Re: General advice
 

Thank you so much for this it really is very good of you! Speaking to the employment agent over here this evening can u think of anything we should be asking?

Re: General advice
 

Hi

Sorry for the delay, this probably a little late but hey.

Be sure you understand the visa type the job is being offered under and how long the job will last. Find out if they are handling all the legal side regards the immigration process and all associated costs. If you are coming in under the Temporary Foreign Worker program find out how many years they will be putting on the LMO.

Are the company offering temporary living accommodation on arrival or any other relocation assistance including help with initial flights? If not this can work out very costly to set-up.

For the job itself find out about the benefits particularly the medical benefit, also ask if this applies from day one. Some companies impose a trial period and the benefits kick in after this period. When you have your Social Insurance Numbers you will then obtain an Alberta Health Care card, this entitles you to basic medical services. You health insurance (usually provided by your company) will cover full or partial costs for medication, dental and specialist treatments. Find out if someone in the companies HR will help you out with obtaining the SIN and Health Card. If not its not a difficult process, just head to Canada house in downtown Edmonton, you will need an address so the items can be posted out to you.

Check on vacation, it is common for employers not to allow paid vacation to be taken until vacation pay has been accrued. Some will also insist that you work to their holiday anniversary (i.e. the annual date when holidays start again) before you can take any holiday. As an example if you start half way through the vacation year then you would work 6 months, each month accruing holiday pay. You would then be able to take your vacation the following year; this would only be half of your annual allowance due to the 6 month accrual. We allow our employees to take their vacation as it is accrued; I believe this only applies to hourly paid employees. One other point on vacation, find out how much you get, we found Alberta not to be a generous as the UK with many people only receiving 2 weeks paid vacation a year, we try to offer 3 weeks as an incentive, there are however around 10 or 12 public holidays a year.

Check the usual such as working hours, sick pay and confirm overtime rates if this is applicable. By law this needs to be 1.5 x base hourly rate as a minimum.

Regards

Andrew

Re: General advice
 

Thanks andy we haven't had chance to speak to him yet so it's great! Can I ask are mortgages similar!? How do they go on about say finance for a car ? Is petrol /diesel cheaper than England? Mobile phone contracts are they similar to here? Do they have any English products in supermarkets? Thanks for being such a big help !

Re: General advice
 

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Catego..._Topics-Canada

:)

Re: General advice
 

Hi

Check out the link as Siouxie has suggested. A couple of our observations are bellow.

1. Petrol is cheaper, it does vary from province to province but a couple of weeks back it was around 95 cents per liter in Edmonton. Prices move around more than the UK and in the summer we saw around $1.18 per liter. So yes it's cheaper.

2. Many people lease a car, you agree a finaance term, 2, 3 or 4 years and an agreed mileage per year, at the end of the term you either pay the balance or hand the car back. Generally cars are cheaper than the UK and you get more for your money. We never leased as I have a company vehicle but it is a simple process, we have a Toyota 4Runner and the company lease is around $520 per month, if you log onto the Edmonton dealerships many will give you lease rate examples. You will need to build a credit rating, we opened a bank account with RBC and took out a low limit credit card to get us going. Use it for shopping then pay it off. Check some of the posts on insurance as this can be expensive, the is some very good advice on here about reducing the costs.

3. Our bank advised us that we would need 2 years before they would issue a mortgage. However I do know of people who get mortgages much quicker than that, it will depend on the bank, deposit etc. The rental market is huge in Edmonton so stick with that until your comfortable you will be staying long term.

4. Mobile phone contracts work very similar but the cost is higher than the UK. In fact Canada has one of the highest levels of cell phone charges in the world. Watch roaming and data charges as they are shocking. Pay as you go is popular, however if you don't top up regularly the balance will expire. Shop around with the big providers, Telus, Rogers, Koodo, Virgin etc.

5. You will recognize many brands in the Supermarkets that you see in the UK. However remember you are heading to Canada so embrace what it has to offer and the desire for home comforts will diminish. But when you do get the urge for a packet of walkers crisps then there are 2 shops in Edmonton selling nothing but British produce. In the West Edmonton Mall there is a British Shop run by a Scottish lady and there is one just off Whyte Avenue. Both are well stocked and you can get some frozen items such as English Bacon, Pies etc. It can be pricey but it will satisfy the need.

Cheers

Andrew

Re: General advice
 

Thanks ever so much you have been such a good help andy

Re: General advice
 

My 2 cents

Re: General advice
 

Thanks ever so much