London - a short guide

"When you're tired of London, you're tired of life"

Living and working in London is exciting and rewarding, offering you the opportunity to travel, experience a new culture, and develop your career. Many Australians head to the UK each year. If you find yourself reading this, you must be considering joining them. Naturally, you have many questions that need to be answered. With this in mind the team at London Calling can help you prepare for your big trip ahead. There's a lot to organise before you go, but don't panic we're here to help. London Calling offers free support and assistance before you leave Australia. We will advise you on everything from visas, flights and accommodation to work, opening bank accounts, limited companies and much more.

London companies cannot get enough of good Australian staff. Australians are seen as hard working, flexible and enthusiastic and have an outstanding reputation. The demand for temporary, contract and permanent staff has increased dramatically over the last two years and our UK partners look to London Calling to supply them with skilled Australian staff, especially in the temporary and contract areas.

TEMPS are those people who come into workplaces for short periods of time - anything from a day to a year or more - on contract to perform a certain role. In the UK, temps are widely used in a huge range of workplaces, from the secretarial market, to medical or IT professions. Temping is an ideal option if you want to travel as jobs can be juggled to fit with travel plans. Temping also keeps you legal if you are on a two-year working visa and prohibited from taking a permanent professional work.

London caters for all occupations from secretaries through to builders. Work can also be had in the more traditional traveller's jobs, including bar and hospitality work (plentiful in London and tourist resorts), fruit picking, packing, nannying, caring and babysitting.

By registering with London Calling before you leave Australia, we can advise you and put you in touch with the best agencies in London- our UK partners. We can arrange interviews for you on your arrival to London and have you greeted by a friendly consultant.

• Firstly, check with the British High Commission to see if you are eligible to work in the UK or contact a London Calling consultant.
• Fill out a London Calling application form (contact us section) or contact London Calling on email at: jobs@londoncalling.com.au
• Decide when you want to go to the UK and plan and book flights.

London Calling have an exclusive arrangement with a reputable travel consultancy to assist you with your travel planning and booking. They will provide you with the latest information on airlines, flights, fares, stopovers, and tours. They will endeavour to get you the best fares available so ask us for their details and when making your booking, don't forget to mention that you have been referred by London Calling. They can also arrange travel insurance for you, which is essential.

Email your CV to London Calling with details of:

• Your visa status
• Your arrival date in London
• When you wish to commence work
• How long you wish to work

If you are in Sydney, you can make an appointment to bring in your CV and chat to us about working in London.

By registering with London Calling before you leave Australia, we can advise you and put you in touch with the best agencies in London. We will forward your CV to our London partners on your behalf and will arrange a convenient interview time for you to register with our UK partners.

Bank Accounts

It has become difficult for overseas visitors to open a British bank account. However, we have partners in the UK that can help you set up bank accounts and/or Limited Companies. You will need two forms of identification- eg. Your passport and driver's licence, a letter from your bank at home, stating how long you banked with them and what accounts you operated, and proof of your address in the UK. Proof of address can be a letter or bill posted to you, but it must be typed.
Speak to your London Calling consultant about opening a bank account once you've arrived in London.

It's definitely worth setting up a bank account before you go, to avoid the hassle and expense once you're in London.

Limited Companies

A number of temporary workers form their own limited companies, become directors of those companies and invoice their agency or employer for their gross pay. The gross pay is paid into their limited company's bank account and does not, in effect, belong to them. This pay can be distributed in a number of ways, including salary or dividends. One of the effects is shifting the responsibility of deducting Income Tax and NI from the employer to the director(s) of the company.

There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of operating through a limited company. The main advantage is that there are tax savings as certain operating costs are tax deductible and there can be substantial NI savings depending on the salary versus dividend income split. The tax savings can be very substantial and this form is taxation is very popular with travellers working in the UK.

The main disadvantages are the costs involved and the increased administrative duties. These companies typically cost in the region of £75 to set up and the annual accounting fees are approximately £300. The tax companies will be able to tell you if your potential tax savings outweigh this extra cost.

For more information on Limited Companies contact your London Calling consultant. We can arrange a free consultation for you in London so you can find out what they can do for you.

National Insurance & Healthcare.

In the UK you will need to register for a National Insurance ( NI ) number. You are advised to do so on arrival, as it can take some time to come through. Your National Insurance number will enable you to register for the National Health Services ( NHS ) at your local doctor's surgery. Most surgeries in the UK are only open between 8.30am and 6.00pm, except in emergency, when there will be an on-call number.

For details of your local office, contact the Department for Social Security in the UK on Tel: 0207 712 2171

If you travel in Europe whilst based in the UK you are strongly advised to take out overseas health and travel insurance.

Travellers cheques

Carry most of your cash in travellers cheques. Remember to keep your receipt with the cheque numbers separate from your cheques and keep a list of these numbers in your diary. There are a number of ways of converting these cheques into cash. The best is to put them into the safe haven of a bank account. Fortunately, you could visit a branch of your travellers cheque issuer in London and exchange them for cash. The third, and most expensive, option is to exchange them at a Bureau de Change. These places can sting you with commissions and non-favourable exchange rates. Stay away if possible.

International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

A number of discounts are available to these members (youth hostels, transport, cinemas etc.) The ISIC card is available from your student body or selected travel agents.

Passport photographs

Take a few of these with you. You will use them for everything from purchasing travelcards to applying for visas etc. One of those really handy items for the wallet. There are photo machines at most underground stations, but you can't beat having your own stock when it comes to cost and convenience.

Staying In Touch

Post
Letters sent first class internally within the UK will be delivered the next business day. A second-class letter can take up to 4 days. Writing home airmail to Australia, New Zealand or South Africa takes approximately 4 to 8 days (surface mail takes 8 to 12 weeks!).

Phone
The phone market in the UK is very competitive which is good news as with a bit of shopping around you can find some very attractive rates to call home (up to 50% off regular rates). Look for ads in magazines like TNT for details.

Being Contactable
Setting up a free e-mail address can also be of great use if you are moving around a lot. You can set up your own free e-mail address at www.gmail.com