A new agreement between the UK and Switzerland was announced last week that means UK-qualified business people will now find it easier to work in Switzerland and vice versa.
The agreement applies to a wide range of professions including lawyers, auditors, driving instructors, cabin crew and anaesthesia associates.
The ability of professionals and businesses to supply services overseas in regulated professions usually depends on the destination country accepting their qualifications. The new deal means that there could be a boost to UK-Swiss trade. According to government statistics, this is currently worth £46 billion a year, with professional and business services worth £8 billion.
The deal could be especially good news for lawyers and legal firms. The agreement allows certain legal professionals to become qualified in the other country after practising for three years. Switzerland is one of the largest and most important export markets for UK legal services in Europe, so this could be key in helping legal firms and businesses with legal teams to decide on how to best deploy their qualified staff between UK and Swiss offices.
Talks on an upgraded UK-Switzerland trade deal are continuing.
