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Fernanda Bajanca
Quentin Loisel
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28 Comments
Thanks Michael! I had no lucky with HR. It seems that my name isn't yet in "our system". Bureaucracy is the same everywhere...
Oh, I know... To make things worse it's still vacation time in the UK, so they're probably understaffed. Maybe your host researcher can get things moving in HR.
If you're due to start in one week (September) they should have sent you an offer letter by now?
An important piece of information you may also want to find out is the exchange rate EUR/GBP. In my case, UCL uses what they called a "conservative" rate of 0.65...
Good luck!
Agnieszka
0.65 ?!? WTF?!?! That's not conservative, that's a ripoff!
It was non-negotiable, I'm afraid.
0.68 in my case. I already know the gross amount and that's also why I don't understand the reason for not informing the net value.
There's still hope.... Normally the total salary that you should have received during your fellowship, using the authoritative exchange rate, it computed at the end, and the difference is transferred to your account as a lump sum. Sometimes this is "forgotten" though... So it may be worthwhile discussing this with your HR and/or finance department, maybe after liasing with your grant officer at the EU to confirm this practice. Good luck!
Thanks, Michael!
That's what happens. For me it will happen in September as the project finishes then. There's also the difference of exchange rate drop due to Brexit to be covered.
I have had the exact same problem as you, but my project started in October 2015. The worst problem was to be able to make any kind of budget before the project started. Could I afford to rent an apartment or should I look for a room? I needed somewhere to live in Manchester before the project started. Even applying for a bank account, you need proof of home address in UK (gas bill or something like that). If you don’t have a bank account in UK the university will have a problem paying your salary. So, it would have been nice to know . My first pay I got 2099 pound– I can tell you I made more back home when I was working as a PhD student. To be an experienced researcher and get so little per month (after that first month 2500 most month the first year) was a bit of a chock – in expensive UK. And remember, part of that was the mobility allowance – paid out by the employer as salary.
I am just starting at G9 at Aberystwyth so this is very useful. Clearly, financially I am also coming back to my doctoral times, although I've had now 9 years experience and am associate professor at home university. Has anyone raised this weird calculation system with their EC project officer? If I also get 2099 pounds at the end of the month, I will start investigating more.
Good luck!
Yes, open a new bank account in UK when you have just arrived it's almost impossible. And no one helps you with this... The banks don't care and the university the same...
From my personal experience,
It's almost impossible in the city center. Try to open the account in a remote branch of your preferred bank (not the one in the city center), they will be much more friendly and less demanding, a letter from the university, a passport and a smile should work in most cases.
It would not affect your account in any way (maybe except very specific financial operations that can be processed only in your branch).
Thanks, Lenonid. Can I ask you wich bank did you choose?
I wouldnt want to make a free commercial for any of the banks,
Any one of the big ones (red white, green, blue) is fine, you can also look for special offers for those who open new accounts.
Or something that works best for you internationally (money transfer fees etc). It's a very subjective choice.
:) Ok, no problema. (My choice will be the one that makes things easier to open the account. I'm still trying to figure out after visiting different branches)
Santander offers basic accounts for EU citizens. You won't really have many things to go with it, but they might upgrade you eventually. If you'll behave and will be a good client and all the rest...
Thanks, Annamaria.
Thanks, Annamaria.
One thing to look out for is what kind of card they offer you. I was first offered an electron card rather than a debit or credit card. This suffices for basic transactions, but in many places you cannot use it to pay, e.g. you cannot buy a train ticket with it from the train station. So make sure you get a proper debit card!
Oh dear
You became an ER with 9 years of experience? I would say that is too much experience for an ER
Apart from that, I thought ERs are not included anymore in MSCA ITNs. Is it an IF?
The best approach is to ask your future HR department for a calculation. You may have to insist with repeated emails and calls to get them to compute this number.
Otherwise you can estimate it using an online tax calculator, but there are a couple of hoops to jump through.
This will likely not be 100% on the spot but at least give you a number to work with.
However, I really, really recommend to bug your host institution until they provide you with a solid number.