imanurse

work are issuing my contract after the easter hols which is great but they are only offering me 32 hours a week and i am really not sure we can afford to live of that until hubby gets work thay say that i van always pic up extra shifts to bump me to full time, but do we take the risk!!!!!!

i will be earning 24.50 bux an hour plus 20% for penals
does anyone think a wee family of three with little savings can survive on the short term with the worse case scenario. we are looking to move to tauranga and do not live lavishly

MattandJax

is full time 37. hours/week as in the UK? if so you'll only be losing 5 hours/week. if you can get the odd extra shift you'll probably be doing more than full time. you could probably also register with an agency and pick up extra work too.
good luck!

RobDon

As far as I am aware 80 hrs a fortnight seems to be the norm over here for most professions including us nurses.

pricklykina

32 hours is only .8 or four days a week
If you get all the weekends and nights you'll be better off.

Not sure of costs of Tauranga though

Gill and Rob

Hello I sent you a PM.

My opinion is no... that is not enough to live on. Sorry.

Gill

pestman

hi

have you askd them for more hours?

sorry to be a pain but if they wont offer you full time why not approach another hospitsl in a different area?
I know it changes things but we did just that when offered job in wellington first then Dunedin offerd better so we changed jobs and came here all while doing PR thing before we left.

SHORT term I would say if you dont go mad then you will get by,it wont be lavish living but with that wage and just three of you if you rent wisely to budjet and dont flash the cash then for a while you will manage.

long term that would drain the life out of you but i reckon you will get full time hours sooner rather than later maybe its a test of your commitement.

we made it work on one midwifes wage for 4 omnths and there are 6 of us!
it can be done!

all the best

george

imanurse

really dont want to be working all nights and weekends, want to move over for a better lifestyle.

imanurse

thsnks for th ereply but we will not get wtr as we need to be earning 55k abd we would have to pay for minime schooling as she will not be classed as domestic student

sam

Am Loolah

Hmmmm, I think you need to ask again and explain the situation regarding WTR? Surely if they are so short staffed then they can make your hours up to 40 a week?

As far as living in this area goes, unfortunately you have chosen the most unaffordable area in the whole of NZ when it comes down to wages vs housing. Cost of living is pretty much on a par nationwide I would guess. If you are happy renting then as I said before bog standard average 3 bedroom rental will be aorund $330 - $350 a week for a relatively nice area, less if you move further out. We have a 2 bedroom place coming up about 5 minutes from the hospital that'll be $260/week, but you get what you pay for!

BEVS

Hi Imanurse.

I'm as confused as you are. I thought they were offering you $60,000K a year Flippin' sauce if they now want you to risk all for what is part-time employment.
I do understand that a job in the hand is worth loads especially during this time of recession but all the same......

The part-time figures of $24.50ph for a 32 hour week is $40,768 pa. If the $40K was for a full time job , this would be for a rate of $19.60 per hour. My husband started out on $21 per hour for just the two of us and we managed on that in the quite expensive area of Nelson.. Our rent was $300 per week .It is doable. Not fun at all but doable. We did have to dip into savings though.

Our Hungarian friends survive with two teenagers on his work rate of $17.50 per hour BUT his wife does have to work virtually full time for them to manage. They can manage to live off air though can that lot.

Thing is , there are 3 of you and Am Loo has stated that Tauranga is not a cheap place to live.

You are correct that you could have gone for a Work To Residence visa if your employer was on the NZIS accredited list and your salary was $55K pa. I do recall you asking which would be better , WTR or PR. In my honest opinion PR is always the better one to go for.

Thing is $24.50 phour would never have given you the required $55K pa for the WTR policy. You need around $26.50 for that.

Good news is that you would just scrape in for points for skilled employment with a PR application.
The contract needs to be permanent though.

I'm not sure what you mean about your child's schooling here.
If you have a work visa, a WTR visa or PR , you will not have to pay for your child's schooling ( other than compulsory donations that is )

pestman

hi

sorry if i have missed the point here but you are a qualified nurse? If you are why bother with a job/place that is offering you a poor deal?

give that one up and apply for another job that WILL give you 40hrs a week and the ability to go straight for PR.

I find it hard to see that jobs for nurses are hard to come by as they always seem to be short of them here.

As for schooling if you have PR or WTR the your family if they apply and are included with you will get free schooling and permits to work here so not sure what you mean there.

dont rush this part take your time and find the right place/job its easy to want to just 'get here' but a little time spent now will pay dividens in the future.

all the best

george

kiwinow

I agree. You should be able to hold out if you are an RN, and either get them to raise your hours, or go somewhere else. As everyone said, Tauranga is lovely but quite expensive.

imanurse

yes the origianal discussion stated that i would be earning 52k base then 20-25% penal taking it to around 60k mark,
but what they are now offering will take me to 40 odd k
i was mistaken about schooling i thought that if yopu were on a temporary work visa you had to pay for school so thanks for that a wee bit light is shining.
the contract is permenant but i have put out my cv to other health boards to see what is on offer

Newfies

Put your Cv into Waikato DHB. I work for them and am enjoying life.

I work 3 x 12 hour shift a week which equates to .9 or Nine 8 hour shifts per fortnight.
pleanty of time for family and a social life.

How long have you been qualified for? With nursing in NZ it is done on a scale and each year on your anniversary you will get a pay rise up to 5 years/5 levels. Top basic pay on a level 5 is currently $60k. Hold out for a better deal if they are in need of nurses they will rise to the challenge.

As many others have said Tauranga is an expensive part of New Zealand. What is is about it that draws you?

What do you perceive to be doing in your new life with your family?
Spending every evening at the beach having picnics or BBQ?

Am Loolah

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