Relocation Package - London to Melbourne - Help!

[mammaneedsadrink]

Hi all. I've had a look through existing threads, but can't seem to find what I'm looking for, so hoping someone can help!

My DH has been offered an internal transfer to Melbourne. He works for an American company in a fairly senior role and they want him to move there and set up and lead the Australian division. They don't have anyone employed there at the moment and most of their work is in the US so they don't have a standard relocation package. They've asked him to come up with the kind of package he'll be looking for and we're not sure what to ask for. They've also (insanely in my opinion) asked him to suggest a fair salary for over there, so thought I would ask here if anyone could give some insight.

So as not to drip feed, it would be me, DH and 2 DC (6 & 3). I would be leaving a mid senior role, giving up a salary of approx £50k. He is currently on a base salary of £100k, with his OTE another £100k on top. We currently live in Greater London and have a pretty standard 4 bed semi which we have a mortgage on. We have a fairly comfortable life here and I would want the same standard of living there. At the moment, I've come up with the following:

Relocation manager/company to help
2x return flights home a year for us all
All costs covered relating to the visa
Temporary rental accommodation for 2 months
Rental car for 2 months
School fees
Cost of shipping furniture

This seems quite a lot, so not sure if we're thinking too high and keen to understand what others might have received.

We have no idea what to ask for salary, but if we go just by converting currency, I'm thinking he asks for $190000 base, plus same commission deal.

Any help, guidance or advise would be much appreciated. TIA!

Hiya, can't help on the relocation details but salaries are significantly higher in Australia so it would cost them a lot more to find someone over there! So don't go low on salary request.

No idea at all, but sounds very exciting!

I would be asking for much more:
The flights should be business class
The equivalent of £250k in AUS dollars as base (due to you losing your long term job) actually I forgot salaries are much higher over there so would be asking for equivalent of £350-400k
Accommodation for at least a year
School fees
Company car
All moving costs covered

You are aiming WAY too low with this

The cost of living is much higher so I don't think converting his UK salary to AUD would necessarily get you the same standard of living. House prices in Melbourne are insane, my friend's pretty ordinary 3 bed sold for over a million dollars a few years back.

We have done similar but would have the cost of renting plus bills included.

Also if there are any tax liabilities over what you have now.

Check the school costs. If you are looking at international schools they can be crazy high.

Is the electrical system the same? You might have to buy new electricals like TVs rather than ship your current ones.
Not sure 2 months would be enough to find a new home - especially if you fly over and it’s the school holidays so you can’t view schools.
Do you currently have 2 cars? I’d be asking for a company car plus cash so that you can buy a car.
Yy to business class flights because of the distance.
CoL is higher in Aus so I would check job sites and see what your job pays in Melbourne because converting £50k to AusD is not fair on you.
Is redundancy and holidays the same in Oz? My ex had a job offer in another country with worse redundancy terms so we rejected it.
If they make him redundant then you want them to pay cost of shipping stuff back to UK and flights. I don’t know what standard redundancy period is but you need quite long to wrap things up there, especially if rentals have a long notice period.

You might want to think about benefits as well - health insurance, for example.

I would be worried that they haven’t done/ are not doing their due diligence on the practical aspects of setting up an Australian division.

PS. Melbourne is great though! As long as they come through with the package, what a fantastic opportunity!

Do rentals come fully furnished? When I went to Germany, I had to pay for carpets and a new kitchen as they aren’t standard fittings.

What health care costs are there in Australia? I haven't seen healthcare on your list of costs.

I think you need to look up what's included in full expat packages and start there.

Fully expat packages effectively compensate you for the "inconvenience" of living away from home. They're much more rare these days, but a good starting point for you to work out what matters to you. E.g. you could ask to have your rent paid, or a very generous housing allowance.

If you won't be able to work, DH's salary needs to reflect that.

Assuming you'll end up back in the UK, you want his service years for his pension to continue.

Health insurance, life insurance etc. are vital.

Business class flights back, school fees paid should be standard.

And so on.
The next step done would be more looking to equate to your life here, but you need to make sure you don't end up out of pocket.

My 2 pence would be to ask for more than you need so they can negotiate you down.

We did this when my DH relocated & they agreed to it all. In hindsight it could have been more. This was within UK so sorry no advice on Australia.

Saying that our neighbours did move back to Australia & their belongings went at least 6 weeks before they did as it had to quarantine for so long.

What happens to your UK home when you are away? What are the costs involved in leaving it vacant / renting it out? Make sure these are all covered off to reflect the higher salary.

My gut is you're not asking for nearly enough!

Ensure there are enough holidays to come back to the UK twice a year

Good luck

I would want the cost of relocating back to the UK covered for any reason, not just redundancy

yes to school fees in Aus and also boarding school fees for secondary level and overseas University fees in the UK if you stay that long

costs associated with buying a house out there (is there stamp duty etc)

costs associated with selling or renting your house in the UK

healthcare

can they sponsor you for a work visa (not sure how that works) or cover the costs associated with you getting one? Otherwise you stepping out of the workforce has significant long term impact on your personal finances (think pension, salary increases associated with years of experience etc)

always start with a big ask and let them negotiate you down

Check schooling costs: as temp residents we had to pay for state schools in NSW. Also School Uniform, textbooks, IT, school trips and stationery costs etc all fall to parents in Australia.

A Relocation allowance to enable you to return back to uk at end of contract (or 5 years) was included in my husbands relocation package.

House prices much higher in Aus so factor that into salary.

Hotel or serviced appartment and car hire on arrival while house hunting was useful for us.

Look into the likelihood of transferring to permanent residency further on. It's awful to have set yourself up, built a life for your family and being forced to return to the UK down the track if that's not what you want. Knowing the options ahead of time can make that easier.

I'm sure there's loads more that others will suggest

Good luck.

Private Health Insurance (at a good level) is important.

Thanks everyone, some really helpful responses here! The general consensus is we need to aim higher, so will do a bit more research. I especially like the clause to move back after 5yrs, so will deffo include that!

We would plan on renting our house here, at least initially so we have somewhere to return to if it comes to it.

I'm pretty confident I could get a role fairly easily out there, I'm in HR with a construction background but of course there are no guarantee.

I deffo have health insurance on my list, but forgot to put on my original post

2 trips home a year might be a bit much (just the effort of it) but everything else is too low. I'd be asking for 2 months in a serviced apartment then a year of rental accommodation to be covered for example.

I have a pommy friend who runs a recruitment consultancy in Melbourne for environmental work etc. If you want to PM me I can put you in touch. He would have a better idea of the types of packages and costs than most. If you were willing to pay a small fee for someone's time like that it might save an expensive mistake!

But also, seriously, you shouldn't be doing to running around on this one (but should have an appreciation, as you are working on). If the company want the job doing they need to know the territory and what they are asking. I'd be worried that the office setup would be too much on your husband's shoulders if they can't even be arsed to work out a relocation package for their main contact.

Will you have the right to work though?
Also your pension/ni contribution if you're not working..
My friend found it harder to get a job there especially as they knew it was a fixed term....
Another decided to think of it as a career break and was a sahm but got money that used to backfill her pension and ni on return to uk..dont forget to include the amount your employer would be contributing...

Another got a good role and never came back but they had rented accommodation for 2 years then agreed a different package after 18mths

Definitely sounds too low

Private health insurance will be a condition of any short term/work visa so that’s not really an issue. I would be asking if they would sponsor your DH for permanent residency if you wanted it, you may not want to stay long term but it’s good to have the option. I would definitely want help finding a rental, most senior level expats I know have their rent paid, company car and all private school costs covered (not just fees). Flights home definitely business class though once a years seems pretty standard. I would definitely aim high, you can always negotiate down.

Specify that you want equivalent sickness and annual leave benefits. The standard in Australia is 20 holiday days and 10 sick days per annum. I have a normal city role where we get 30 holiday and up to 6 months sick leave. You need to be properly insured for short term illness in Australia.

I have some experience of this, so hope this helps. Melbourne is an amazing place to live, but some points to consider:

Labour laws are strict in Australia. The company will need to prove why they can't hire someone local for the job before they employ your DH. It can take a while, so make sure they have got the job approved before you start making changes in the UK.

Also, don't assume you will be allowed to work. It's unlikely you will on a partner visa, so definitely something to clear up if you want them to pay for a different visa for you (assuming you qualify).

Items generally included for senior manager relocation packages:
Relocation agent to find house and school (if you want private this can be harder than you would think)
Moving costs both there and back. Also, storage in the UK if needed.
Rental and bill payment for the entire contract (usually around A$10,000 per month for rent alone. Central Melbourne is very expensive and vacancy rates very low.)
Settling in costs to cover paying for additional furniture, etc etc. Usually a few thousand dollars.
School fees (including trips, uniform, books)
Cars - including all fees / registration etc (some contracts include petrol as well)
Some contracts can include additional allowances to cover how much more expensive Melbourne is than someone's home country. This varies a lot but on average A$10,000 per month.
They will have to provide health insurance as part of the visa arrangement, but make sure they get a good policy. They can vary hugely in terms of your gap payment.
Tax advice and help with end of year returns.
Business class air fare, car hire and accommodation costs for one trip per year for all family members. (Two would be very unusual).
Emergency travel costs if you need to visit immediate family if they are ill.
Loss of rental income cover. (Compensation if you aren't able to rent out your UK home for any period).

I may have forgotten some, but those are the main ones.

Whatever you do, don't just convert your UK salary to A$. They have very different costs of living, and you also need to make sure you have support for housing / schooling / relocation / visas in the contract.

Very jealous!

Also dental cover and a tax consultation!

I'm pretty confident I could get a role fairly easily out there, I'm in HR with a construction background but of course there are no guarantee.

That's what I thought, I'm a teacher. My dc were 5 and 2. But when it came to it it was more difficult than that. Having absolutely no family whatsoever can make things difficult. You are the only one who can look after them.

If your dh has to go anywhere with his job, then that puts the childcare all on you.

Is this a fixed term overseas contract or a permanent role? I realise that one could change into the other, but it makes a lot of difference in terms of type of package offered. Eg not uncommon for rent to be paid for a fixed term contract at this level but not for permanent move. May also make a difference in whether he has a guaranteed job to return to in the UK.

It's 20 years since I moved to Melbourne on a fixed term contract with work. I was a lot more junior then but we got

• some moving costs / allowance to buy new stuff

-relocation agent -someone to help with tax... The double taxation rules especially straddling tax years aren't simple to navigate

• initial rent paid I can't remember for how long

-guaranteed job to return to

• an element of salary equalisation (salaries in Aus were lower than UK at the time)

As a pp said think about what type of visa he will be on and the implications for you working too.

I loved Melbourne - great city to live in.

Sorry if someone's mentioned this and you probably already know but don't forget the school year is different to the Uk. More of an issue for older kids though

OP, make sure you think about what this means for your career and financial future, particularly your pension.

I have had 2 close friends experience a lot of stress in similar situations. One where she really struggled with not being able to work and her husband settling and enjoying the new life and her not. The other loved it, they returned after 10 years and divorced a few years later when they became empty nesters. She now has a rubbish private pension and a small state pension from missed years contributing. When overseas her husband didn't build his pension either, so there wasn't a huge pension to share in the financial settlement. He did 'clever things' to hide his wealth.

There are, of course, lots of other, much happier stories, and there is no reason to think things will go wrong for you but that doesn't mean you shouldn't cover yourself to make sure you are protected shouod things do go wrong.