Too many businesses are poorly prepared for Britain鈥檚 departure from the EU in a little over five weeks鈥 time, officials are warning.

The huge financial and logistical cost of the pandemic has left many in danger of being badly caught out when a huge overhaul of regulations comes in on January 1.

Leicestershire and Rutland鈥檚 Local Resilience Forum is one of the bodies warning that time is running out for businesses to ensure they have done what they need to do before the big changes come in.

A Leicestershire County Council survey suggested just eight per cent of bosses in the area saw the impending EU exit as a major obstacle.

North West Leicestershire District Council chief executive Bev Smith chairs the countywide forum working group tasked with helping the region prepare for Brexit.

She said: 鈥淚t is a concern for us that January 1 will come round very quickly and businesses won鈥檛 be ready for it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 completely understandable that attentions are elsewhere 鈥 it鈥檚 been a tough year for businesses and we鈥檙e in the middle of our second national lockdown.

鈥淯nfortunately though this doesn鈥檛 change the fact that the transition period will end in a matter of weeks, and our businesses simply have to be ready.

鈥淭he last thing Leicestershire needs is further disruption and confusion in our business community in the New Year.

鈥淭his can be prevented by taking action now, but time is running out.

鈥淭his is a plea from us to use the Government鈥檚 tools and information to check your businesses is prepared, and if you need further help our local authorities stand ready to support you.鈥

Kevin Harris heads up RSM鈥檚 Leicester office and chairs the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership.

He said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e doing as much as we can to support our businesses to be ready for EU exit in time for January 1.

鈥淭hrough our we鈥檝e been running one-to-one support sessions and webinars to give tailored and in-depth advice to those that need help 鈥 and these will continue to be run on a weekly basis.

EU exit business checklist

If as a business owner, the answer to any of the following is yes, then your business probably needs to take action to be ready for the end of the EU Exit transition period.

People

  • Do you employ any EU nationals?
  • Do you employ any 海角视频 nationals who work in the EU?
  • Do you have staff who regularly travel to the EU for work?

Goods

  • Do you sell products to customers in the EU?
  • Do you buy products from suppliers in the EU?
  • Are any of your export deliveries timebound with penalties?

Services

  • Do you provide any services or advice to EU customers?
  • Do you receive personal data from the EU/EAA?
  • Do you have an EU web domain?

Money

  • Do spend large amounts on supplies or services from the EU?
  • Do you have a bank account in the EU?
  • Do you have non-EU clients that might now face import duties?
  • Do you have exchange services in place to protect against currency fluctuation?

鈥淟ocal authorities are reaching out to businesses too, offering their support and advice.

鈥淭he bottom line is though that only businesses owners themselves can take the steps required to prepare 鈥 and the time to act is now.鈥

Forum leaders hope that by preparing now, the impact on local trade and therefore the local economy will be kept to a minimum in January.

Mrs Smith said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e not expecting the end of the transition to cause major issues if we are collectively prepared for it.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a big ask for businesses to divert their focus away from Covid-19 to address EU exit 鈥 and we wouldn鈥檛 be doing it if it wasn鈥檛 essential.

鈥淏y working together we will be ready for January 1 鈥 please take advantage of the local support available and see Leicestershire and Rutland safely negotiate the end of the transition period.鈥