8 Years Working in the UK | Honest Opinion
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- Опубликовано: 28 сен 2024
- Get one free app for life with Odoo! www.odoo.com/r... After working in the UK for the last 8 years, how does it compare to Canada? What are the differences in work culture between these two countries? Let's chat!
My working life has changed a lot over the course of the last 8 years, but it's been a fun ride along the way!
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Hey! I'm Alanna - a thirty-something documenting my life as a Canadian living in England.
I share the ups and downs of an expat living abroad and what it's really like living in the UK. It's not always easy, but there's been so many wonderful experiences, too. I post a RUclips video every Tuesday plus an additional video every Saturday on Patreon + YT Memberships. I also livestream every Wednesday and Sunday at 5:30pm GMT/BST on Twitch.
Alanna x
have you ever worked abroad before?? how did it go? 💼 Cheers to Odoo - Get one free app for life! www.odoo.com/r/L6t
I've worked all round the world for the UK government, don't do it anymore.
I worked in a Spanish office for three years. The boss used to give us a hamper at Christmas which always contained tinned stuff like tuna, ham and a bottle of cava. He would also gift me free tickets whenever there was a bullfight. I kid you not!
Let me join the chorus of people telling you that, no, you are NOT subject to doubel taxes in the US *unless* you are outside the US *AND* working in a country that does not have a tax treaty with the US. And even then, you are only subject to US taxes if your global income *exceeds* US$98,000 for the year and only on the amount in excess of that $98k.
You made a couple of other mistakes about taxes too, so perhaps don't mention it unless you're *really* certain you've got it right, eh? :)
@@iatsdyou are correct, but to be completely fair, the fact that the US government requires its citizens to complete an annual tax return irrespective of whether they owe tax or not is probably where this nyth arises.
UK -> Ontario, seven years so far, I'm doing the citizenship thing so I guess it went well 😁 Company that employs me is French, so perhaps that's why we get Christmas parties and slightly better vacation than usual here. I don't personally find the tax system to be a big deal, I had to do the HMRC self-assessment in the UK and thought that was a lot worse tbh (maybe it's better now?) - but I do use software to assist, takes about ten to twenty minutes to complete usually.
I'm an American who lives in the US, and filing taxes here is an absolute nightmare. I didn't know it was similar in Canada until I watched this video. These tax companies lobby the US government to keep the system complicated on purpose so they can make more money. I am sad to hear that Canada has a similar state of affairs.😢
I'm British in the UK and haven't filled in a tax form for 30 years.
@@charlestaylor9424 That is amazing. I'm happy that you don't have to go through the same nasty process that I do.
@@simonrobbins8357 That's even better. I'm happy for you too!
It’s sad. There is a way to automate this very clearly! I’ve never filed a tax form myself in decades.
I live in the UK and have paid tax automatically as an employee but then as a self employed person for the past 30 years, all very simple and straightforward . My wife is Canadian and she has lots of relatives in the USA. The US federal government/state government does deliberately make paying tax unbelievably complicated. Unfortunately like most US processes there is hidden band of tax “advisors “ “consultants “ who suck money off.Get wise.
I used to be a boss, thankfully I was liked, plus I am strict but the first person to have a laugh. This particular girl who had been working with me for a year, had to have her dog put down, I cleared it for her to have a week off. She became pregnant maternity leave I made sure she was paid full wage for 12 months. I looked after my staff. The best thing was in return every month our targets, were met and more. I retired at 50 that was 7 years ago. To this day I see all 20of them, still go out with them all, god father to 3 kids . Every one let the company within 6 months after I retired.
Treat staff how you would like to be treated. It’s simple.
A week off for having to have her dog put down!? and you even cleaned the dead dog for her?!?! Incredible! 😉
@@DaveBartlett lol just correct it for you
wow, anyone wold be blessed to have a nice boss like you!!
@DaveBartlett well you are a horrible person who cannot read properly.. 'cleared it for her to have a week off' means it was ok'd with personnel..
I'm guessing you're not Mitch Mitchell. 😊
I was a Yank living in London but I didn’t work in an office, I worked in a hair salon. That had its own set of peculiarities. One being that the banter occurred between the stylists and staff and also with the lady clients. Fascinating stuff.
I’m not a fan of the after work drinking thing, if that happens where you work - mainly because I’ve just spent 8 hours with those people and they usually talk shop. Much prefer going home!
Its been the ruin of a many marriage, Drinking culture is slowing dying out.
I just moved back to America from the UK. I worked in an office for almost 3 years in England and the differences are astounding. I truely miss the British banter. I’ll be sad this Christmas because I’ll miss out on the big “Christmas Do”
No Christmas do in America? if not you need to push it forward!
It takes time to get accustomed to British banter but once you do it's quite infectious.
You learn very quickly over there that everyone takes the "micky" out of everyone else and if you can't take a joke then you will struggle to fit in.
@@redsquirrel1086 If someone is taking the mickey, they like you and watching or you have become a dick lol
The fun part is figuring out which.
I spent my working life in UK schools.
Our 'birthday' arrangements were always someone keeping track of the birthdays and organising a joint card from the whole staff to the birthday recipient, which we all signed - and yes, the Birthday Girl/ Boy would be expected to bring in treats of some kind on the day.
The school I was in for the last 20 years of my career also started a tradition that if it was someone's Big Birthday (one ending in a zero) there was additionally a buffet lunch or afternoon tea paid for by the school out of the team building/ wellbeing budget, and organised by a small group of colleagues for everyone to enjoy.
After work drinks only ever happened for the Christmas 'Do' and the end-of-school-year 'Do'.
So many British people seem to knock the UK these days and don't realise how blessed we are work-wise, compared with some countries. PAYE and at least 28 days hols - marvellous. Mind you, compared to the French we are still in the Dark Ages. Everyone seems to have August off in France and most appear to retire at 55. And get this, according to a Brit friend of mine who lives in France: If you leave your job, you get 80% of of your wage paid by the Government for a year, so everyone seems to have a year off at some point. I have probably got some of the facts on this a bit wrong, but you get the idea.
That 80% of your wages you refer to isn't paid for by the Government. It's paid for by the taxpayer. The Government doesn't have any money of its own.
@@redsquirrel1086 That is in France, not in the UK. True, it is paid from taxes, but the French don't seem to mind. President Macron of France has recently tried to extend the working age to retirement, causing huge protests. Not sure how France manages it all. Probably borrow a lot. France also has a strong military, national car and aeroplane industries. UK does not any more, so something is wrong somewhere.
By law, 1 in 100 French employees has to be a trade union official, paid for by the employer. If the company is big enough to have 100 union officials, one of them has to be a union official too, um, again. The union representatives need their own union representative. I'm unclear if that person gets two salaries, two holiday allowances etc.
And yet the French manage longer holidays, 30-35 hour weeks, 25% higher productivity, minimum one hour subsidised sit-down lunch breaks in employer-supplied canteens, etc etc compared with the British. How? It helps that employers and government invest in their employees as much as in computers and capital equipment, and training budgets are not always the first to get cut. Youth unemployment is higher, but there's less use of short-term contracts, umbrella companies and zero hours. Also I got the impression there's less office banter and general slacking, people disappearing to smoke cigarettes, fiddle with the photocopier, etc. Maybe they throw fewer sickies too, with managers who avoid conflict and look the other way. As with the Germans, work is real and serious, and then you stop.
@keithlillis7962 ...also remember France still operate colonial taxation on its former colonies in Africa to the value of half a billion euros a year...
@@glastonbury4304 I didn't know that. Thanks.
I always go on holiday over my birthday, one because I don't want people to know I'm getting older, and two, because then I don't have to buy chocolates.
I hate working from home. There are too many distractions, there's no one to ask advice or bounce ideas off, nowhere to walk round to think, and my flat isn't big enough to have a work space and I don't like working where I live, working at the table where I eat.
Great video, Alanna. I nearly always watch, rarely comment but you always deliver.
I also live in a flat, a one bedroom flat, and I live by my self. When I had to work from home during Covid, I hated it. Not speaking to anyone, not seeing anyone. Not even a garden to sit in and walk around. I changed my job earlier this year, and the new place said I could work from home 3 days a week. I declined. I don't drive, so I also didn't want the responsibility of carting a lap top backwards and forwards on public transport.
@@robcrossgrove7927 Are you me?
What a delightful lady and great advert for Canada and Canadians. Kudos to her and her work ethic for being employed continuously.
I'd love to see her in Switzerland - we have great coffee in the offices typically.
As a Brit living in the US who's total income was from Britain, I was given the choice of paying income tax either in Britain or in the US but not both. I chose to pay in the country in which I lived. Also, I claim US social security based on being fully paid up into British social security. The two countries have reciperocal agreements.
I believe though that if you are a US citizen, living/working elsewhere you still have to file tax returns/pay tax in the US.
Like you, in March 2020 I went from working full time in the company office to working entirely from home, and stayed doing this until I retired in March 2023 even after the office fully reopened (it helped that I was a department of one so I didn’t have to coordinate with anyone else about my work). As I’m pretty much asocial I didn’t particularly miss the noise in an open plan office, nor did I regret missing company social events (which I absolutely hated). Not that I didn’t get on very well with my colleagues - I did - but I got much more work done in my dining room ‘office’ (and I saved on the commuting cost as well).
In Canada we use instant coffee on camping trips and for emergency use when we run out of regular coffee since it has a multi-year shelf life.
Great video Alanna! I don't know how people can cope with only 10 days holiday!
If only you worked here in the 80s and 90s. On the first day of my first job I was taken by my new boss to the works bar at 10:30AM, Monday morning and bought two pints. That really set the tone for the office - complete madness looking back!
Used to work in Financial Services and Friday was always 2 Hours in the pub at lunchtime then trying to stay awake from 2 to 5 pm hahaha It was a different 🌎 to today.
I used to bring in 20 jam doughnuts ,custard creams and Jammy dodgers from the local tescos on my birthday. The dept had about 25people. When I was working on a project that required a lot of engineering fitting work, Id take some over to their dept to make sure I was their preferred 'customer'. Got to grease the wheels lol
In the US, our situation was similar to how Alanna described it in that the company paid for coffee and tea and supplies. However, we had a rotating list with our names on it for someone to bring in donuts or bagels or anything of their choice for Fridays. So we always had a Friday treat.
I have used bags of doughnuts many times the future currency of the world lol 😂
I'm a retired medical professional. I have worked in more than a dozen countries in three continents, and I have NEVER had to 'file taxes' as a routine.
They are talking about it getting rid of it in Canada, since for PAYE employees its pretty much pointless - you can file your taxes and then get a letter from the tax office telling you you are wrong, because they work them out anyway. Where it does have value, is that you are able to claim for things that you normally wouldn't in the UK, thinks like eyeglasses, descriptions, dental work.
It's the Americans you should feel sorry for, who must fill out their IRS forms no matter where they are. An American living and working in another country, is expected to file their taxes just the same, and are expected to pay taxes to the US as well despite not having been there, or even living there. I'm not quite sure how it works, but as a US citizen living overseas, you must fie your taxes, but then can claim some sort of relief based on what taxes you have paid wherever you are living. It's a horrible system
Moved from the UK to the US. The thing I found difficult was in the US, people would just wander up to your desk to chat. In the UK, you're mostly focused on work and chit-chat is reserved for breaks.
Sorry I disagree. It depends on the firm's culture.
What? That's not true at all 😂 you must have only worked in one place in the UK. One strange place at that. You crazy
Thanks Alanna for a great video, 10 days holiday in Canada blimey 😮 is that the work till you drop scheme. We haven't always had good holidays in Britain when I started working we used to get two weeks in summer and a week at Xmas and that was it.
Bank holidays?
@@niallrussell7184 bank holidays were just ordinary work days, and if you didn't like it f...off. 😕
praise wkpedia ~ it appear holidays origin fm the feast in saint patron days ~ The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution. In Scotland, each city has a "Trades Fortnight"; two weeks in the summer when tradesmen take their holidays.
Although a strong tradition during the 19th and 20th centuries, the observance of the holiday has almost disappeared in recent times, due to the decline of the manufacturing industries in the United Kingdom and the standardisation of school holidays across England.
In England & Wales, under the extreme circumstances when you might not qualify for any 'earned' holiday days (though I can't imagine what those circumstances might be,) you'd still be paid for the following 'bank holidays' : New Years Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Early May Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday, Late Summer Holiday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day. That's EIGHT paid 'days off' at least. (For Scotland and/or Northern Ireland, this might be different, though they probably get even more days off there!)
And remember that allowed Holiday days are the legal minimums - some employees may provide more.
Vacations abroad are common from the UK, and due to the amount of employees' holiday allowances, vacations farther afield, (to the Americas, Africa, the Far East, and Australasia, etc.) become a realistic possibility. How many Americans live their entire lives, having never left their home nation?
I am British and have worked in Australia. The main differences are that time off and sick leave is earned pro-rata. So you have to have worked in that job for 12 months before you get your fill entitlement (which is similar to UK entitlement) However you also earn long service leave which is an additional 10 weeks leave you can take after 8-10 years. A plus point is if you leave a job and have not taken your annual leave or long service leave you are paid for those days. On the negative side, the working week is usually 38 hours not 35 hours as in the Uk and lunch time is usually half an hour. Office culture wise, there are 'morning teas' where people all bring a plate of homemade goodies and they are shared. Also people bring in excess produce like oranges and leave them for anyone to take home or eat in the office.
I have been self employed for most of my working career and the self assessment is definitely a pain but by the sound of it I think I much prefer the UK working arrangement, particularly the Bants and the cake. 😊😊😊
Definitely more cake! lol
When I worked for my own limited company, I had to submit self-assessment tax forms every year. I nearly always took the easy option of allowing the Revenue to calculate my tax from my submitted info. (Always less chance of prosecution if they rather than you, have calculated your tax liability,) but of course the date you have to submit your form is a fair bit earlier in the year. One year I got the dates mixed up and only realised at about 11:30am on the deadline day for submission. I ended up racing into my local city centre queuing up for what seemed an age in the tax office, and just managed to hand my form over the counter, about 3 minutes before the deadline.
Re sick leave, I had a major operation in 2003, and was hospitalised with major seizures in 2008. I was entitled to if I needed it, to 6 months full pay, then 6 months half pay. I only took three months on each occassion, but in 2003 when I returned to work, I had fewer hours to work on full pay for 3 months.
Just a minor clarification, as Canadians we’re responsible for getting our tax returns filed but we don’t have to do them personally. There are many companies and accounting firms that do tax preparation and you could even let your brother-in-law or someone else do them if that was there thing and they were a lot more competent than you are, but you’re still responsible for the results. My Wife uses Turbo-Tax as well and it’s worked very well.
My first job was back in the 1960s, think it was two weeks holiday back then plus Bank Holidays, which I believe started as compulsory holidays for bank workers.
During my second job it was four weeks of holiday, but no longer than two weeks at a time. Wanting to do a holiday in Australia I gave a years notice of my plan so I could have a month off.
Certainly glad not to deal with USA holiday culture!
Now it's one long holiday following retirement, but still things to do.
as a student I worked for a year in hospital admin - and someone would bring fresh toast from the canteen for elevenses, delicious!!
When I started work the holidays were ten days plus bank holidays and one extra day for every five years at the company. When I finished work they were 25 days plus bank holidays. Forty years ago I worked in Germany. There employees had six weeks holiday (with full pay) and for every day off we were paid the equivalent of an extra half days pay! However I don't know if that was for all companies or just a local arrangement between our works council and the employer.
I work from home four days a week and have to go into the office on only once. This way we get all the benefits of home working but also get the social aspect of working with others. This is helped by also having daily “Teams” meetings where we do online quizzes etc
As I work for the NHS and have for 45 years I often have 2 weeks leave at the end of holiday year and take the first 2 weeks of the next years leave giving me a full month off
As a single man, I can't relate. I'm not into most things most others are, when I leave work everyone else drinks and goes out I go home cos I don't drink. Good coffee and movie at home for me. Ha
Don’t start drinking! Truly smart people know it’s really bad. So you’re smart! 😫😫😫🤯🤯🤯🤯
@@hanniffydinn6019 I've seen to many people, die by it or act inhuman from it and that's something I don't want for myself.
And that's why your single lol
I have worked for my current company for 30 years. When I first started, we finished work on a Friday at 4:30 pm. After about two years they changed so that we finish at 1 pm on a Friday, yes 1 pm. I would be extremely unhappy to have to work a full day on a Friday. Also, at our office we have a Coffee Bar with a full time Barista, as well as a free on-premise 9:56 gym and full time personal trainer. Gosh yes, and 28 days hols per year. Gotta love working in the UK.
I'm pretty sure my dad would usually keep instant coffee around when we were young for when friends/family/other farmers came around.
You should have a serious chat with your dad 💀
How could you describe how the birthday celebrant has to bring cake et cetera into work, without mentioning M&S’s Colin the Caterpillar? Colin even took Aldi to court over their Cuthbert lookalike. Now we also have supermarket caterpillars called Clyde, Cecil, Clive, Curious, Curly and Wiggles, all joining in the celebrations. PS, for those of you not fortunate enough to live in the UK, Colin is delicious chocolate caterpillar, suitable for sharing.
Didn't she do a video on Colin?
I really couldn't imagine only having 10 days of annual leave... 28 days feels like too little as it is 😅
You’ve only seen the tame version of drinking culture. In the 90s we would usually go to the pub at lunchtime for a couple of pints, almost always without food. After work we’d go again for another 2-3 pints, usually with crisps or nachos for people to share. This was every day. I worked for the government and the building even had a bar inside it so that we would waste less time by having to walk to/from the pub. Ahhh, the good old days…
When I started working, it was in a large office in the City. By coincidence, in the first few weeks two or three people had birthdays and brought in cream cakes as was the custom. At the time I just thought we had cakes once a week! Still love that top, Alanna.
Quick Google search says additional 5 national holidays for Canada, apposed to 8 in the UK. Also 37.5hrs working week!
But then you also get provincial public holidays added onto the national/federal ones. For instance, my home province of Ontario had 11 public/stat (bank) holidays when I worked there. I also like that the Canadian/provincial stat holidays are more spread out through the year, and not all bunched up like the UK bank holidays (May, for instance, having 2).
I also always worked 37.5 hours/week in Ontario.
My son-in-law works for a company in London where there are various different restaurants of different styles, all with good quality food / meals. They are allowed to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at work all for FREE if they so wish. They also have coffee shop grade coffee machines and the company runs free 'barista classes' so the employees can learn how to make really good coffee. And you guessed it the coffee and any and all other drinks are totally free.
Being a 19 year long visitor working in UK, I have never got used to the drinking with no food thing after work. But when I order munchies to share like fries or nachos everyone will partake!
It’s a weird thing really. In every group there are those that can drink heavy, others like me like a few drinks and a bit of grub.
"Fancy going out for a pint or three?"
"Yeah, but I'm hungry, and those chips at the Dog & Duck are flippin' expensive."
"Don't worry, Kidkal7825's coming, he always buys chips for everyone!"
😊
I've been self employed for years, but worked in a variety of jobs with colleagues when I first arrived in the UK for many years, first in Alberta and then BC. The one constant I have seen - or been a part of, is the acknowledgement of American thanksgiving. I've never worked anywhere, or attended a college, where that there wasn't at least one American working and no matter what, there will always be at least a pumpkin pie brought in to have with coffee and an acknowledgment that they are away from home and its a big day. 4th of July and stuff can just slide by, but never Thanksgiving
Now many companies in the UK provide free coffee, tea, snacks and fruit to employees.
The pandemic changed things where where I work we now have a hybrid way of working from home and going on site as well.
I found WFH full time very lonely, missed the banter! I suppose.
However, I'd hate to work on site full time as well.
So that's a change.
Its hard for someone from a different country understand banter and I really admire you and others that move countries and fit in.
Canada Revenue Agency is moving towards preparing the taxes. They note that billions of deductions are not claimed.
Re vacation, it is quite common to negotiate the vacation commensurate with experience, so through your career you do get more days faster than the legislated minimums.
I worked for a cuppla American companies here in London, for a very short time, and they used to close down on a Friday, at around 4pm, and have an informal get together and food was supplied by the Company, plus SOFT drinks and it was very nice ... we could NOT leave the office, someone had to deal with the phones and any queries, but generally we chilled out, and no real work was done. They used to call it something, but I can't remember what . . . Something like Happy Friday or some such name 😮😮 It was good 👍💯
I worked in schools in France in 1999 as a language assistant and as far as I know the coffee (real coffee) was free. I also got a free lunch but that was only because I helped take the children to the canteen (which we had to walk through the town to get to). I didn't have to do that, but I was friends with the people around my age hired to do that and I'd rather go with them than sit for two hours alone while most teachers went home, or sit with older teachers for two hours in the staff room!
2 hours in the pub on a Friday then 3 hours trying to stay awake till hometime 🤣 You had to be working in the 80's to understand how normal it was .
The birthday treats situation is exactly what we do in elementary school in the US haha. We used to bring in our own cupcakes for our birthday in first grade! Never heard of it as an adult though.
When I worked in large IT companies, there was not a lot of banter (swearing was definitely frowned upon). But there was always free tea and coffee, and one company also provided fruit squash, decent biscuits and fresh fruit daily. But I think age of employees makes a big difference - my first company was full of mostly single people in their 20s and had a very lively social scene, but my next company had a lot more older people who usually wanted to go home to their families after work.
I retired a few years back, but some of this makes me slightly nostalgic for office culture.
I always envied office people who could spend a large part of the day drinking coffee. If anybody just left the shop floor to buy coffee, that would be their last day in that job. I once had a Christmas "do" in June. At one company, we had a woman on the shop floor who had been trying for a baby for years and was getting near the upper age limit. one of the bosses brought out a few small parcels then somebody else brought out a few more then more then more she ended up with enough to fill the company box van.
The best birthday was a woman who was a professional standard baker she would make a variety of cakes and bring them in.
I've worked in factories or workshops all my working life & there is a machine that you pay 10p or 20p for a coffee,hot chocolate or tea. I always took my own teabags & milk. Got a larger quantity & weren't paying for it.
Instant coffee is *not* coffee. My US friends are not double taxed in the UK, there's a dual tax treaty but they do have to file, any taxes paid in the UK can be set against any the US might raise. There's issues with things like ISA for example which the US just regards in the same way they would a GIA.
A lot of pubs do meals, you could've eaten with after work drinks. No need to copy each other.
Every company I have ever worked for in the UK has provided free tea and coffee. I did work at one where you could pay 20p and upgrade to a coffee pod if you did not want the instant.
Two exceptions I've seen to the kitty thing, some fancy firms give free tea and coffee, milk, sugar etc. And the other one is if you work in catering. Then it's assumed that you not only get free tea, coffee etc but whatever meals you are serving you get to eat that too (whatever is left etc). I mean catering, like working in a staff canteen, a nursing home etc, not working in a restaurant, I've done less of that and I think in many you don't get fed, but I could be wrong.
That difference in vacation time was a huge and welcome change when I moved from the US to Asia so many years ago. I went from 2 weeks to 8 weeks PLUS public holidays of which there are many, in my new home. After this I knew I would never be able to move back to the North American paid slavery system That was over 25 years ago and I am now retired and at the moment enjoying the UK. I split my time between China and the UK with much travel in between.
On the sickness front: after four days of self-certifying you can then go on statutory sick pay which last a maximum of 28 weeks. After that your next recourse would be either New Style Employment and Support Allowance (which is contribution based) or Universal Credit (which has a health element and is income based). Remember you have employment rights, for example your employer must make reasonable adjustments to help you back to work.
They might be able to dismiss you on the grounds of capability if that doesn't work though. Think of someone going through cancer treatment and how that might affect their ability to work. A reasonable adjustment might be allowing them to work less hours, or work from home more. Claiming a disability benefit called Personal Independence Payment might also help them get work done.
Hi I came to canada in 2018 I have a LMIA and it runs out 2026 and im heading back to uk once I get my taxes done for 2025….. I do long haul drive 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 love the country but I’m struggling to book holidays as everything is so far away and 2 weeks is not enough time go away I find it tough it’s all work don’t have a life out here and I’m payed by the miles
Personal taxes in the UK is pretty straight forward. Its when you deal with business taxes when what you described what happens in Canada is exactly the same here. Purposely complicated is a spot on description..
Watching North Americans living in Europe just reminds me how great living in Europe is.
Regarding vacation days in Canada: to be fair, two weeks (10 days) is the government-mandated minimum, what an entry-level employee will receive. Anyone being hired at a more senior level, with experience, if not initially offered more time will certainly have leverage to negotiate for it.
I’m a Brit but I’ve worked in the US with people who take their annual vacation and arrive back at work after a few days because they were bored. When I first saw this I couldn’t believe it. Most people seemed to take long weekends and not much more. They didn’t know what to do with themselves if they weren’t working. I once took a three week vacation (the company at that time allowed us to buy an extra week) and the people I worked with were totally shocked. I think I was supposed to ask the company for permission to do that but didn’t.
It's beyond me, I live for my holidays. WORK for my holidays.
Instant coffee just reminds me of petty grievances. My parents always keep some on hand so that when they are arguing over who emptied the last pot without making a new one, the aggrieved party can just make a sad instant coffee.
me and my partner lived in Canada for four years till last year. She only got 15 days off in her last job. Let's just say I'm not shocked we moved back.
Kebabs were made for Friday nights. Gone are the days of lunchtime drinking...and thirsty Thursday. Shame.
Remember those 28 days include 8-9 days of public holidays, including these is new, it makes the 'benefits package' sound better.
Some companies shut down for two weeks at Christmas so it's either taken as leave or unpaid!
Sick leave? getting paid full salary is 'occupational' sick pay, otherwise, you only get SSP for max. 28 weeks.
And look up The Bradford Score...if you're thinking of gaming the system 😉
I thought it was obligatory to have a pint of Stella at lunch when it used to be 5 % odd back in the day
@@elwolf8536 Just one pint? I knew people who had a can at their desks first thing in the morning...
@@LoremIpsum1970 jeez 😂😂😂
That's nuts
@@elwolf8536 A liquid lunch used to be totally normal back in the day. Stella was 5.2% back then IIRC, (99/2000's) I preferred Guinness as it is an actual liquid lunch even if only 4.1%.
This was just something we did on key rollout dates or such. I would also "work" after hours to get my BAC less than 0.08 when driving. A proper Friday night piss-up I would leave my car in the carpark and taxi, bus or walk home depending on the evening.
I am always so surprised how much Canada is like the US, I always thought they were better than that. At least they don't make you file taxes. I very much resent having to do that now that I live in the UK, and don't even talk to me about the difficulties of banking and investing as a US citizen abroad (investing is basically impossible). Basically, I am incentivised not to cross a certain threshold in earnings to avoid complicating my life.
As a dual citizen, I am keeping a close eye on the double taxation issue, as I have heard some Canadian politicians are considering the idea.
Nooooooo!! 💔😩 I hope not
@@AdventuresAndNaps I think it is extremely unlikely. But after the recent increase in capital gains tax in Canada, one never knows.
@@G4GUOsure, but that capital gains tax change barely effects anyone. It only kicks up from the 50% inclusion rate (i.e., 50% of the gain counts as taxable income) to 75% after 250000 in a year and AFTER 2 million life time. If anyone is making enough capital gains to trigger the increased inclusion rate then they already have more then enough money to get by just fine.
Not sure about Canada but in the US some holidays like thanksgiving and Christmas are taken out of your vacation time, it’s a real rip off living here and business often expect you to try an work yourself to death, the holidays and work ethic suck chocolate salty balls in America
Love the vlog as always ❤❤❤
I worked for H&R Block in Ontario - that was certainly interesting! 😀
i have worked in britain for many years. They start out nice and friendly and quickly turn nasty and mostly importantly they looked down on people who is not from them. They constantly change their mind and you are never on same page with them. They are exactly like their weather nice one min mean and cold the next.
The odd thing about instant coffee is that it was, I believe, an American invention, to keep the troops going in world war 2, it's just that we in the UK adopted it, perhaps because of rationing, and you in North America didn't. Also, regarding a tax return, I remember a book: "Have Spacesuit Will Travel", I think it was, where one character, maybe the protagonist's father, used to never file a return but simply handed the IRS man who came to investigate a pile of money, stating "You don't have to be literate to pay your taxes!".
Income Tax was introduced in the UK to fund the war against Napoleon. I think that war is over. National Insurance was introduced to fund NHS, unemployment and pensions yet my parents are facing having to sell their house to pay for their old age care. MPs should be paid minimum wage., PM should pay rent on 10 Downing St.
MPs getting paid minimum wage just opens the door for easy bribes. You pay politicians and other people in key positions enough so that they are much less likely to be tempted by a bribe. As corrupt as things are now with lobbying, you would hate to see what they country would be like if politicians were literally living in poverty.
Three days a year!!!! My last company we had full paid sick leave, over a two year period you could have over 200 paid days 😅
Regarding the 'Christmas Do', in the UK business are allowed to spend money (up to something like £150 per employee) on these 'do's with no tax liability to the employee. It doesn't have to be Christmas but it does have to be in one lump. I had to deal with this as a self-employed contractor where I had to find ways to spend this each year that were acceptable otherwise my accountant would nag me for not making proper use of my allowances as an employer.
Thanks girl for sharing
Have an amazing wonderful day. ❤❤
Hi we had two things which I guess is fairly common in New Zealand a weekly lotto pool and either instant coffee and tea morning and afternoon at the same time every day.
I’ve only ever worked in UK offices and never had a kitty for refreshments. The employer always funds the refreshments.
Tried Tim Hortons in the UK, it was ok but nothing special, is it better in Canada? The timbits were quite nice though.
There's no limit to the amount of sick leave but most companies will have it so that after a certain amount of days/weeks your pay will drop significantly to SSP (stat sick pay). It's often caught out malingerers at work and usually gets them back to work, magically.
Nothing wrong with being sensible in having a few drinks after work in having some food first.
The minimum British annual leave entitlement equates to 5.6 weeks - and yes, you are entitled to it in your first year. The idea of it taking years of service to get more than 2 weeks is mindboggling.
If you have never watched the only fools and horse's episode,the jolly boys outing a must see !!!😂😂😂😂
If you work solely for a company it is convenient for everyone to have PAYE but as soon as you have another income stream you will have to complete a tax return, its stands to reason . If you do complete a tax return I would advise employing an accountant to do that, they ought to save you money and thus pay for themselves, the up side is that it takes the stress out of the whole process that is worth even more.
In 50 years I have only worked in one establishment where I paid for tea/coffee and that was at a local authority. Everywhere else it was part of the office 'equipment/consumable' Most Brits don't drink real coffee out of preference so that instant coffee is the default and much less hassle than the real stuff. My daughter runs our local Pharmacy and introduced pod coffee. the instant is still on the shelf and is occasionally opened but most now drink pod coffee. Its the little things that make employment tolerable or even enjoyable so real coffee is but a very small price to pay.
I used to work in our local city centre and at the end of the day a pint(only) was called for primarily because it was much more pleasant to wind down and also not have to battle the rush hour. These days most pubs serve food so that its not unusual for someone to order a meal for themselves whilst chatting to the others, who were just drinking.
Re: The Friday night drink, as opposed to the Friday night Meal & Drink:
British people are obviously a lot more 'Family' oriented: We're not going to miss the evening family meal, just to eat out with our work colleagues, but it's OK to get home after midnight totally pissed, with a carrier bag full of Indian takeaway!
The banter is something that happens most in smaller organisations. Big companies have more forced santised environments these days.
most places i worked it was a custom to buy cream cakes on your birthday
In Quebec you have to do two tax returns. One for federal, the other provincial.
Drinking after work, no thank you. I do drink, but with friends away from my work place and family, as I see my co-workers almost every day of the week for 9 to 10 hours a day, I am not going to hang with them after work as well, I would go insane. Will join them for a party or a lunch on Weekends now and again, but not after work on Fridays, although sometimes we work Saturdays up an till 2Pm.
Thank goodness Canada is like the rest of the world (no double tax).........US Keeps saying they are the most free and best country in the world, but just a few hours watching vids on RUclips many American's now know that is just not true.
Does Canada have bank holidays and are they extra to the 2 week/10 days ?
UK 28 days + 8 bank Holidays
UK sick leave - some companies ask for a doctor's note after a few days, regardless, and if you are off sick for an extended period, good companies will try and accommodate, theoretically you can't be let go due to sickness, but it happens with other reasons given
It's 20 days + 8 bank holidays, not 28 + 8, and yes canada has 12 bank holidays which she didn't mention in the video, so it's 22 vs 28. However, most uk employers do usually offer more than 28 (inc. bank holidays), i've always had between 31 - 34 altogether. Canadian employers on the other hand are a lot less likely to offer more than the legal minmum.
@@lc5176 I get 28+8 ... I had not realised how generous by employer is ...
@@lc5176no, that's not true. I work in Canada and have never had less than 3 weeks vacation, I've worked for my current employer for 4 years and have 4 weeks of vacation
I think for 2 weeks vacation you're looking at minimum wage work - though they do deserve more paid time off, they work just as hard
Canada only has 5 bank holidays. 😢
@@wildrift4788 no it doesn't, theyre called stat holidays and there is pretty much 1 a month
The eating is cheating thing is maybe something peculiar to where you are or the people you hang out with, I have never found that a thing where I am in the UK. You could always tell them to sod off and just eat.
The UK has Double Taxation agreements with many countries -including the USA and Canada.
Basically, if you are a UK tax resident, you are liable to UK tax on your worldwide income. However, if you have already suffered tax on foreign income, you will be given a credit against any UK tax due on that foreign income. So, for example, if a Canadian source of income had been subject to 30% tax and the UK tax due was calculated at 20%, you have nothing to pay the UK tax authorities.
If you suffered 20% tax on your foreign income and the UK tax was due at 40% (because you were a higher earner, for example), HMRC in the UK would want you to pay the additional 20% UK tax.
My (limited) experience wit Canadians is that they are not really understand banter and as a result can be very upset with it when they hear it - not realising that it's supposed to be humour. To be honest, even in the UK "banter" can go too far and lots of people have been upset by what others (maybe) intended to be a funny and witty comment.
I've always files self assessment in the UK, as soon as you have any benefit in kind it occurs. HMRC just this year told me I can stop and I know it is because my tax was so low last year but I also know next year will be different so HMRC are incorrect.
Have you ever had an issue with your TPS Reports????😊😊😊😊😊...in my last workplace birthdays were huge!! Not only would you get an extra day off but your team would throw a "pod party".....With snacks, cakes, streamers, balloons and even glitter!!🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
did none of the offices have a cafetiere hidden away somewhere for people who wanted to use filter coffee.
when i worked as a nurse in Nhs, , now retired i got 8 weeks in total including bank holidays.
28 isn't a legal entitlement, just the norm. It usually comes on top of the vast array of public holidays we get in the UK, as well. In cases where your employer totally shuts down over e.g. Christmas, then you get these shutdown days as "free" holiday too. In those cases you can readily end up with 40--45 days' holiday per year. My first employer used this arrangement, and I had a good deal of trouble using it all. I would've preferred the option to forego some of it in exchange for a bit more money, to be honest.
28 in the UK is a legal requirement for full time. 8 bank holidays and a minimum 20 days leave
@@TrevM0nkey you get BHs anyway; 20 is the legal minimum as you say. As I said, 28 is the "norm" and comes *on top of* public holidays.
@@FlyingPhysicist but 28 is a legal entitlement because that's the law. Your holiday entitlement includes bank holidays.
28 isn't the 'norm' on top of public holidays. All these minimum wage workers are getting 20 + bank holidays, along with a lot of other workers
@@TrevM0nkey there's a dead horse being flogged somewhere in the world.
Unless the makings are provided by the company a coffee fund is commonplace in Britain.
I have never had 28 days holiday in any job here in the UK, and sometimes it is difficult to actually take all the holiday due, and modern technology makes it more difficult to truly switch off because who wants to face the inbox of thousands of emails on return to the office? But, 10 days holiday a year would be soul destroying.
Obviously it all depends on the type work you do.
If you can’t fit your holidays in then your employer should schedule any remaining unused days, if your employer prevented you from taking your full holiday leave you can carry over up to 4 weeks until the next year.
A lot of places you will get up to 6 month full paid sick pay then down to half pay for six months