About working in the UK

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Hi! I've been registered here in Allnurses since 2008 and I believe this will be my first real post here. I've been working for 5 years now as nurse in the Emergency Department.

I've somehow nailed a job offer bound for the UK last week, about 40% of it only by happenstance (I stumbled upon this work agency after a failed attempt to get to an earlier interview bound for dammam and.. well..bam!) I still haven't taken any exams. In fact, I haven't even signed the contract agreement as I needed time to think about it. I don't have much of that really. I believe the hospital is under the NHS.

I'm from the Philippines and I know nothing about how life is working as an entry level nurse in the UK. So I'd like to ask about it here.

The offer is about £1.800. I was told in my orientation that it falls under Band 5 in UK's salary system. I don't know whether band 5 is any good or not. I'm guessing, it's entry level. (about £1,200 until I pass the OSCE)

Accommodation and food are not subsidized by the employer. But apparently, I don't think that's the practice when it comes to UK jobs as opposed to the middle eastern job offers which really is the bread-and-butter of local nurses here in the Philippines at the moment. No tax, a free house with food allowance but a rather...challenging work life (My gf is currently a nurse in Dammam, Saudi Arabia)

UK nursing jobs have this stigma locally, that Filipino Nurses would need to shell out a huge sum of about roughly £7,000 to get to the UK and work. Every local nurse that I know of has been telling me that. I didn't listen to them and to my surprise, none of that was true at all as I only need to shell out for my ILETS and the NMC registration, which is nowhere near £7000. Not even 10% (provided that I ace all the tests that is).

So do you suppose an entry level £1,800 would suffice for me to live in the UK? Will that cover the cost of living or would I just be scraping by? With all taxes and fees aside, the agency thinks I'll have £1,400 as net a month which I'll be using for rent, food, bills etc. I'm not supporting anyone. I have no kids, my old man's got lots of money (apparently I don't hence why I'm looking for a nice career hahaha!) and well I guess I'll be working on starting a great career as a nurse and getting married.

I'm currently reading UK taxation guides and I'm having trouble understanding it. There's an entry about 20% tax and allowances I don't really understand.

I'm having a hard time whether to take my chances with UK as I will be leaving my old man alone here, and the with the 3yr contarct, that means my gf and I won't be seeing each other for another 4-5yrs which could spell disaster. My brother's in Dubai and he said that he won't be coming home this year. Perhaps the next........ "perhaps," he said. 'Got no friends or relatives whatsoever in the UK. But I've always been fascinated with country way back when I was a kid. I remember telling my late mother that I'd work in the UK someday and here it is. An opportunity to make a dream a reality.

So I'm weighing my options very carefully and I've been having bad headaches for days now. I figured who else better to ask but the UK nurses themselves right? :)

Best regards! I think I'll be posting around the forum more.

Specializes in Critical care.

At the bottom of band 5 you make about 1200 to 1400 a month after deductions, it'll depend on whether you work weekends or nights as well (though if the government have their way that'll come to an end). It's plenty to get by on, especially as someone with no dependents. Most hospitals have a relatively large and close knit community of Filipino nurses and they tend to stick together and support each other from what I've seen in my experience.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

A lot will depend on what your living expenses will be, this can be based on where in the UK you will be living and working. Other things to take into account would be food, transport, rent, council taxes, luxury stuff like TV license, etc. Supermarkets you could look for online to give you an idea on food costs are Lidl, Asda, Morrisons, Tesco, Aldi Safeways.

Band 5 is the normal starting point for RN and very rare do we see employers pay band 5 until after you meet NMC requirements and have a license

Specializes in Hemodialysis.

Hey dude...what is your agency? Is it IPams? i just went there last week and asked for any job orders in the UK. The agent told me to wait for their notification because they dont have any job orders yet. (I am a Hemodialysis Nurse with 3yrs exp.)

Just forgot to ask the agent regarding IELTS...what module are they requiring you to take. Is it the academic module or the ukvi? Thanks

Well I've this dilemma like yours. I passed the interview and was offered in the Nursing Home. I think I will be assigned in the rural area in UK. I have the same questions. And I also would like to ask what if I failed in the OSCE? Would I be returning here in the Philippines right away?

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Depends whether you have a chance to resit the OSCE. Without it you will not meet NMC requirements. Personally I think working in a nursing home in the UK will not help you gain knowledge and experience on the UK system and in a lot of cases you are the only RN working

Thanks for the info! But is there a second chance to take the osce? (I'm not being negative or something but I just would like to know to give me some ideas)

I've learnt so much from this post

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