What does Brexit currently mean for our Members who are UK Citizens

In order to clarify how those involved in the UK Snowsports industry may be impacted by the terms of the new Trade & Cooperation Agreement, BASI and the Home Nations Governing Bodies of Snowsports England, Snowsports Scotland and Snowsports Wales have teamed up to develop an aligned view on what the new agreement allows us, as UK Nationals, to do and what it doesn’t right now. In doing so, we have concluded that the biggest issues facing UK national snowsports members & professionals are:

The Right to Work:

·       Brexit and the terms of the new Trade & Cooperation Agreement mean that British Citizens’ right to work within the EU has gone, which means that you can no longer benefit from the same employment rights as other EU citizens under EU law. Anyone travelling from the UK to the EU for the purposes of work needs to abide by the terms in the Trade & Cooperation Agreement

·       It does not make a difference if you change your qualifying Association or membership; if you’re British, it’s your passport that is the hurdle and it doesn’t matter if you try to join IASI, Swiss Snowsports, the CSIA, whoever – you’re British, and that’s the issue. If you are British, even if you hold a US award you can’t teach skiing in the USA without a work permit. An award issued by an EU qualifying association does not grant you working rights

·       Meetings, events, conferences, short-term business trips to negotiate the terms of sale of goods between the UK & EU are all examples of travel which can be done visa-free. Travelling with your sports team/trainees as a coach is not. Taking your clients from the UK is not. Travelling to deliver snowsport services to a client paying from the EU might be, subject to local restrictions.

Recognition of Qualifications

·       Because Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications was left out of the Trade & Cooperation Agreement, a process must now be followed to re-establish a formal recognition between British and our EU counterparts now that the UK is no longer a fellow EU member state

·       This does not mean that the authorities in EU member states will suddenly choose to not recognise UK qualifications; although they would be within their legal rights to do so, it would be difficult to justify such a reaction

·       We want everyone to know that we are working hard to gain mutual recognition and can confirm that we have now officially commenced negotiations with the snowsports governing bodies for France, Austria, Italy and Germany

·       We ask you all to be patient while we continue to work hard and map out the way forward. As we have stated previously, the clarity we are all seeking will likely take months, not weeks to establish. Only time will tell if there is a way to negotiate mutual recognition of qualifications further with the EU.

Insurance

·       Critically and directly resulting from the above, it is important to understand that if your activity is illegal, insurers can deny cover in the event of an claim being brought against you.

In summary, although the freedom and ease to work within the EU has gone for British citizens, the Home Nations and BASI will continue to work together to find a way forward. One thing is for certain, we are committed to giving anyone the opportunity to embark on a career in snowsports, and we will endeavour to map out and share the various options open to UK snowsports members & professionals embarking on their chosen pathway as these pathways become clearer over time.