “no deal” or “cliff-edge” scenario.
Following calls by the European Council (Article 50) in November and December 2018 to intensify preparedness work at all levels, the Commission adopted on 19 December 2018 a Contingency Action Plan and several legislative measures, including in the area of customs. This follows previous Communications published in November and July 2018.
In such a ‘no-deal’ scenario, goods coming from or going to the UK will be treated as imports from and exports to a ‘third country’. This means that customs formalities and controls will apply at import and export. Customs duties, VAT and excise duties will be levied at importation, while exports to the UK will be exempt from VAT.
The Commission has published a series of notices, available in all EU languages, which aim to better inform stakeholders and travellers about the consequences that a ‘no-deal’ scenario could have for their business when it comes to customs procedures, indirect taxation, such as VAT and excise duties, preferential rules of origin and import / export licenses.
Member States’ action is also essential. National authorities have a key role in monitoring and guiding industry preparations. On that basis, the Commission has held technical discussions with the EU27 Member States both on general issues of preparedness and on sectorial, legal and administrative preparedness steps. A series of visits to the 27 EU Member States has also begun to make sure national contingency planning is on track and to provide any necessary clarifications on the preparedness process.
Voyonic, like Guernsey FC, are keen to be seen to be green, and offered to allow The Green Lions to donate the remaining stock of CESG-branded water bottles to a charity. Guernsey FC chose to donate the bottles to Goal50.
Nigel Pascoe, Chairman of Goal50 explained why the water bottles donated by the Voyonic Group would be appreciated by the children from the Cape Flats, South Africa.
“The supply of water in the township settlements is very limited. On one previous trip, we held a football competition in Langa township. There was only one water pipe serving 600 people. The Voyonic sponsored GFC water bottles will be greatly appreciated by the African people.”
Goal50 is a charity that supports a South African soccer school, which is based in an area where drug and gang problems are rife. As well as providing football facilities, Goal50 supports the local community with feeding programmes, job schemes and help with drug rehabilitation.
Thank you Goal50 Guernsey for ensuring the bottles have gone to a great cause and Guernsey FC for their assistance in making it happen.
VOYONIC SUPPORTS GOAL50
When Voyonic started sponsoring the Guernsey FC Youth Zone at the start of last season, they were still going by their former name of CESG. As well as free tickets and discount coupons, every child attending the Youth Zone last season received a CESG-branded Guernsey FC water bottle.
This season, as we’re sure you’ve seen, the Youth Zone’s sponsorship has been taken over by Aspire, a member of the Voyonic group of companies, and as a result, a fresh new extra gift has now been devised, in the form of an exclusive poster. Voyonic, like Guernsey FC, are keen to be seen to be green, and offered to allow the club to donate the remaining stock of CESG-branded water bottles to a charity.
Guernsey FC decided upon Goal50, a charity that supports a South African soccer school, which is based in an area where drug and gang problems are rife. As well as providing football facilities, Goal50 supports the local community with feeding programmes, job schemes and help with drug rehabilitation. In the past Guernsey FC have sent gifts of footballs, kit and boots over to South Africa, and as a result The Green Lions now have quite a number of fans over there!
Nigel Pascoe was delighted to hear of this gesture of practical support from Voyonic and Guernsey FC and was keen to tell us just how much the water bottles would be appreciated by their new recipients. “Goal50 will make good use of these 300 water bottles which will be taken to South Africa in November,” he explained. “On each of our trips, we take footballs, boots and shirts to the township people. The children love playing football but most play in bare feet.
“The supply of water in the township settlements is very limited. On one previous trip, we held a football competition in Langa township. There was only one water pipe serving 600 people. The GFC water bottles will be greatly appreciated by the African people.”
Mr Pascoe is currently in South Africa and we look forward to hearing from him on his return.
Voyonic are pleased to be supporting Bright Tights Day, raising funds for research into gynecological cancers.
We love this ‘Guernsey Girl’ Bright Tights video performed by Toby Falla. Check it out:
Donations can be made here: www.brighttights.org.gg/fundraising-bright-tights-guernsey/
© Voyonic 2024 website designed & developed by Stratagem