oldmanriver

Hi all,

After 10 years with my current employer, they appear to have finally broken my resistence and convinced me (and my wife) to move to their base in the US (alabama). i know its not as exiciting as some of the metropolitan areas, but after much soul searching we have decided that we are going to give it a try.

my query for all you experts is - how much should i be expecting my employer to do for me. Bearing in mind that they are the ones who have asked me to come, they have asked for a list of 'things' that i would need to make this happen. which is a bit of an open ended question.

We have a house here which might/will probably take a long time to sell as the market seems to be just picking up. We also have a couple of car leases which have got quite a bit to run yet, and we would suffer penalties for terminating early. we also have an array of credit card bills, loans etc. In an ideal world we would be able to sell up, settle up, and then move with whatever money was left.

our company doesnt have a relocation policy as such, and are basically looking to me to tell them what I need, as they want this to happen quickly. tell me what you think of the following list.

- low interest loan in lieu of house sale to settle commitments in the UK
- Hotel/suite accomodation for first 2 months
- Car rental for first 2 months
- Guarantee/help with rental company for condo/house
- Guarantee/help with car lease company for new vehicle
- Relocation budget to help with other moving costs/resettlement

does this seem reasonable, or a bit ambitious ? My current job is IT Technical Specialist/Manager and my skill set is apparantly in quite high demand.

In terms of salary - how would you expect my employer to work that ? My UK salary is 52K. common sense would say that my US salary would be 52K x 1.55 (current exchange rate) = $80K. This actually seems a little on the low side - for example if I had moved 2 years ago when the exchange rate was 2.1, my US salary would have been around $110K.


anyone with experience of intercompany transfer and how your firm dealt with it, i would appreciate your feedback....

Rete

LOL on $80,000 a year in the State of Alabama you can live the high life. Property costs there are very very low. Cost of living isn't all that high. Do a job search online for that area and see what a similar position in Alabama would bring in.

You have asked about relocation expenses but have not touched on the more important details of the move:

1. Healthcare - will it be provided by your employer for you and your family? What is your portion of the cost, if any?

2. Vacation time - in the US it is normally one to two weeks. You might want to haggle with them for more time.

3. Moving expenses - container shipment costs if you are moving your furniture. If not, then assistance in furnishing your new place.

Duncan Roberts

Do you really want to go? If you are not too bothered then shoot for the moon and get greedy! If you really want to go then shoot a little lower.

It's so important that I will second what's been said. Healthcare. Make sure they give you good insurance with a low cost to you and make sure you can get healthcare, prescription, vision (if needed) and dental.

Also ask for a couple of flights back home each year. On the moving side of things, don't ask for a set amount, just ask them to pay the bills 100%. That way you wont get stung with anything extra which can happen. Something else to consider, it's not uncommon for companies to buy or take over the mortgage of houses when they want an employee. Ask them to cover any security deposits you will need to pay because you have no credit history. You may not be able to get electricity, water, gas, phone, TV service or pretty much anything billed without forking over a lot up front which will add up quickly.

If they want you they will stump up for a lot you wouldn't think about.

ian-mstm

Include this in the relocation package - let your company cover the penalties (since this is their idea) and you get to walk away from the leases.


You should also request 2 round-trip tickets to the UK so you and your wife can visit your family in the UK - 2x per year!

Ian

oldmanriver

this would seem like pretty sound advice. I had two colleagues that did this transfer thing for a different company, one was asked/begged to go, and the other wanted/asked them to go. the difference in the terms of their relocation was quite staggering.


The healthcare is something i have thought about, although put to the back of my mind. partly because i tell myself that the company will take care of it, but I may also be in a little bit of denial because of a pre-existing heart complaint. I had atrial fibrilation which has been better now for about 2 years (i am only 38), but i hear horror stories about the stringent and quite discrimnatory policies of most of the major insurers in the US, and that scares me a bit.

thanks to all for the advice..given me some more to think about.

Duncan Roberts

It's only pre-existing if you were diagnosed or have received medical treatment or advice in the previous 6 months. If not, it's just a complaint you once had, not a pre-existing condition. The company probably will offer you healthcare but make sure they give you ALL the details of the plan(s) before you decide to move. You need to know things like your monthly contribution, who will it cover, what things are covered, what aren't, what your portion of any bill will be (co-pay, deductible, out of pocket max, etc) and if there is a cap of payment. It will be very complicated but there are always helpful people to answer specific questions. It's tough to say what will really happen with the recent healthcare changes until they actually happen but make sure you will be on a group plan and the company aren't just buying you a private one. Now there is a big difference between the two and that may or may not be the case in the future.

oldmanriver

i will definitely bear that in mind. thanks

IPM

Dealbreakers:

1. Market rate salary for your skillset plus premium for you moving out there
2. Healthcare
3. All legal stuff for visas
4. Look-see visit
5. Decent shipment allowance e.g. 40ft container if you've got a family

Nice-to-haves

1. Tax filings
2. Education allowance
3. Incidental lumpsum for white goods, auto-loss etc

JAJ

Australia specific, but may be useful as a guide:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Corpor...tion-Australia

Very important : pathway to a green card:

1. Do you know the basis of eligibility? First preference can take months, third preference can take many years.
2. Is there a cast-iron commitment on employer to sponsor for one?

Often, getting a temporary permit to work in the USA is easy, but obtaining a green card may be difficult.

oldmanriver

interesting to look at that list, and thanks

i think my priorities are somewhat different - me and my partner have no children and no plans to. I also cannot think of anything worse that shipping all our furniture out to the US - too may things to remind us of home. I have this romantic notion that we can sell up (could be quite fun), take a few suitcases of stuff and move into a hotel, then furnished rented accom for maybe another year or so. it might be a bit unrealistic, but we will see how it goes.

I also know the area pretty well, having been there about 20 times in the past 10 years. although my wife has never been, so that may be something to think about.

so i think we are a bit clearer now. priorities are

- healthcare
- salary (may not match current salary, but get agreement)
- Visa costs
- potential 'relocation lumpsum' to cover
- Financial assistance to offset losses/delays in house sale.
- Cash award to cover other relocation expenses.
- assistance in providing 'guarantees/references' for rents/leases etc


thanks all, for input. I will definitely keep you informed

Sally Redux

I think you should most definitely match your current salary and let your wife have a good look at the place.

Don't forget you have to pay towards healthcare even if the company is providing a plan.

dbj1000

There are various salary comparison sites out there on the internet (e.g. www.salary.com) where you can find salary ranges for your job title/field in the place you're going to be working.

I suggest you use one before you start these negotiations. My job, for example, is much higher paid in the US than in the UK, and I would have been significantly under-paid if I had only asked my employer to match my UK salary.

Duncan Roberts

Won't find too many of those around. Best option if you want to do that is rent a place then furnish it at a rental place like Rent a Center. Not the cheapest option long term but for 12 months it may be a good choice.

Bob

If nothing else, to cover emergency flights back, can be really expensive if you need to fly last minute because someone back home got hit by a bus and might die in a days time kind of thing.

As for what else to look into, plenty of good threads to recommend stuff.

Also don't forget any cash expenses you get for relocation might be taxable so you don't want to be caught out on that front either.

oldmanriver

the emergency flight thing is a good point, never really considered that, because i had already discounted the idea of asking for 2xflights home per year - in my opinion if you are going to emigrate, then the last thing you want to be doing with your hard earned vacation time is spending it coming back to the UK!!

I would also expect people to visit us.....