Choice: London or Redundancy

alspants · 16 Dec 2009

Hi, I work for a multi national. I was part of a 4 year training program which they just scrapped after the second year. I have a choice between redundancy in Ireland (other businesses under the same parent company received roughly 6 weeks per year), or moving to London. The London salary they offered me is simply my Irish salary adjusted for the exchange rate - they offer no adjustment for living costs or a pay rise.
I'm trying to calculate the cost of living in London. I found a tax calculator - I'll come out with roughly the same figure in euro in Ireland or GBP in London. I will probably rent my house out in Dublin for 1,000/month less than the mortgage. I will lose mortgage interest relief in Ireland.

I know redundancy payments in the UK are unfavorable compared to Ireland. If made redundant in the UK, will I be entitled to the dole here if i have not been paying PRSI for a while?

I have a lovely 2 bed in Dublin here, I guess I'll be lucky to have a 1 bed apartment in London...What other implications should i be considering?

Diziet · 16 Dec 2009

alspants said:
Hi, I work for a multi national. I was part of a 4 year training program which they just scrapped after the second year. I have a choice between redundancy in Ireland (other businesses under the same parent company received roughly 6 weeks per year), or moving to London. The London salary they offered me is simply my Irish salary adjusted for the exchange rate - they offer no adjustment for living costs or a pay rise.

How does that compare with the pay scales in London? Don't forget the euro is very strong at the moment so this is in your favour.

I'm trying to calculate the cost of living in London. I found a tax calculator - I'll come out with roughly the same figure in euro in Ireland or GBP in London. I will probably rent my house out in Dublin for 1,000/month less than the mortgage. I will lose mortgage interest relief in Ireland.

Did you factor in council tax and water charges? Also the fact that you may end up with void periods in your house during which you will have to fund all the mortgage.

I know redundancy payments in the UK are unfavorable compared to Ireland. If made redundant in the UK, will I be entitled to the dole here if i have not been paying PRSI for a while?

My understanding is that yes you can, because you will be paying NI in the UK. How big is the difference in the possible redundancy payment to you? If you are only with the company a couple of years, then it may not be that big, but the possibility of redundancy in the UK must be factored in too.

I have a lovely 2 bed in Dublin here, I guess I'll be lucky to have a 1 bed apartment in London...What other implications should i be considering?

Where in London? London is big, so you need to factor in transport costs. The other question is, do you want to move to London? It's a fantastic city to live in, there is so much happening, and it is just incredibly vibrant. On the other hand it can be a bit too much.

plpw · 6 Jan 2010

Hi Alspants - I was faced with a very similar situation to you in 2007. I took the job in London, moving over in May 07, and the was made redundant over there in July 09. It is only now when I've returned back to Ireland that I realise how much is lost in terms of benefits and entitlements. I've returned and gone back to full time education, but not entitled to maintenance grant, as I was living in UK the previous year to starting my course. Not entitled to dole, as I had told them I was going back to college. Not entitled to back to education allowance as my redundancy took place in UK and not in Ireland.

Diziet said:
How does that compare with the pay scales in London? Don't forget the euro is very strong at the moment so this is in your favour.
This is a good point, but nevertheless, your employers must realise that its you being hugely inconvenienced by all this. In hindsight I am kicking myself that I never drove a harder deal at the time....esp as I watched the value of the pound plummet from the time I moved over there! Ask them, rather than resigning from the Irish entity and then becoming employed by the UK entity, to go over on a secondment (like a contractor for want of a better term) for a fixed period, say 1 or 2 years. So that in some way, if you go over, and it doesnt work out, you can return to Ireland with all of your benefits here still in tact. If all goes well, then at that point, make the move a permanant one. You would need to make sure that you are covered by the company for health insurance etc.

Did you factor in council tax and water charges? Also the fact that you may end up with void periods in your house during which you will have to fund all the mortgage.
True enough - the council tax and water is something people dont realise. Ask the company to pay for your accomodation - or at least part of it. To them its a business expense that they can claim the tax back on. It may come across as cheeky, but if you dont ask you dont get.
Remember, they are saving a bundle by not haivng to go through the recruitment process, paying an agent and then having to train a newbie in systems and processes that I'm sure you would know from working with the company in Dublin.
Your re-location package should at the very least include all of your moving costs and one months rent paid to help you settle in. Have you asked them about organising a trip beforehand for you to come over to view different neighbourhoods and see where you might want to locate yourself?

My understanding is that yes you can, because you will be paying NI in the UK. How big is the difference in the possible redundancy payment to you? If you are only with the company a couple of years, then it may not be that big, but the possibility of redundancy in the UK must be factored in too.
I would love to know if this is definitely the case. I've spent the past 3 months trying to get some sort of satisfaction out of the social welfare office but nobody wants to know me. I paid PAYE and PRSI for 10 years prior to moving to London and all counts for zilch now apparently.
Diziet - If you could give me details on where I can go to prove that my contributions in another EU state can be applied here, I would be much obliged.
Even when looking for medical assistance, I cant avail of this, as I dont have enough weeks PRSI contributions paid in 2007 (as I moved away in May).

Where in London? London is big, so you need to factor in transport costs. The other question is, do you want to move to London? It's a fantastic city to live in, there is so much happening, and it is just incredibly vibrant. On the other hand it can be a bit too much.

It is a fantastic city, so much to see and do.....but if your financing you mortgage by EUR 1k every month, how much disposable income are you going to have to go to gigs / shows / restaurants?

If they arent willing to go the secondment route, it wouldnt be unreasonable to negotiate a redundancy package now with them (given thats whats happened with your Irish office)....so that you are protected from having to receive just the paltry statutory UK benefits comparted to the Irish ones. And dont just settle for the 6 weeks pay per year service, build in factors like the loss of entitlements you will be faced with as you have been out of the country for a period.

Choice: London or Redundancy

alspants

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Diziet

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plpw

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Choice: London or Redundancy

alspants

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Diziet

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plpw

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