'Brexit will deprive a generation of the invaluable, life-long skills travel can teach'

Post Brexit, our employee pool was limited to anyone who had worked for us in the previous year, i.e. before the end of the EU transition period, and who was willing to apply for Greek residency and to commit to living in Greece for more than 183 days per year.

While we could continue to employ from this group, to do so we had to create a Greek entity, employ everyone on a Greek contract and duplicate payroll and HR functions here and in Greece at a cost of about £5,000 per year.

This is in addition to restricting their working hours to comply with Greek law, paying additional bonuses and gift payments, again, to comply with Greek law, which costs approximately £1,500 per person per year, and engaging in ongoing VAT battles with tax collectors as to whether 22% VAT should be payable on the recharge of their wages to the UK company.

It is endless, and pretty much impossible on so many fronts.

’Considerable complexities’

This year, we had an instance where a rep - after we had gone through the usual three-month back and forth to obtain the required visa – arrived in Ithaca, took a dislike to the accommodation and promptly departed, leaving us high and dry.

To add insult to injury, we had to pay, as a result of just one day’s employment, €129 in holiday pay and €211 as a Christmas bonus. I suppose we at least avoided the Easter gift payment.

We have tried to recruit other EU nationals – an Irish national left within a week, and a Dutch national lasted a month. Even then, the considerable complexities surrounding National Insurance payments in order for other EU nationals to be employed by the Greek company are difficult to comprehend.

Employing from within the local Greek workforce is always difficult. Locals can demand far more pay for exactly the same work as someone applying for a gap year role would seek. They are also far less flexible when it comes to working hours, and, of course, they do not always understand the English way of thinking.

Generations will miss out on the invaluable experience of working in another country and of learning to live by their wits, which is what good reps quickly learn. It’s an invaluable and life-long skill.

Our industry, and the UK itself, will be much worse off as a result of no longer having access to such a resourceful young talent pool. Travel companies lose out, young people lose out, and the UK itself will lose out too.

Noel Josephides is chair of Sunvil.