Self-employed EU citizens’ fears over new regulations
Self-employed EU citizens who live in Wales are fearful that their right to work may be taken away after Brexit, says Chief reporter Martin Shipton
TRINI Clares Flores has run her one-woman translation and interpreting business in Cardiff for 13 years.
Now she’s worried she may have to give up work following Brexit because of new regulations proposed by the UK government.
Ms Flores, a Spanish citizen, met her Welsh husband David Hughes, a barrister, when they were both students in Wolverhampton more than 20 years ago.
They lived in Spain for a few years while he practised at the Bar in Gibraltar before moving to Cardiff, where they have an eight-year-old son.
Since starting her business in Wales Ms Flores has always been self-employed. She’s works for companies and public sector organisations including, ironically, the Home Office: last week she was interpreting in a case involving an asylum seeker.
But while she has been concerned from the outset about the implications of Brexit for herself and other EU citizens living in the UK, she only became aware of a potential threat to her livelihood this week.
The Draft Freedom of Establishment and Free Movement of Services (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 have received little attention since being published in July.
However, the Public Law Project – a charity that uses the expertise of specialist lawyers to evaluate the significance of new legislation affecting people’s rights – is very concerned by the regulations.
A briefing paper produced by the Public Law Project states: “The regulations significantly reduce the rights of EU, EEA [European Economic Area], Swiss and Turkish nationals.
“Specifically, they disapply their rights to be self-employed, own and manage companies or provide services in the UK on the same basis as UK nationals, and their right to bring nationality discrimination claims in relation to the rights to be selfemployed, own and manage companies or provide services in the UK.”
Analysing the implication of the regulations further, the Public Law Project states: “[The] regulations disapply the rights of a large cohort of EU, EEA, Swiss and Turkish nationals who are presently self-employed, owning and managing companies or providing services in the UK.
“They remove their rights to be so engaged on the same basis as UK nationals, and preclude them bringing nationality discrimination claims in respect of those rights. On any analysis, these are matters of great significance. Indeed, in drawing the regulations to the special attention of the House [of Commons] on public policy grounds, the SLSC [Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee] has described them as ‘appearing to be a significant reduction of rights’.”
Criticising the UK government’s decision to introduce the change through regulations rather than via a new law which would be properly scrutinised, the Public Law Project said: “Innovations of such a profound character ought not top be made by way of secondary legislation; rather, they ought to be introduced in primary legislation and thereby subjected to full Parliamentary scrutiny.”
Ms Flores said: “This has come totally out of the blue. I find it absolutely outrageous that something like this is being proposed.
“I have spent years building my business up, but if this goes through I will not be able to work.
“Companies and public bodies use translators and interpreters when they need them, and people who provide such services are nearly all self-employed.
“I have no idea why they would want to introduce regulations like this.
“There are many EU nationals running businesses in Wales and elsewhere in the UK, many of which provide employment for UK citizens. Why would a government want to interfere with successful businesses and put people out of work? It doesn’t make sense. I am very, very worried about the implications of this.”
The regulations, which do not specify that they will apply only to people who enter the UK after Brexit, were debated in the House of Commons on Monday evening.
Stephen Doughty, the Labour MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, asked Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi: “Does he not accept that it has caused great alarm to many selfemployed EU citizens who have been operating legitimate and important businesses in our communities up and down the country? I was contacted by a constituent today who was simply unaware of this and is deeply alarmed.”
Mr Zahawi sought to reassure EU citizens already living in the UK that they would be unaffected by the regulations – even though such a statement does not occur in the regulations themselves.
He told MPs: “On citizens’ rights, the rights disapplied by the regulations should not be confused with the citizens’ rights of EU citizens currently resident in the UK, which are being protected separately. The UK’s guarantee to EU citizens is that those who are resident in the UK by exit day will still be able to work, study and access benefits and services, whatever the scenario.
“This is separate to, unrelated to and unaffected by these regulations.”
Self-employed EU citizens like Trini Clares Flores remain unconvinced by the minister’s attempt to reassure them.