You have my sympathy; I know just how frustrating it can be!

That'll be something to keep an eye out for in the small print when I finally go back home, then.

Thanks for the tip.

God only 5 weeks! I get all the school holidays , but once in Aus I doubt I'll be in the same line of work so will lose out

Both my hubby and I are on about 50% (pro rata) of what we were earning in the UK. I'm a solicitor and, until I re-qualify, probably won't be able to increase it. He used to be in the Navy but is now doing casual work as a welder.

Having said that, we are lucky enough not to have a mortgage and we no longer pay private school fees which we did in the UK. We both work 3 days a week and really enjoy having the extra time at home.

We've only been here 3 months so it is difficult to tell how things are going financially as we are still spending lots on stuff for our house. But, if it wasn't for hubby's service pension, one or both of us would definitely have to work full-time, even without a mortgage. It has been quite a shock going from being comfortably off in the UK to really having to count every penny. Still love it here though

Yes, any new employees at my workplace and R's workplace will not be paid any penalty rates for overtime, shifts etc.

As for holdays, even before workplace reform 30%/40% of employees were casually employed, even long term employees, they didnt get get holiday pay/sick pay etc anyway. Now with workplace reform that figures certainly not going to improve. Employers seem to be catching onto the new workhouse, sorry worplace laws very quickly

Friend of mine found out that he was too qualified for some temp work!
In the end he came back to the UK because the work was not there!!
I reallly don't want to be in that situation.

My OH is in a pre-press/graphics job and is getting the same as he did in the UK - but big difference is in the UK that was with loads of overtime and in Oz it's just his basic. So he's happy!

I'm taking a significant pay cut moving to Aus mainly because I am having to drop 2 grades. I aim to work my a$$ off for the first 6 months and get promotion back to my UK level asap. I can't complain about them starting me lower because 12 months ago I recruited an Aussie and did the same to him!

Only 20 days holiday too instead of 28!

I've heard that under the new Industrial Relations legislation, 61% of Aussies can now be sacked for sneezing, 52% get no sick pay, 39% are part time employees, 74% are working more than 50 hours a week, 44% are on fixed term contracts, 26% aren't paid overtime, 88% are no longer entitled to pensions or superannuation, 68% are paid award rates or less, 22% are unemployed, 37% get no holidays at all, 98% can't afford to buy bananas, 8% are paid in fresh vegetables, and 19% live in lakes or shoeboxes in the middle of the road.

It's all so terrible, I think I'll have to remain in the UK for the rest of my life.

Poor vash, no SOURCE, couldnt you find anything on aussies being happy with workplace reform, If it was there you would have posted it.

Never mind vash, I bet the bride is still waiting for you to get off the internet and wave your aussie flag

Will say however, they my employers are at least being fair as things are a little slow, they are trying to keep people on without putting them off.

I was lucky, I actually managed to get a small wage increase after moving to Oz!

LOL, why would I try to do that? I'm fully aware that it's an unpopular piece of legislation, and since I don't actually like it myself, I have no interest in attempting to prove that Aussies in general are happy with it because I know perfectly well that they're not.

I can, however, find plenty of sources which show that Aussie employers are happy with the latest workplace reforms!

Incidentally, while we're on the subject of sources, I can't help asking a few questions about this bold assertion on your part:

You say that 30-40% of employees are casually employed, yet you provide no source for this statistic. I am very interested to know where you got it from, how recently it was published, and the extent to which you believe it reflects the consequences of the most recent IR legislation.

So please, feel free to post a link to your source.

Actually, she was in the process of making me a cup of tea when I posted that.

And since I am now a 100% British citizen, I'll be waving the Union Jack as well as the Aussie flag...

Hi Scott, How did you manage to get a job before going to Aus?

Hi just been reading your post and was interested to see that your hubby was in the Navy. My hubby is just coming to the end of his time and we are looking at moving out to oz. Did you apply on your skills and how long did it take you? He is also thinking of joining Oz Navy to make the move over (not that I want to be left on my own for months).
Thanks for any info you have.