Travel Weekly Insight Annual Report: Industry experts assess market outlook Continued from page 40 Ami Naru, partner and


head of employment at Travlaw, highlighted the importance of the EU Posted Workers’ Directive for firms sending employees overseas, saying: “It gives a minimum floor for employment rights when you post a worker from the UK to an EU member state. But if it falls away, I don’t think employers will say, ‘You have been paid X euros per hour, we’re going to bring that down’. Employers want the right people to do the job. “The problem is there are


going to be more costs and complexities getting staff into European resorts. They’re going to have to comply with local entry requirements. You will need to be familiar with those in each country, which is an additional cost because you will need to pay for advice. “You will have visa


requirements or you’re going to have to recruit locally, which is an administrative burden. Either way it’s going to be more complicated and it’s going to be more costly to send staff into EU member states.” Chris Photi, head of travel


and leisure at White Hart Associates, told the event: “Are you going to be required to register for VAT in each destination? That sting in the tail may come. “Cross-border selling


around the EU concerns me. Companies which sell into European markets have not addressed this as quickly as they should. People are coming to this at the last minute.”


Karen Taylor


Naru hails furlough scheme but says changes cost jobs


An earlier extension of the furlough scheme would have saved some jobs in the travel sector, according to Ami Naru, partner and head of employment at Travlaw. Naru said: “Without doubt,


furlough has been a lifeline. “But if employers had known


the scheme was going to be in place from April for pretty much a full year, they would have been in a


38 17 DECEMBER 2020


Post-Xmas rules ‘depend on how people behave’


The jury is out on whether a relaxation of restrictions over Christmas will mean a return to tough tier restrictions in the new year, according to a health expert. Karen Taylor, director of the


UK Centre for Health Solutions at Deloitte, said: “If you look at the US, and the spike of cases following the relaxation over Thanksgiving, that would suggest a return [of


restrictions]. Certainly, scientists are concerned there will be another increase [in Covid cases in the UK].” But she noted: “The US already


had high rates of infection. As we get our rates down, there is more optimism that we may avoid a peak after Christmas.” Speaking at a Travel Weekly


Insight Report launch event last week, before London’s move to tier three restrictions was announced on Monday, Taylor said whether tougher restrictions will be needed “is a difficult question to answer. “People are being advised not to


go mad and meet lots of people and lose all sense of restrictions, but to operate with the restrictions still in place and be able to see their families. “It does depend how people


behave, how well they comply with the restrictions and mitigating strategies.” Taylor added: “People also have


to take an informed view of risk. The scientists are cautious. Hopefully, we


position to make more-informed decisions and the number of redundancies would have been less.” The government insisted the


furlough scheme would end in October before giving it a reprieve amid a second wave of Covid cases. Naru said: “The government


chopped and changed what support was going to be there, and that had a detrimental impact on the number of redundancies. But without doubt, furlough has prevented some redundancies.” The government will review the


scheme in January and Naru said: “My guess is the contribution from the government will decline [from


There is a balance


and we have to think about the impact on the economy and on health more generally


will be able to contain the virus. There is a balance and we have to think about the impact on the economy and on health more generally.” However, she noted: “The


evidence shows that as soon as you relax restrictions, the risk increases. “A balance needs to be struck.


But it’s more than my job to say what that balance is. I just know what the research shows, what the evidence shows. Some Far East countries have managed to open up their economies almost as normal by keeping rates low for a long period. We’re clearly in a very different position to that. Each country is in a different situation.”


Ami Naru


February] and the contribution from employers increase. What will happen post-March, I don’t know. The job support scheme was postponed. The government didn’t say it was withdrawn, so I guess something akin to that will come in.”


travelweekly.co.uk


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