slktck

Hi, wondered if anyone could give a general idea of what working conditions such as annual leave, flexible working and working hours are generally like in the US?
we are currently considering our next move and for my husbands career - research scientist for pharmaceutical company - the US would be the place that makes sense .
But we always hear horror stories about the working conditions and have young kids so wouldn't want to move there and then never see him!
Any advice would be appreciated!

christmasoompa

Depends on who will be employing him to be honest and also how much in demand he would be. If he's got highly specialist skills and they are desperate for him then he may well be able to negotiate things like more holiday than standard (usual holiday in the US is 2 weeks I believe). My husband was in talks with companies in the US and told all of them he'd only go for 5 weeks holidays (which is what he currently gets and he didn't want less as we'd want to come home at least once a year and also he'd want time off when we had visitors etc). All of them agreed to it but he is very in demand over there and they were prepared to go that extra mile to try and get him. So he would have been on the same sort of contract as in the UK, but negotiated that from the start.

I have no idea about research scientists and how sought after they are over there, does your hubby have an offer already and what visa will he be getting? Would he be working for a US company or a UK one?

From what I can gather, the working environment in the US is very different to the UK - i.e. they all go back to work on Boxing Day and just have the one day off for Xmas, whereas here we're all used to 10 or 11 days off at Xmas!! But it will depend on the sector he's in and his job I would guess.

Sorry, probably not much use but I think it will depend really! Best of luck anyhow.

Duncan Roberts

I get 3 paid weeks off per year plus 7 national holidays. That's total so includes sick, maternity/paternity and vacation. I know people who get 2 weeks and some that get 3-5 days per year. Last year we got lucky and they gave us the day after thanksgiving and Christmas Eve off, other wise I would have only got the actual holiday off. There is nothing for Easter although kids get spring break which is generally around Easter time but not usually like Easter holidays in the UK. My hours are 8:30-5:00 with 30 minutes for lunch. It's common to work evenings, early mornings and weekends too. Also, a lot of states use "right to hire" employment (or something like that) which basically means you don't work with a contract and can be let go at any time for any reason. The laws are heavily stacked in favor of the employer and the employee can and does get a pretty rough deal. Personally speaking, this aspect of living hear is probably joint top of the things I don't like about living here.

Xebedee

As a research scientist, he will be actually valued by an employer and therefore not truly representative of the vast majority of employees here. You see, there is a lot of talk and fluff, but very little truth and substance behind what HR people say. Be very wary of them.
Consequently, he will probably have the one thing most don't have and that is bargaining power when it comes to the things you are thinking about.

Suggestion to you is to use that angle and see what happens. You may be able to swing conditions similar to those you are used to, but that typically only happens with people who are closer to the top of the "employment pyramid".

If he is sucessfull, he will soon enough see what the average employees here get.

Happy hunting.

slktck

thanks for the input - no actual job yet but he does have contacts as he has worked/does work for international companies with bases over there.... but we would need to make sure we wanted to go before using those contacts.... bit of a catch22 i guess.
Good to hear that you can maybe bargain, some places it seems very set...
but no way could we go from his current (30 days inc flex days plus a week at xmas taken from other bank holidays ) down to 2 or 3 weeks.... its the only thing really putting us off... my dad lived in philadelphia for years but hes a university lecturer so had plenty of time off!

NC Penguin

One sobering fact about the US is that it is one of few (maybe the only?) developed country that doesn't have mandatory paid vacation for employees.

Since you mention you have children in your family, your husband's medical and dental benefits are very important because you'll want something good to cover you all. However, the monthly premium paid from his paycheck is likely to be high. It's swings and roundabouts really.

Have you seen the useful summary of legal routes to the US? Here's the BE Wiki article:
http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Pulask...ork_in_the_USA

Dan725

Duncan Roberts post above is pretty much bang on. But if he's in big demand and negotiating from a position of strength from the UK (i.e. you have a good job, don't need to move etc), then he can stick to his guns. However, the vacation mentality of Europe is missing in the US - there is generally a different mindset. Even if he did negotiate a big vacation allowance, I wonder how that might be viewed by his local colleagues.

slktck

It certainly sounds like it'd probably be a lot tougher than here - need to appreciate the fact of good working conditions - a 36 hour week that is stuck to is a big bonus!- and probably less security. i don't know what type of visa it would be but he's been told before that the companies have no problem getting them for scientists. Guess we need to do some more research.
But we enjoy travelling and living in other places, want to have one more adventure before the kids get to that age where they need to be settled (we're thinking 11) - looked at australia but it's not good for career really, same with canada. We've lived in germany, but the language difference causes problems for the kids education..

AdobePinon

From your description, it would probably be an H1 or O1 visa. Just throwing that out there, because you would be barred from working under those particular cases unless you get your own work visa.

Most scientists here in pharma acquire their benefits by switching employers frequently. It would not be so easy for your husband to do that, so he must stick to his negotiating guns as others have said.

I'm a scientist too, but I went with government where decent time off is easier to get.

Jerseygirl

I would urge your husband to negotiate a package which includes covering yourself in case he loses his job...1/2/3 years salary severance with benefits. If he's in demand they will do this.

Bill_S

Nothing is impossible, but it would be unusual for a new hire to get a deal like that, unless the employee is being actively recruited for a very senior position.


Good points from Dan.

BritishGuy36

Lack of holidays is one of the two worst downsides to moving to the US (the other one being healthcare).

Does anyone know what the score is with the school system? I have a relative who is a bus driver, and he gets loads of time off in the summer (when school's out). Is this likely to translate (at least even to a limited extent) to other jobs in the school system, like IT (for example)?

pejpm1

I get 20 days + national holidays + 2 personal days + 6 sick days.....

surly

If time off is the most important aspect of his job search, then you should stay in the UK.
Unless your husband has some very special talents, the likelihood of getting the same conditions here are slim to none. Forget about a 36 hour week.

BritishGuy36

Yeah...currently I get 25 days paid vacation, + national holidays + 13 sick days.

It's going to hurt dropping from that down to virtually nothing.....