Anyone had tomove back to UK for financial reasons?

[Hamsterwheel]

Just wondering if anyone out there over 50 has had to return to the UK due to not being able to find work and severe dwindling of savings?

Didn't imagine it would be so difficult and after 11 months of little or no income we have no choice but to return.  

Really don't want to leave and wondered if anyone got through and came out the other side being able to stay in Australia?

[Marisawright]

It can be tough to find work after 50 in some parts of Australia.   The UK doesn't seem to have such blatant age discrimination.     What kind of work do you do?   

One tip - it's illegal for any interviewer to ask your age and you don't have to put your age on your CV.   You also don't have to show all your work experience, so delete a few of your early jobs so they can't work out how long you've been working!

Are you getting any kind of Centrelink benefits if you're struggling?  It's well worth investigating.  

The problem with returning to the UK is that you may not be eligible for support there, so you should check that out first.

 

[Captain_Tor]

So sorry to hear this, it sounds like lots of people who have emigrated are struggling to find work regardless of age, so can't imagine frustrated how you feel.

What type of work do you do? 

[VERYSTORMY]

Yes, in mid 40's. We left in 2016 after 8 years in Oz, but with the last two sucking away our savings to the point we arrived back with a suitcase each and nothing. But we are now doing "ok" but nothing like we would have been if we had taken the decision to return a lot earlier. 

[TazG]

On the flip side.... how is it work wise if you return to the UK?

[VERYSTORMY]

6 hours ago, TazG said:

On the flip side.... how is it work wise if you return to the UK?

It has been a lot better than Australia for us. 

[Bobj]

I find it very sad that one has to return to the UK in order to find work.Is it not possible to locate to another place in Australia, rather than do such a drastic thing?

I lived in a small town in northern NSW and only got sporadic work, a week here, a couple of days digging holes etc. A good job was on offer and I applied. I was 40 and my wife was in complete agreement to apply. Went to Sydney for an interview, got the job and, while the interviewer and I were having a coffee after negotiations, he told me he had a job for some men to work for 3 months in Penrith, some 40 km from the CBD. He told me that no one turned up for work stating it was too far!

My new job? North West Shelf Gas Project, some 4000 km away. That lasted 4 months  as the Boss wanted me to transfer to be in charge of the building of theTarong coal mine, quality control. That again lead to another job, subbying to the Brisbane Airport Authority, again for quality control. And that, after a year, lead to my final job back in my home town. So, it can be done.

Cheers, Bobj.

[Toots]

16 minutes ago, Bobj said:

I find it very sad that one has to return to the UK in order to find work.Is it not possible to locate to another place in Australia, rather than do such a drastic thing?

I lived in a small town in northern NSW and only got sporadic work, a week here, a couple of days digging holes etc. A good job was on offer and I applied. I was 40 and my wife was in complete agreement to apply. Went to Sydney for an interview, got the job and, while the interviewer and I were having a coffee after negotiations, he told me he had a job for some men to work for 3 months in Penrith, some 40 km from the CBD. He told me that no one turned up for work stating it was too far!

My new job? North West Shelf Gas Project, some 4000 km away. That lasted 4 months  as the Boss wanted me to transfer to be in charge of the building of theTarong coal mine, quality control. That again lead to another job, subbying to the Brisbane Airport Authority, again for quality control. And that, after a year, lead to my final job back in my home town. So, it can be done.

Cheers, Bobj.

Husband and I have never been jobless here but I can imagine it's pretty miserable to be jobless no matter where you live.  What you say above is OK for a male Bob but I think Hamsterwheel is female.  When work dried up for my OH in Perth we moved to Sydney - plenty of construction work going on there.  When it slowed down there he went out west to quite remote towns for a few weeks then up to Qld for a couple of months then Sydney started to boom again and work was steady from then on until he retired.  I did casual jobs bar work, checkout chic and vet nursing until I had children.  Went back to work when the youngest started school then worked for the same company for over 20 years - started off in a very run of the mill office job but was promoted over the years.  Well paid with bonuses.

[Amber Snowball]

Times have changed. Even as a nurse, the last 3 years I was in Australia the types of roles I could do in the community dried up or had been downgraded so they didn’t pay enough that I could change jobs or were being done by non nursing staff. I was employed the whole time I was there once I got the 1st job after I arrived, about 3months that took. As I think about it I didn’t have a job for a couple of months when I moved from one side of Melbourne to the other. I took a very part time role just to get me started and then moved into afull time roles as they came up.

Pay was being outstripped by cost increases and the main issue was the cost of housing. If I had stayed in Australia I would have had to take another 30 year mortgage, at the age of 46, right at the top of what they would lend me which was way above what I was comfortable paying. We did have different housing needs beyond a 3/2 average home though.

I feel for the OP, being unemployed is very stressful with your savings haemorrhaging away. Hopefully something will come up and you can stay in Australia. I came back to the UK last year but that was my choice. Finances definitely played a part in that decision but wasn’t the whole story.

[VERYSTORMY]

11 hours ago, Bobj said:

I find it very sad that one has to return to the UK in order to find work.Is it not possible to locate to another place in Australia, rather than do such a drastic thing?

I lived in a small town in northern NSW and only got sporadic work, a week here, a couple of days digging holes etc. A good job was on offer and I applied. I was 40 and my wife was in complete agreement to apply. Went to Sydney for an interview, got the job and, while the interviewer and I were having a coffee after negotiations, he told me he had a job for some men to work for 3 months in Penrith, some 40 km from the CBD. He told me that no one turned up for work stating it was too far!

My new job? North West Shelf Gas Project, some 4000 km away. That lasted 4 months  as the Boss wanted me to transfer to be in charge of the building of theTarong coal mine, quality control. That again lead to another job, subbying to the Brisbane Airport Authority, again for quality control. And that, after a year, lead to my final job back in my home town. So, it can be done.

Cheers, Bobj.

It is very different today Bob. When I was job hunting I did everything, did some labouring, worked as a drillers off sider, spent 8 hours every day doing applications and sending out CV's. All my contacts were themselves out of work - up to director level. I qued in Mandurah to be in a line to hand in my cv for a job at Macas.  The second last mining gig I was on was in Wiluna, I was working alongside the chairman of the Aus IMM. The head of the entire Oz mining game. He was there on minimum wage for 3 weeks with nothing to go to after. 

Plots of roles require a certain ticket, even the most basic. For example, want to serve coffee in a cafe, well, you need a barista, want to serve a beer, a ticket. But, when you have no cash and you know there are loads of applicants applying for the same job, which ticket do you pay for with very dwindling cash reserves. 

[Paul1Perth]

11 hours ago, VERYSTORMY said:

It is very different today Bob. When I was job hunting I did everything, did some labouring, worked as a drillers off sider, spent 8 hours every day doing applications and sending out CV's. All my contacts were themselves out of work - up to director level. I qued in Mandurah to be in a line to hand in my cv for a job at Macas.  The second last mining gig I was on was in Wiluna, I was working alongside the chairman of the Aus IMM. The head of the entire Oz mining game. He was there on minimum wage for 3 weeks with nothing to go to after. 

Plots of roles require a certain ticket, even the most basic. For example, want to serve coffee in a cafe, well, you need a barista, want to serve a beer, a ticket. But, when you have no cash and you know there are loads of applicants applying for the same job, which ticket do you pay for with very dwindling cash reserves. 

Times have changed yet again VS. If you had managed to stick it out you would have been in demand again now.

[BacktoDemocracy]

On 12/2/2019 at 07:08, Hamsterwheel said:

Just wondering if anyone out there over 50 has had to return to the UK due to not being able to find work and severe dwindling of savings?

Didn't imagine it would be so difficult and after 11 months of little or no income we have no choice but to return.  

Really don't want to leave and wondered if anyone got through and came out the other side being able to stay in Australia?

I was mid 50's and found it almost impossible to get a job in Brisbane after the first 3 or 4 temp jobs , this was 2004 on,  I was lucky my wife got a good job as she is 15 years younger but that was after 3 years of doing pretty awful jobs.

I don't know what it is like now getting jobs but my personal experience, and I stress that, but I was left with a feeling that as soon as people were in their 50's employers were not interested, I couldn't even get a job as a property inspector, a job I was doing in my 20's.

But that was 2011 as I say

AllIi can say is that we came back 2014 and my wife got 4 interviews here and got a well paid job within 5 months which she stuck for 2 years and then she has retrained as a counsellor/psychotherapist with a Masters and now a private practice, I got adverts for jobs from agencies I had worked for in the UK, whether they would have led to anything I have no idea.

[Saurer Pfirsich]

Ultimately it's a no-brainer isn't it, you go where there's work? If Australia can't offer you that and the UK can, then I don't see the harm in returning there. Unless you're absolutely desperate to be here I guess?

I think that I probably approach the question differently to the vast majority of Brits in Australia, in that I'm quite pragmatic about the place. We moved out here 11 years ago now because my wife was depressed in the UK and homesick for Australia. For us it was the obvious remedy for what my wife was going through at the time and it had a hugely beneficial impact upon her mental health.

Given the choice I'd always live in the UK as it's my home and where I belong. However, as a public sector worker, the salaries and job opportunities in Melbourne are way better than they currently are back home. To the OP I'd ask how important is staying in Australia and chancing your arm somewhere else here, as opposed to returning to the UK if there are work options there?

Tough dilemma to have I guess?

[Life on easy street]

My experience  
I could find work short temp work or farm labouring but could not get a permanent skilled job with long term prospects.
Unfortunately, I was approaching 50 the last thing I wanted was zero job security.
I loved Melbourne and Australia but I could see that it made no economic sense for me to stay in Australia.

When I returned to the UK.
I had to rely on my savings and job agency until I found a permanent job.      
It took me over one year to get a permanent job back in the U.K.

Up to the age of 47 I could pick and choose where I worked now I am past 50 I have no choice but accept whatever I can get 

[Life on easy street]

I am sorry to be blunt this is how it is in the U.K today.

The UNVERSAL BENEFIT system is corrupt and not fit for purpose.

 

If you have the misfortune to need to claim universal credit

At some point you can and will be forced under the threat of sanctions into accepting a zero hour

Contract that can fail to deliver a single paid hour of work for weeks at a time.

Also, if your claim for universal credit is successful there is a minimum of five weeks delay before

You receive any payment.

 

Edited February 18, 2019 by Life on easy street
spelling error

[Life on easy street]

On 14/02/2019 at 18:05, VERYSTORMY said:

It is very different today Bob. When I was job hunting I did everything, did some labouring, worked as a drillers off sider, spent 8 hours every day doing applications and sending out CV's. All my contacts were themselves out of work - up to director level. I qued in Mandurah to be in a line to hand in my cv for a job at Macas.  The second last mining gig I was on was in Wiluna, I was working alongside the chairman of the Aus IMM. The head of the entire Oz mining game. He was there on minimum wage for 3 weeks with nothing to go to after. 

Plots of roles require a certain ticket, even the most basic. For example, want to serve coffee in a cafe, well, you need a barista, want to serve a beer, a ticket. But, when you have no cash and you know there are loads of applicants applying for the same job, which ticket do you pay for with very dwindling cash reserves. 

I have to agree the world today certainly different to a couple of decades ago

Most of my working life if you were a good worker after 3 months the majority of employers would give you a full-time permanent contract.

In the U.K those day are long gone employers now seem to go out of their way to find ever more creative ways to avoid giving workers any job security.

I work for a logistics company and a significant percentage of workers are trapped

In a never-ending loop zero-hour contract – short term contract – zero-hour contract.

With ever decreasing number obtaining full time permanent jobs.         

[BacktoDemocracy]

22 hours ago, Life on easy street said:

I have to agree the world today certainly different to a couple of decades ago

 

Most of my working life if you were a good worker after 3 months the majority of employers would give you a full-time permanent contract.

 

In the U.K those day are long gone employers now seem to go out of their way to find ever more creative ways to avoid giving workers any job security.

 

I work for a logistics company and a significant percentage of workers are trapped

 

In a never-ending loop zero-hour contract – short term contract – zero-hour contract.

 

With ever decreasing number obtaining full time permanent jobs.         

 

Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time of it, seems to be particurly bad if you are older.

My wife at 50 got a good job in the NHS but it was like the Board just went out of their way to make life difficult, wanted ever more revisions to plans and extra projects even when they knew there was no staff to do any of it, it was like they knew nothing but wanted their own way regardless.

I have just posted on a thread above this one where another older bloke was saying about how frustrated he was at not being able to get anything to matvh his skills.