Senior Associate Henna Elahi has provided comment in HR Magazine on the impacts of professional qualification and youth mobility schemes for businesses following the recently announced UK-EU deal.

Commenting on what professional qualification means in practice, Henna said: “Professional qualification recognition means that professionals who are qualified in one country can practice that profession in another country, without being required to requalify or undertake the same qualification process as local professionals. In practice this means that an individual who has spent time, sometimes several years, earning their professional qualification in one country can then move to another and immediately work in that profession without having to spend time studying, sitting exams or carrying out any other activities to be able to conduct their work.

“This will save time and resources and provide that individual freedom to move abroad without needing to be concerned about requalifying.”

In relation to whether the deal will make it easier for firms to hire talent and shift employees between the UK and the EU, Henna added: “The new UK-EU deal does not specifically address freedom of movement for employees or workers generally. It does introduce a proposal for a Youth Mobility Scheme where young people would be allowed to move between the UK and Europe for work and study, but for a limited time.

“However, it does not appear to make it any easier for companies to generally hire talent and shift employees between the UK and EU. For now, it does not appear that there is a return to pre-Brexit freedom of movement and companies will still need to navigate their way through the complex immigration procedures of the UK and the EU.”

Henna’s comments were published in HR Magazine, 21 May 2025.