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Working Australian nights for a UK business


mia.oh.my

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My husband runs a good business in the creative industries in London and we're hoping that when we get granted his PR, he can continue to withdraw an income from his business by working 3 or 4 Australian nights, which would mean he was remotely 'present' for UK business days. We are interested to know if anyone has similar experiences to working for a UK business but living in Australia and how you've made this work for you, especially if you have young kids too. Thanks!

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Lots of people work night shift so I don't see why not.  However if he's planning to work for an Australian company as well (which would mean working both days AND nights in the same week) then I wouldn't recommend it.  

People who work night shifts long-term do suffer health problems as a result, which I believe are made worse if they're not able to get into a regular rhythm.

Edited by Marisawright
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28 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Lots of people work night shift so I don't see why not.  However if he's planning to work for an Australian company as well (which would mean working both days AND nights in the same week) then I wouldn't recommend it.  

People who work night shifts long-term do suffer health problems as a result, which I believe are made worse if they're not able to get into a regular rhythm.

It would be his only job. I'm just concerned about long term night shift work, but like you said, millions of people do it and do it well! I think we'll just have to play around with the hours and find what works for everyone, hopefully without my husband sleeping through every sunny day!

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8 hours ago, mia.oh.my said:

It would be his only job. I'm just concerned about long term night shift work, but like you said, millions of people do it and do it well! I think we'll just have to play around with the hours and find what works for everyone, hopefully without my husband sleeping through every sunny day!

Does he have to be physically awake at the same time as his colleagues in the UK?   

I have a couple of clients in the US and one in Italy.  Very, very occasionally, I'll stay up late to make a phone call.  Otherwise, we communicate via email and messaging and live with the time delay.

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Does he have to be physically awake at the same time as his colleagues in the UK?   
I have a couple of clients in the US and one in Italy.  Very, very occasionally, I'll stay up late to make a phone call.  Otherwise, we communicate via email and messaging and live with the time delay.

So I think we’ve decided he could do 7pm - midnight Sydney time, which would be 8am - 1pm UK time. And do that for 4 nights a week. A night off and then an early morning shift to catch the end of day in the U.K. and do what you do... just emails and live chat or video calls. Plus he can collect the kids after school too [emoji1377]!
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48 minutes ago, mia.oh.my said:


So I think we’ve decided he could do 7pm - midnight Sydney time, which would be 8am - 1pm UK time. And do that for 4 nights a week. A night off and then an early morning shift to catch the end of day in the U.K. and do what you do... just emails and live chat or video calls. Plus he can collect the kids after school too emoji1377.png!

You've made me realise that's pretty much what I do.   I'm up till midnight normally anyway, because my hubby is a night owl.  I used to nag him to come to bed earlier, but he would just toss and turn.  So now, I have a siesta in the afternoon, and that means I'm not sleep deprived. 

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You should check how this will work as a business structure. For something ongoing an Australian abn should be set up and he should be paid via an Australian payroll with all that entails including super. 

My OH did this for a while but set up an Australian company (still retaining the UK one) it isn’t complicated but you need an accountant to sort it all out properly. He was in creative but worked Aussie days and just took the occasional call in the evening, preferring to be up early (depending on time difference summer/winter).  There are some advantages for the UK client as they can send a brief at close of business UK time and come in the next morning to the response/completed work.

I don’t think it would be a long term solution though, it certainly wasn’t for us. 

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@rammygirl He should set up an Australian ABN even if his only source of income is from the U.K.? We definitely need to speak to someone who deals in expat finances... it’s in my never ending list of things to do! I’m not sure how sustainable it is for us in the long term either, but his industry doesn’t really exist on the same scale in Sydney and it would be good to have a company to come back to when we get back to the U.K. (I would work in Australia as normal).

 

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3 hours ago, mia.oh.my said:

@rammygirl He should set up an Australian ABN even if his only source of income is from the U.K.? We definitely need to speak to someone who deals in expat finances... it’s in my never ending list of things to do! I’m not sure how sustainable it is for us in the long term either, but his industry doesn’t really exist on the same scale in Sydney and it would be good to have a company to come back to when we get back to the U.K.

So you're not planning on staying long?  If you're planning a return to the UK eventually, then do make sure you maintain your UK bank accounts and consider paying NI contributions while you're away, to safeguard your UK pension.   

It may be a long way in the future, but also be aware of residency requirements for further education.  For instance. if you return when a child is 18 and ready to go to university, you'l be up for full international fees - so you should plan to be back in the UK before they turn 15 to avoid that.

Edited by Marisawright
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  So you're not planning on staying long?  If you're planning a return to the UK eventually, then do make sure you maintain your UK bank accounts and consider paying NI contributions while you're away, to safeguard your UK pension.    It may be a long way in the future, but also be aware of residency requirements for further education.  For instance. if you return when a child is 18 and ready to go to university, you'l be up for full international fees - so you should plan to be back in the UK before they turn 15 to avoid that.

 

 

I didn’t know that about the university fees. It makes complete sense though!
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