MrBritUSA

What is the average wage in england per week or has it now become by weekly or monthly, and do they still pay you in cash. Yes it's been a long time since I have been home over 25 years now. When I was working there I was making around 90 pounds a week that was back in 1983. I am now wondering what is the average pay scale. What is a suitable wage. Just want to be informed so I have some type of clue.


Cheers in advance.

chris955

It's a bit of a how long is a piece of string kind of question. It depends on what you do, your age, where you live etc.
This may help
http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/...Kingdom/Salary

How much you need to earn very much depends on where you are living.

christmasoompa

The average annual wage in the UK is around £26,000, after tax etc that would be approx £1670 a month - you'd normally be paid monthly and straight in to your bank account.

But as the pp has said, it will vary massively depending on your job and location, so you can't really use that as a guide.

If you can tell people what you do and whereabouts you'll be moving to then hopefully others in the same job or area can advise you on what would be a suitable amount.

formula

I know the answer to that question. Twice the distance from the centre to one end

Squirrel

Paid in cash? LMAO! Most companies will pay only directly to your bank account monthly.

£26,000 sounds a lot but don't forget it is probably inflated by all the mega rich people with massive incomes. The minimum wage for over 21s is £5.93/hour and they have to give you at least 11% on top of that if you don't get holidays (like casual workers etc).

It does depend a lot on what you do. For example vet nurse is quite a desirable career but it propbably wouldn't pay as much as £26K. And pay is higher in more expensive parts of the country like London.

robin1234

I just had a look around and went to this site, http://www.reed.co.uk/

Then two clicks from the home page and you get actual job listings, most of which give a salary range, either hourly, weekly or annual.

For example I clicked on "manufacturing" then on "semi-skilled operator" and came up with 103 job listings, the first of which is;

Warehouse Operative
Location Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
Salary £6.08 - £6.25 per hour
RecruiterManpower
Based within the Knaresborough area our client is currently seeking warehouse operatives to work in this highly successful and growing manufacturing environment. Attitude is the key ingredient......

Brigette

Being paid monthly is something I'm really going to have to get used to once I move to the UK. One of my least favorite things about moving home. I would however be interested in the percentage of taxes paid on your income

jbrown

Generally ~30-35% on income, but it's another piece of string For example, a limited company contractor working outside of the intermediaries legislation could legitimately be on ~20-25%, whereas the marginal tax rate of a high-earner on PAYE could fall in the 50% bracket. It also depends on whether you're just talking about income tax. The cost of living in the UK is fairly high after accounting for VAT, council tax, fuel tax etc.

Brigette

Thanks so much! Is the VAT like a sales tax? Also how often does one pay council tax? Is that taken out of your salary or is it paid annually etc. So much to know Thanks for the response

ETA: What is considered a high earner in the UK? 50% sounds steep

jbrown

The 50% marginal rate doesn't kick-in until £150,000. There's a personal allowance of £7,475 for those earnings below £100,000. The income tax brackets are graduated, and you then have National Insurance Contributions on top of that to support NHS/state pension/unemployment benefits. If you're an employee, you'll be on PAYE (after tax payment to your nominated bank account), and everything will be extremely simple, except perhaps for the first year when you may have specific tax issues upon becoming resident. So, the income tax and NICs are all handled by the employer via PAYE and you receive your monthly salary net of tax. Other taxes, like interest income, is generally taken at source as well (by the banks in this case). If you're an employer, then things are understandably more complicated.

VAT is a sales tax (goods and services) @ 20% on most items (some are exempt or on a lower bracket).

Council tax is paid in 10 monthly installments to the local council and covers things like waste collection. The rate depends on the value of your property, but could be something like £1500-£2000 per year.

There are other taxes too, like the TV license fee but they're generally small, except, perhaps for fuel taxes, which are pretty high (again paid at source when you purchase petrol).

robin1234

Broadly speaking, for people on mid-level incomes, taxes (income tax, NIC, VAT and fuel taxes) seem high compared to US levels.. but then it is balanced out by much lower property taxes (council tax) in the UK AND no further payment for health care once you've paid taxes.

jbrown

Yes, they're a little higher in the UK, especially with the tax breaks in place at present in the US, but they aren't hugely different. Payroll taxes in the UK are still relatively low compared to many other countries. I generally find I have ~65% take home after federal/state tax in the US including contributions to my employer plans (health/dental, pension). In the UK, on a similar salary, I took home about 60%, relying on the NHS etc. and including council tax. One noticeable difference for someone on a mid-level salary is the higher cost of living in the UK, exaggerated at the moment by inflation running at 5+% in the UK and by the 20% VAT. In my field, there's also a significant wage differential, with salaries running about 20% higher in the US (so that, rather than tax, would be the main difference).

Brigette

wow I will be making a decent salary above average but not so sure now with the UK taxes. 20% VAT tax...ummm ok

Is this reliable to use to get an idea of PAYE taxes?
http://www.listentotaxman.com/index.php

jbrown

Yes, but don't forget that the VAT is not an income tax, it's on goods and services that you pay for and doesn't apply to some items (many food items, children's clothes etc.). It's similar to a US sales tax, only higher

Brigette

Oh! Ok thanks. I'm going to assume that council tax is only for home owners? Is that correct?