Structural Engineering in the UK 1

[csd72]

I am moving to the UK in a week and was looking for a bit of a heads up on the situation there.

What are typical packages for engineers like (i.e. not salary amount but do people get a company car/car allowance/pension/health insurance/Bonuses?

Will my Australian Chartered Engineer status be recognised over there?

Is ICE respected as much as IStructE as far as structural engineering is concerned?

How much of a salary difference does chartership make?

Typical workloads and work type.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Ussuri]

csd72

Packages will vary depending on industry and sector. But typically I would expect salary , pension, profit related pay is quite common, life assurance, not necessarily health insurance (at my last company it was length of service dependent), most will not give a company car for tax reasons unless you are quite senior but some will get a car allowance (at my last company directors only got the allowance).

Some will give added benefits which are initiatives from HMRC. Do some investigating on 'Salary Sacrifice' which is a HMRC mechanism for which you give up some of your salary in exchange for benefits (eg Pension, Child Care Vouchers). Your taxable pay is then the residual after you have sacrificed your salary. In real terms it means a tax and national insurance break because your taxable pay is the reduced amount, so your take home pay is more. It works better if you are in the higher tax bracket. Also, there is the child care scheme if you have kids, also salary sacrifice but you get tax breaks on vouchers so you are only paying net of tax. You can get a similar arrangement on purchasing bikes up to £1000 and get the tax back on that. Not all companies will offer them. I suggest you look at HMRC website.

I believe if you want to work as a structural engineer you should do the IStructE exam (although I haven't). In terms of respect, pass rate for the ICE is over 70%, IStructE is around 35%. Which is partly due to the difficulty and partly due to the very specific nature of the questions.

On passing my ICE review I think my salary increased by a couple of thousand (but I lost the right to overtime). So I would say money is not the main reason for doing it.

I would check to see if the ICE holds a mutual exemption agreement with your australian institution. If so, you may get full membership by just paying the fee, or maybe a reduced review.

The IStructE will need you to demonstrate your training and experiance before you are allowed to sit the part 3 exam. Membership of the ICE will do this. As may your existing qualifications, you should check.

 

[Ussuri]

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/specialist/sal-sac-question-and-answers.htm

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/specialist/salary_sacrifice.htm

 

[csd72]

Thanks again Ussuri.