advice required re stupid husband v the nhs

[mrsmartin]

Hi Ladies,

So, DH is a clever guy (educated to masters level, now a paramedic) but he has very little common sense and now we are faced with a dilema.

We currently live in the North East and hate it (we live in Middlesbrough and apologies to any natives but it is crap). Anyway, DH is from Manchester and so when he saw on the NHS jobs site that they were advertising for paramedics in the Manchester area he called them and applied (he had applied previously but it got to 2weeks before the start date and they couldn't tell us where in the whole of the north west he would be based so he had to decline the offer).

So - he confirmed with them that the job would be in Manchester and went ahead with the application. I told him not to hand in his resignation with the east until he had signed a contract. However, he was given a start date of 12th March and therefore felt the need to give his 4weeks notice on both his job and the flat we rent.

He received a call last friday to say that he was going to be based in East Lancashire (preston/burnley way) which is probably closer to leeds than manchester. He still hasn't received a contract to sign (has been booked into the medical checks, obligatory starters course etc - they have even booked his hotel for the course he needs to take).

The problem is - east lancs is miles from where we wanted to be, my employment prospects for there are shit (had planned to go back into retail in Manc) and they are just generally messing us around.

He has spoken to the north west and they have said it is unlikely that the decision will be changed. He has also spoken to his current employer who has basically said that it should be ok for him to recind his resignation. I'm also fairly sure we could work something out with our current landlord.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated....TIA

I don't think you've posted this in the right place. It's not so much an employment issue as a personal choise issue. Put it in chat.

FWIW I live around the Manchester area. Could you not live somewhere halfway between the two? House prices may also be cheaper.

Burnley and Preston are no where near Leeds!! You might find its easier than you think- I know people who commute from East Lancs into Manchester daily, so if you have a car (know that might be a big 'if') then probably doable to live on outskirts of Manchester and for him to have a 45 min commute - less if you compromise a bit more on area. I think you might need to put a little research in, but don't think its a no no.

its only 30 miles from Preston or Burnley to central Manchester, and there IS a public transport network in that area of the UK. its an hour and a bit from preston centre to Manchester centre by train/ bus but a mid way point to live would halve that I guess.

Isn't it going to be easier for your DH to transfer within the NW region when an opening in a more desirable location comes up than to be in the NE region looking at the jobs listing and hoping for the ideal to land on his lap.

I'm in Burnley. You're right that there are few jobs (like most places) but housing is cheap. We have a direct rail link to Leeds (1 hour) or bus to Manchester (also about 1 hour but liable to hold ups on the M66). Funding has just been granted to reinstate a direct rail link to Manchester which will only take 40 minutes but that will take a few years before it opens. Deprivation levels are quite high across the burough but the town has had a lot of outside funding over recent years. All our high schools are brand new buildings. (most of them have been in Ofsted special measures mind...) Having said that, I'm not a native but i chose to move here. It is a really beautiful part of the country to live in.

With regards to my comment about a car, i was assuming that as a paramedic shift work would be involved. A long commute plus shift work in an NHS role where service bases are often not in the most accesible places for public transport may mean that using public transport is not an option.

Sorry OP, I should have asked rather than post a rather pithy response! Will your DP be reliant on public transport? Certainly if you are hoping to work in retail public transport links into the city centre are likely to be reasonable wherever you live but it might be trickier travelling out from a Manchester suburb into East Lancs early morning/late evening, depending on where the base is.