Living and working in the United Kingdom

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What do you think of when you think of the UK?

London ?

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London is great but don’t forget the rest!

Edinburgh The Lake District

Belfast Cardiff

This presentation is to give you some of the information you will need to help decide if working in the UK is the right move for you.

Working in the UK• Information on finding a job and working conditions

Living in the UK• Information on the cost of living

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Working in the UK

The job market

Looking for work

Working conditions

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England London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Bristol, Nottingham Scotland Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen Wales Cardiff, Swansea, Aberystwyth, Bangor Northern Ireland Belfast, Londonderry/Derry

Population: 62 millionLanguages: English, Welsh Currency: British pound £

The United Kingdom

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• UK unemployment rate 7.7% down 0.1% • Increase in part-time working, but not through choice

• High youth unemployment - up 35,000 to 742,000

• Economy growing: more people are finding work than losing their job• But the recovery is slow and fragile (2.47 million unemployed)

• Reduction in UK expenditure will lead to a decline in public sector jobs• But certain sectors still have shortages (skill shortage occupations)

• Biggest recent changes: Construction jobs ↑ Education jobs ↓

Job MarketThe Job Market

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• Senior care workers

Shortage Occupations

• Skilled chefs

• Social workers

• Electrical Engineers

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• Secondary education science and maths teachers (children 11-16 years old)

• Teachers in special schools

• Doctors (accidents & emergencies)

• Nurses (operating theatres and neonatal intensive care units)

• Pharmacists

• Veterinary surgeons

• Chemical engineers

• Mechanical engineers (electricity generation / transmission / distribution)

• Civil engineers (geotechnical, rock/soil mechanics, tunnelling, petroleum)

• Pipe Welders (high integrity with 3 years experience)

• Butchers and meat cutters (skilled meat trimmer and meat boner)

More Shortage Occupations

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• For UK recognition of qualifications, contact NARIC

• Learning the language – The British Council

• University courses in the UK – Prospects

• To study in the UK at undergraduate / post graduate level you will need good English language skills

• Internships

Education - qualifications

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• EURES

• Jobsfairs

• UK newspapers (online)

• Company websites

• Private recruitment agencies

• Online agencies / jobsites

• Public employment services

Looking for work

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• Great Britain - Jobcentre Plus

• Northern Ireland - Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) • Self service kiosks - Jobpoints

Employment services in the UK

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• Curriculum Vitae – C V 2 pages maximum, typed

• Create a CV to match the job

• Typed Application letter (covering letter)

• Company application forms (sometimes online)

• Interviews – it depends on the job applied for

Job application process

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• National Minimum Wage: £5.93 per hour

• Holiday entitlement 25 days +

• Verbal / Written contracts

• Equality Act 2010

Employment Law

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Needed to pay social security contributions in the UK

Apply just before or as soon as you start work

• 11 % deducted from earnings between £110 - £844 plus• 1 % of earnings above £844 per week

Self employed people pay their ownNational Insurance contributions

National Insurance Number

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• Basic rate: 20% £0 - £37,400

• Higher rate: 40% £37,401 - £150,000

• Additional rate: 50% Over £150,000

• Self employed people pay their own tax

Income Tax

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Example pay slip for the average UK salary

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Living in the UK

Accommodation

Healthcare

Cost of living

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What might be the worst thing about living in the UK?

the weather ?

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Average monthly rental charges:

• Apartments/Flats: £450 - £600 = (€513-684)

• Houses: £500 - £800 = (€570 - £912)

• Rooms: £200 - £350 = (€228 - £399)

Deposit + 1 month’s rent in advance

Council Tax – local tax on accommodation

Bills– water, gas, electricity & telephone

Living in the UK

Accommodation

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Cost of living – what UK households spend their money on

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• Bread (800 grams) £1.00 ↑ € 1.14

• Butter £1.30 ↑ € 1.48

• Eggs (6 large free range) £1.61 ↑ € 1.83

• Milk, 2.24 litres (4 pints) £1.25 € 1.43

• Pint of beer (568ml) £3.00 € 3.42

• Cigarettes £6.00 € 6.84

• Cinema ticket £6.00 € 6.84

• Bus £1.50 € 1.71

• Petrol, 1 litre £1.13 € 1.28

• 1 pound = 1.14 euro• 1 euro = 88 pence

Living expensesCost of living – UK shopping basket