Working in London

[Bob MacCallum]

Full time under-5s childcare could set you back as much as £1400 a month.
My employer subsidises so it's "only" around £750.  You might get some
vouchers from the government from age 3+ (I think it's equivalent to a few
hours a day).  As for availability, it seems there are waiting lists but
it's not impossible to find a place.  I don't think there's any
state-provided care, but I think there's a tax break (I do a salary
sacrifice).  I'm not the best person to ask about personal finance!

On Thu, Feb 18, 2010 at 1:05 PM, Robin Berjon <robin at berjon.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I'm currently looking at perhaps moving to London for a position with a
> rather large company there and I have a few questions if you fine people
> don't mind. I'm realising as I think about it that I know the place and love
> it, alongside the people, the beer, the food and all that, but that I have a
> somewhat limited idea of what it's like to work there.
>
> For one I'm not sure what constitutes a decent pay there, one on which to
> live taking into account a wife who will probably need a few months to find
> a job and a small baby and that doesn't involve spending half of one's day
> in public transport. I know that it's more expensive than Paris, but that's
> about it (the strange legacy currency also doesn't help, but I can get used
> to that ;-). As a data point, the position is research/standards orientated,
> in a field in which I'm well-respected.
>
> I also know very little about UK work law. Is there anything specific to
> look out for in a contract? Any catch that could bite me? I'm used to French
> law which is generally super protective of employees (at least for
> indefinite-length contracts) so I could well be quite naïve.
>
> Another thing I know nothing about is childcare. Is there decent state/city
> provided stuff? Is it for pay (and if so around how much) but it won't be a
> problem to get in? In Paris it's supremely difficult to find a crèche place
> even if you're willing to pay so most parents resort to hiring a nanny that
> you share with other families.
>
> Thanks a lot for any answers, and if you have advice on things I might not
> have thought about I'm all ears!
>
> --
> Robin Berjon - http://berjon.com/
>
>
>
>
>


-- 
http://darwintunes.org - a test-tube for cultural evolution
http://evolectronica.com - survival of the funkiest
http://compare-stuff.com - confused? you will be!
http://twitter.com/darwintunes
http://twitter.com/bobmaccallum