Offered a job in Aus

[scattley]

Also what about private medical insurance????????????

 

Its not something that is covered by your employer - never heard of anyone getting it as part of their package. If you are earning over 150K (I think that is the limit) for a couple you get taxed extra if you do not have private cover but for most people its a decision on par with whether they get Foxtel or Gym membership (if they have no health issues that is)

[jimithechew]

Ive been offered a job in Sydney with sponsorship , but in comparison to my current role it does not compare well in terms of benefits .. ie paid holidays , sickness pay , life assurance and hours of work , salary slightly better though .

It has taken a lonnnng time to get to this stage .

 

What would you do ? [emoji20] [emoji33]

 

I think you have just answered this yourself.

 

The money is better for less hours.

 

Not sure why you would look at the sick pay as anything other than a bonus? are you off sick much?

 

20 working days for annual leave is standard

 

36 hr working week sounds less than civil servants!

 

3 on 4 off.....

 

I'm not sure what's there left to discuss, if you have gone through all this rigmarole and now you have the job offer you should take it. Stick it out for a couple of years then seek new employment if there is the opportunity. Though you state you field is specialist so options may not be in abundance...

[docboat]

Look, you either want to come to Australia, or you do not. if you want to come to Australia, you will do so, get a job, any job, and work your way up from there. If you start wondering about your benefits from the get go,then you are really better off staying at home. I think you have answered your own question.

[starlight7]

Have to say we never considered all those things when we came- except that we did know we would cope and be able to survive financially. As doc and others say, you either want to come or not. Some would say you are lucky to have a job to come to for starters but considering all your questions about sick pay etc- no I wouldn't come at all if that is such a worry for you.

[betterskierthanthewife]

If you stay in the UK will you wonder to yourself in 5/10/15/20 years time "what if......"?

[BacktoDemocracy]

Its not something that is covered by your employer - never heard of anyone getting it as part of their package. If you are earning over 150K (I think that is the limit) for a couple you get taxed extra if you do not have private cover but for most people its a decision on par with whether they get Foxtel or Gym membership (if they have no health issues that is)

It was not about private health as such but question that on a 457 don't you have to have it as you cannot use medicare??????

[mungbean]

Look, you either want to come to Australia, or you do not. if you want to come to Australia, you will do so, get a job, any job, and work your way up from there. If you start wondering about your benefits from the get go,then you are really better off staying at home. I think you have answered your own question.

 

Many people have to work out the numbers to see whether it's financially viable for them to take up a new post, whether it's overseas or not.

 

Reducing it to "wanting to" is rather naive, and doesn't take into account the many and varied commitments and circumstances that we all have when making these decisions.

 

OP might find this site useful, since working conditions and pay are far more harmonised/controlled in Aus than the UK, but I'm not sure how this impacts someone doing shifts: http://www.fairwork.gov.au/

[mungbean]

It was not about private health as such but question that on a 457 don't you have to have it as you cannot use medicare??????

 

Quite the opposite, if you're from the UK.

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/medicare/reciprocal-health-care-agreements/health-care-for-visitors-to-australia

 

If you are a resident of New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Finland or Norway, you are covered for the length of your stay in Australia.

 

If you are a visitor from Belgium, the Netherlands or Slovenia, you need your European Health Insurance card to enrol in Medicare. You are eligible until the expiry date shown on the card, or for the length of your authorised stay in Australia, if that is an earlier date.

 

If you are visiting from Malta or Italy, and you are a resident and citizen of those countries, you’ll be covered by Medicare for a period of six months from the date of your arrival in Australia.

[BacktoDemocracy]

Quite the opposite, if you're from the UK.

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/enablers/medicare/reciprocal-health-care-agreements/health-care-for-visitors-to-australia

 

If you are a resident of New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, Finland or Norway, you are covered for the length of your stay in Australia.

 

If you are a visitor from Belgium, the Netherlands or Slovenia, you need your European Health Insurance card to enrol in Medicare. You are eligible until the expiry date shown on the card, or for the length of your authorised stay in Australia, if that is an earlier date.

 

If you are visiting from Malta or Italy, and you are a resident and citizen of those countries, you’ll be covered by Medicare for a period of six months from the date of your arrival in Australia.

 

I wouldn't want to argue but i thought it was different if you are on an employer sponsored visa

[Guest]

Thankyou wakeboard and scattley ..

I currently work a 4 on 4 off shift pattern 12 hours .. I get 31 days holiday + 3 months sick pay + life assurance ..

I am starting to think that my dreams of a better life style / more time with my young family in Aus are not going to be better than I have here .. #confused

 

The offer you have in Australia is about as good as it's going to get - we shared the same dreams and came crashing down to earth with a bump - longer working hours, less leave (and no progression), a longer commute (obviously specific to us but higher house prices meant we had to live further out of the city centre)

 

The sick pay provision is shocking in Australia and unless you are a high risk taker, critical illness insurance is almost mandatory - depending on your super fund this may be an optional extra & can be taken out of your premiums.

 

I think it was shown that you will have a little bit more time off in Australia so in that case you are doing well but you are going to have to think long and hard and do some proper research (not just from opinions of forums!) as to whether Australia is a 'better lifestyle' and will actually give you 'more time'. Factor in whether you will be visiting the UK - that was a killer for us, 4 weeks leave and then spending half of it in the UK (very much our choice due to our circumstances).

 

It's not a bad lifestyle in Australia, probably no worse that the UK depending on personal preferences (we prefer the UK but others prefer Australia, I think a lot depends on how you like to spend leisure time) but outside of the public sector salaries don't generally make up for the cost of living and terms and conditions are nowhere near as good.

 

When you say the salary is similar, on what basis? The current exchange rate isn't relevant - the best guesstimate is your salary in Australia needs to be 2.2x your current salary to afford you the same standard of living. You do need to consider house prices where you are moving from/to as well - people moving to Sydney from London don't find it expensive on the other hand where I live a 4-bed detached house is under £200k so we found Perth excruciatingly expensive (& Sydney is more expensive again). Don't be fooled by 'median' house prices - what they call a city in Australia is more like a county in the UK, end to end the Perth Metropolitan area is almost 100km of urban sprawl.

 

In my opinion Australia doesn't give you a better lifestyle, you have to change your lifestyle for it to be better and you don't need to move to Australia to do that, for a lot of people it may be the impetus they need but you have to consider what you are giving up.

[JockinTas]

Totally agree! Well said LR.

 

I've known a few Brits over the years who've come to Australia thinking they will be leading a wonderful lifestyle and have been very disappointed that life here is very much like life in the UK albeit with the better weather everyone seem to be obsessed with. Many of them returned to the UK. For myself, I have always been happy here. Worked hard and played hard. Thankfully always had good health - in the 23 years in my last job I had 5 sick days off!! Now I am able to enjoy retirement in a lovely little part of the world.

[mungbean]

I wouldn't want to argue but i thought it was different if you are on an employer sponsored visa

 

According to this the only visas with restrictions are 405 and 410, which are both retirement visas.

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/reciprocal-health-care-agreements

[Ozmaniac]

Thankyou for your very informative reply , it has all the nuts and bolts I need to make my decision , what is the VAC though ? [emoji53]

 

VAC is Visa Application Charge. The VAC for two parents and two children for a 186 is AUD$7040 which is considerably higher than for a 457 but if you have to pay school fees for even one child and get no Family Tax Benefit and no childcare benefits, you should offset that in under 12 months. The other advantage if you can swing a 186, is that you are free to work for any employer in any location in any occuaption. On a 457, you can only work for the sponsoring employer (and can't even get a part time job to help ends meet), in the nominated occupation and if you lose or leave your job, you have only 90 days in which to find another sponsor (an eligible sponsor, not just a job!) or you will all have to leave the country. Those conditions are not too bad for a single person or even a couple without kids, but uprooting a family is another matter altogether.

[ramot]

According to this the only visas with restrictions are 405 and 410, which are both retirement visas.

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/reciprocal-health-care-agreements

 

Yes we are on the 410 + know several on the 405 visa. We are totally self funded and must have health insurance.

But there is an agreement that we get prescriptions at the Medicare rate which does help.

Edited March 21, 2015 by ramot

[mungbean]

According to this the only visas with restrictions are 405 and 410, which are both retirement visas.

 

http://www.humanservices.gov.au/customer/services/medicare/reciprocal-health-care-agreements

 

The other restriction on registering for Medicare, which I just heard about, is that you have to have been "resident" in the UK before coming to Aus.

 

This doesn't really seem to come up anywhere, except on the application form.

[chenzo]

The offer you have in Australia is about as good as it's going to get - we shared the same dreams and came crashing down to earth with a bump - longer working hours, less leave (and no progression), a longer commute (obviously specific to us but higher house prices meant we had to live further out of the city centre)

 

The sick pay provision is shocking in Australia and unless you are a high risk taker, critical illness insurance is almost mandatory - depending on your super fund this may be an optional extra & can be taken out of your premiums.

 

I think it was shown that you will have a little bit more time off in Australia so in that case you are doing well but you are going to have to think long and hard and do some proper research (not just from opinions of forums!) as to whether Australia is a 'better lifestyle' and will actually give you 'more time'. Factor in whether you will be visiting the UK - that was a killer for us, 4 weeks leave and then spending half of it in the UK (very much our choice due to our circumstances).

 

It's not a bad lifestyle in Australia, probably no worse that the UK depending on personal preferences (we prefer the UK but others prefer Australia, I think a lot depends on how you like to spend leisure time) but outside of the public sector salaries don't generally make up for the cost of living and terms and conditions are nowhere near as good.

 

When you say the salary is similar, on what basis? The current exchange rate isn't relevant - the best guesstimate is your salary in Australia needs to be 2.2x your current salary to afford you the same standard of living. You do need to consider house prices where you are moving from/to as well - people moving to Sydney from London don't find it expensive on the other hand where I live a 4-bed detached house is under £200k so we found Perth excruciatingly expensive (& Sydney is more expensive again). Don't be fooled by 'median' house prices - what they call a city in Australia is more like a county in the UK, end to end the Perth Metropolitan area is almost 100km of urban sprawl.

 

In my opinion Australia doesn't give you a better lifestyle, you have to change your lifestyle for it to be better and you don't need to move to Australia to do that, for a lot of people it may be the impetus they need but you have to consider what you are giving up.

You have hit the nail on the head tbf , and you make alot of sense , thankyou for your input .

[chenzo]

My decision was made last week , and with a heavy heart I had to turn this great opportunity down . I know some of you may disagree but it was not right for us a family . Ill explain a little .

The position on offer was a permanent night shift working wed, thur,fri rotating to a sun ,mon,tue every 2 months . (With an expectation to work every other sat night as and when needed, which right now was all the time ) As I explained earlier this came with 12 days hols +bh .... which if fell on a shift I was due to work I was expected to do in return for single rate + a day in lieu . All overtime was at single rate . My projected earnings inc ot, would have been ×3+ my current salary ( not exchange rate ) .

When compared with my current benefits I felt as a family we would not have as much quality time together, and as my child is 6 years of age I did not want to look back in 5 years time and realise I had missed a lot of his growing up by (a) working practically every weekend (b) having less holiday entitlement to enjoy as a family .

The sick pay worried me too . Btw I am never off sick ! but should I be, I currently have a safety blanket of 3+ months paid sick leave ,which as a family man is comforting . For example, a friend of mine had a kidney transplant and only received the bare minimum statutory sick pay, working for a different company.

My wife works full time and her employers allow her flexibility around my shifts which is great because we do not have to rely on child care .

This decision has not been taken lightly, and has been in the planning for 12 months with me even doing a one week reccie to Sydney ( not long enough [emoji22] )

We have a holiday home next to the beach and I plan on getting a jetski this year now. Although obviously colder and ill need a good wetsuit/drysuit maybe I can achieve a little bit of the lifestyle we are looking for .

I would just like to say a huge thankyou [emoji106] [emoji6] to everyone that has helped me with advice including the gentleman I spoke to on the phone when I was in Sydney ( @Joebloggs)

I certainly now have had a taste for Australia and who knows , if a position becomes available with more family friendly hours we will give it a go .

Edited March 24, 2015 by chenzo

[Bungo]

I don't know how anybody could possibly disagree with what is your decision and impacts only you and yours, not anybody else.

 

Still those hours look pretty nice to me, three days a week :smile:

[BacktoDemocracy]

My decision was made last week , and with a heavy heart I had to turn this great opportunity down . I know some of you may disagree but it was not right for us a family . Ill explain a little .

The position on offer was a permanent night shift working wed, thur,fri rotating to a sun ,mon,tue every 2 months . (With an expectation to work every other sat night as and when needed, which right now was all the time ) As I explained earlier this came with 12 days hols +bh .... which if fell on a shift I was due to work I was expected to do in return for single rate + a day in lieu . All overtime was at single rate . My projected earnings inc ot, would have been ×3+ my current salary ( not exchange rate ) .

When compared with my current benefits I felt as a family we would not have as much quality time together, and as my child is 6 years of age I did not want to look back in 5 years time and realise I had missed a lot of his growing up by (a) working practically every weekend (b) having less holiday entitlement to enjoy as a family .

The sick pay worried me too . Btw I am never off sick ! but should I be, I currently have a safety blanket of 3+ months paid sick leave ,which as a family man is comforting . For example, a friend of mine had a kidney transplant and only received the bare minimum statutory sick pay, working for a different company.

My wife works full time and her employers allow her flexibility around my shifts which is great because we do not have to rely on child care .

This decision has not been taken lightly, and has been in the planning for 12 months with me even doing a one week reccie to Sydney ( not long enough [emoji22] )

We have a holiday home next to the beach and I plan on getting a jetski this year now. Although obviously colder and ill need a good wetsuit/drysuit maybe I can achieve a little bit of the lifestyle we are looking for .

I would just like to say a huge thankyou [emoji106] [emoji6] to everyone that has helped me with advice including the gentleman I spoke to on the phone when I was in Sydney ( @Joebloggs)

I certainly now have had a taste for Australia and who knows , if a position becomes available with more family friendly hours we will give it a go .

 

I was going to post about how restrictive a 457 can be as it ties you to one employer and if you fall out with that employer how difficult it can be to get another sponsoring employer especially if it is spcialised work and within the time that you have to acheive it.

I think, however reluctantly, you have made the the right choice, moving to oz in my opinion only succeds if what you get in Oz is a lot better on all fronts than what you have in the uk.

[wakeboard1980]

My decision was made last week , and with a heavy heart I had to turn this great opportunity down . I know some of you may disagree but it was not right for us a family . Ill explain a little .

The position on offer was a permanent night shift working wed, thur,fri rotating to a sun ,mon,tue every 2 months . (With an expectation to work every other sat night as and when needed, which right now was all the time ) As I explained earlier this came with 12 days hols +bh .... which if fell on a shift I was due to work I was expected to do in return for single rate + a day in lieu . All overtime was at single rate . My projected earnings inc ot, would have been ×3+ my current salary ( not exchange rate ) .

When compared with my current benefits I felt as a family we would not have as much quality time together, and as my child is 6 years of age I did not want to look back in 5 years time and realise I had missed a lot of his growing up by (a) working practically every weekend (b) having less holiday entitlement to enjoy as a family .

The sick pay worried me too . Btw I am never off sick ! but should I be, I currently have a safety blanket of 3+ months paid sick leave ,which as a family man is comforting . For example, a friend of mine had a kidney transplant and only received the bare minimum statutory sick pay, working for a different company.

My wife works full time and her employers allow her flexibility around my shifts which is great because we do not have to rely on child care .

This decision has not been taken lightly, and has been in the planning for 12 months with me even doing a one week reccie to Sydney ( not long enough [emoji22] )

We have a holiday home next to the beach and I plan on getting a jetski this year now. Although obviously colder and ill need a good wetsuit/drysuit maybe I can achieve a little bit of the lifestyle we are looking for .

I would just like to say a huge thankyou [emoji106] [emoji6] to everyone that has helped me with advice including the gentleman I spoke to on the phone when I was in Sydney ( @Joebloggs)

I certainly now have had a taste for Australia and who knows , if a position becomes available with more family friendly hours we will give it a go .

I wouldn't be doing those shift patterns either with a young family. I would sya though if and when you do decide again to have a look at going don't get your hopes up about the sick leave changing, or the holidays either. what you have said was on offer is pretty standard.

[VERYSTORMY]

My decision was made last week , and with a heavy heart I had to turn this great opportunity down . I know some of you may disagree but it was not right for us a family . Ill explain a little .

The position on offer was a permanent night shift working wed, thur,fri rotating to a sun ,mon,tue every 2 months . (With an expectation to work every other sat night as and when needed, which right now was all the time ) As I explained earlier this came with 12 days hols +bh .... which if fell on a shift I was due to work I was expected to do in return for single rate + a day in lieu . All overtime was at single rate . My projected earnings inc ot, would have been ×3+ my current salary ( not exchange rate ) .

 

 

When compared with my current benefits I felt as a family we would not have as much quality time together, and as my child is 6 years of age I did not want to look back in 5 years time and realise I had missed a lot of his growing up by (a) working practically every weekend (b) having less holiday entitlement to enjoy as a family .

The sick pay worried me too . Btw I am never off sick ! but should I be, I currently have a safety blanket of 3+ months paid sick leave ,which as a family man is comforting . For example, a friend of mine had a kidney transplant and only received the bare minimum statutory sick pay, working for a different company.

My wife works full time and her employers allow her flexibility around my shifts which is great because we do not have to rely on child care .

This decision has not been taken lightly, and has been in the planning for 12 months with me even doing a one week reccie to Sydney ( not long enough [emoji22] )

We have a holiday home next to the beach and I plan on getting a jetski this year now. Although obviously colder and ill need a good wetsuit/drysuit maybe I can achieve a little bit of the lifestyle we are looking for .

I would just like to say a huge thankyou [emoji106] [emoji6] to everyone that has helped me with advice including the gentleman I spoke to on the phone when I was in Sydney ( @Joebloggs)

I certainly now have had a taste for Australia and who knows , if a position becomes available with more family friendly hours we will give it a go .

 

One of the most sensible and balanced approaches i have seen for a long time.

Having a place by the sea as a bolt hole is a big plus and to be honest, although i live meters from the ocean, i actually spent more time surfing in the UK than i have in Oz.

Good luck with the future

[chenzo]

Thankyou to everyone that has had an input in this post and any other that I posted along this journey . The wealth of knowledge , advice and experience you all bring to this forum is invaluable to the many people that hope, plan and succeed in moving "Down Under" . I have learned alot and hopefully I will be able to pass it on aswell . [emoji6] [emoji106]