Comparison of US and UK pay

cariad · Mar 13, 2007

benefits is something that is mostly available for hospital employed nurses, and you choose which ones that you want to pay into it, and how much. as a travel nurse being employed by an agency my benefits are almost nil. no vacation time, no sick time, and the medical cover is not what i thought that it was. we pay 50% of our physical therapy, 30% of our hospital treatment, and co-pays each time we see someone, and of course for the medications. and of course, we now have to pay over $600 to pay for the medical cover now, and this is all while i m sick with no income.

in hospitals sick time as earned and vacation time is sporifice, and very dependant on the senior staff giving you the ok to take it.

regardless of all this i will still be going to be employed after i am well enough by a hospital here hopefully will be still better off than in the uk.

Scott33, BSN, EMT-P · Mar 13, 2007

pay is not the be all and end all

God there is no getting away from some people is there? :trout:

You are right Zippy, so I won’t harp on about the not-so-impossible 6-figure salary many entry-level RN’s can make in my part of the world, as that would just be crass. You asked about other perks, so I will give you my perspective.

does tyour pension include life insurance (not sure if the NHS one is 3 or 4 times annual salary)

Life insurance: Automatic coverage at no cost, equal to 2 x base salary up to $200,000. Pension...403(b)

what about paid sick leave ( e.g. for NHS staff with 5 or more years service is 6 months full and 6 month half pay)

Sick leave: accrued per pay period, option to roll over, or be paid out in part if unused at the end of the year. At least equal to hourly rate. Option to take out extra short / long term disability coverage.

annual leave ( 27 leave + 8 public holiday days ,on appointment, going up to 29 + 8 after 5 years and 33 *+ 8 after ?10)

20 days annual leave + 8 days holiday + 3 personal days.

Also: Full medical, optical, and dental coverage, at no cost to me upfront (individual). No need for PMD referrals to specialists. Co-pay of $10 in network. Routine dental exams, x-rays, cleanings etc, free of charge. One pair of prescription specks / contact lenses per year included.

Education: Tuition reimbursement of up to $5,000 P/A

Higher basic pay rate for those holding / gaining ENPC, CEN, CCRN, or similar in any multiples.

Incentives for continuing education towards advance practice nursing: 100% funded Internships / onsite degrees, leading to NP or Masters with a handful of places per year, per facility.

Not all bad, but depends hugely on facility and location, and nowhere is typical.

By the way Zippy, do you have a fully vested pension with SJA? Or is it just my EMS lot over here that do that. Well, like you say, pay is not the be all and end all :biere:

english_nurse · Mar 13, 2007

pay is not the be all and end all????

:lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: :lol2:

Belinda-wales, RN · Mar 13, 2007

Pay is not the be all and end all- but it helps. The thing is you need to plan here for bad times which we did not realise so you need to take out extra insurance so if you are unwell you can still live. Everywhere has its down sides all can tell you is our experence we have both walked and I meant walked in to highly paid jobs the company we work for have treated us really well so far and we both have great coworkers and bosses. All I know is that we are earning two and half maybe three times more than in the UK. We also feel less tired than we did in UK I think thats because OG office hours were long now he isback on the floor he is having four days off a week helping me with the children. We are happy so far but I never count my chickens- as for pension well we have got our 20 years pension from the UK and we are hoping to save 401K about $1000 a month I have know idea if this will be enough I will need to take profession advice on this.

RGN1 · Mar 13, 2007

pay is not the be all and end all????
:lol2: :lol2:

:lol2:Of course it's not! We are all following our calling in life - it's our vocation:lol2:

Belinda-wales, RN · Mar 13, 2007

One more point YES the UK has fab holidays but they are not much good if you are too tired and skint to enjoy them I ended up working them for extra pay!

english_nurse · Mar 13, 2007

One more point YES the UK has fab holidays but they are not much good if you are too tired and skint to enjoy them I ended up working them for extra pay!

like i am this week u mean

hello by the way :)

Belinda-wales, RN · Mar 13, 2007

Hi EN we are sill alive having a good time fingers crossed things stay that way really enjoying the weather before it gets too hot. Boys are good. We are lucky that we can both get good jobs out her with out too much stress there are loads of nursing jobs out here that pay really well. I am able to take some unpaid leave over the summer if I wish i am so lucky.

english_nurse · Mar 13, 2007

so much for the time off being rubbish and the pay rubbish too then? :)

glad things are going well :)

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 14, 2007

You get paid every two weeks which is a bonus I think

MrsCleverclogs · Mar 14, 2007

Pay is not the be all and end all- but it helps. The thing is you need to plan here for bad times which we did not realise so you need to take out extra insurance so if you are unwell you can still live. Everywhere has its down sides all can tell you is our experence we have both walked and I meant walked in to highly paid jobs the company we work for have treated us really well so far and we both have great coworkers and bosses. All I know is that we are earning two and half maybe three times more than in the UK. We also feel less tired than we did in UK I think thats because OG office hours were long now he isback on the floor he is having four days off a week helping me with the children. We are happy so far but I never count my chickens- as for pension well we have got our 20 years pension from the UK and we are hoping to save 401K about $1000 a month I have know idea if this will be enough I will need to take profession advice on this.

Wow Nearly three times more than you were earning in the UK that is some wage increase. When I left the UK I was an F grade and I was on a good wage and dont find the wages phenomanally larger here like you have found. I earn $35 an hour and an extra $1 at the weekend, I earn 6 hours holidays/sicktime every couple of weeks. I dont know what grade you were but you must be on a lot of money I should come work where you are. Plus we can have unpaid leave but not a large amount if we are needed and are expected to be on call to come back in needed if somebody should call in sick.

cariad · Mar 14, 2007

we came here in 2004, with the dreaded evil empire, but for the year of 2005. i earned and saved more than i ever could in the uk, but i wasnt sick and i didnt take vacation time.

in the year 2006 i have worked for 3 hospitals with a nursing agency, and last year in terms of wages were a disaster, i only earned half of the previous year. due to unforseen circumstances, i didnt work for more than 3 or 4 months.

this year hopefully will be better, but due to my surgery we have had no income since jan 5th and i will not be fit to return to work until april at least, so it will be another poor year for wages.

its great if you can come here and both husband and wife can earn good money, and if you fall into a hospital where the benefits are good.

i have experienced both sides of the equation, and at the moment am in the bad side of it.

at least in the uk, we would have had support in the form of sick pay, and not have bills coming in every day from all sorts of medical providers with no money to pay them. we wouldnt have had them back home which is certainly an added worry especially when you are feeling so rough and dont want to deal with it.

i am a survivor and will cope, but some people wouldnt have the money behind them or the strength to cope with some of the things that happened to us in the last year.