BUG - Backpackers Guide to working holidays in London and the UK

Citizens of Andorra, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Macedonia, Monaco, Romania, San Marino and Turkey aged between 17 and 27 can come to the UK to study English under the au pair scheme.

Under this programme you can live for up to two years with an English-speaking family working in the home for up to five hours day in exchange for accommodation in your own room and a recommended weekly allowance of £55.

To qualify for this scheme you must show that you:

are not married
have no dependents
will leave the UK within two years
will not need help from public funds
plan to leave the United Kingdom when you complete your stay as an au pair

The International Au Pair Association (website www.iapa.org) can refer you to an agency that can match you with a host family.

If you intend on coming to the United Kingdom under this scheme you must apply for entry clearance through a British embassy, consulate or high commission.

GAP YEAR ENTRANTS

This immigration category allows non-EAA nationals to come to the United Kingdom to work in schools during their 'gap year' (between secondary and tertiary education).

To qualify as a gap year entrant you must:

be 18 or 19 years old
have completed secondary education less than 12 months ago
have an offer of a place on a degree course outside the UK that will commence after you have left the UK
have a written employment offer as a teacher or teaching assistant in a school in the UK for three consecutive academic terms
intend to take this employment and not intend to take any other employment
have the means to pay for your return or onward journey

You can stay in the United Kingdom for up to 12 months as a gap year entrant.

If you intend on coming to the United Kingdom under this scheme you must apply for entry clearance through a British embassy, consulate or high commission.

WORKING HOLIDAYMAKER PROGRAMME

The Working Holidaymaker scheme allows people from Commonwealth countries aged between 17 and 30 to come to the United Kingdom for up to two years, taking casual or temporary work as part of a working holiday.

You qualify as a working holidaymaker if you meet these conditions:

you are a British Dependent Territories citizen, a British Overseas citizen or a citizen of a Commonwealth country
you are aged 17 to 30
you are either single or married to someone who also qualifies as a working holiday maker; if you are married you must both plan to take the working holiday together
you have no dependent children who will reach five before returning home from your holiday
you will not need help from public funds
you have enough money to pay for your return or onward journey
you plan to leave the United Kingdom at the end of your holiday

You must get an entry clearance as a working holidaymaker through a British embassy, consulate or high commission.

Refer to the Home Office website (www.workingintheuk.gov.uk) for more information.

Canadians can also apply for a working holiday visa through the Student Work Abroad Programme (SWAP; website www.swap.ca). This is open to Canadian citizens aged 18 to 30 allowing you to work in the UK for up to two years. The application fee is CDN$315 and you have to show access to funds of CDN$2,500.

Finding Work

Your best option for work is to register at temporary employment agencies. This fits within the scope of your working holiday permit and also lines you up with reasonably well paying work. You could try one of the following agencies:

A Star Teachers

Teaching

Unit 31, City North, Seven Sisters Road, Finsbury Park, London N4

Tube, Train Finsbury Park

Tel (020) 7272 7070

Website www.astarteachers.co.uk

Accountancy Additions

Accounting and finance

Devonshire House, 146 Bishopsgate, London EC2

Tube, Train Liverpool Street

Tel (020) 7247 6414

Website www.accountancyadditions.com

Anders Elite

Engineering

69 Old Broad Street, London EC2

Tube, Train Liverpool Street

Tel (020) 7256 5555

Website www.anderselite.com

Badenoch & Clark

Accountancy and finance, legal, sales and marketing

16-18 New Bridge Street, London EC4

Tube, Train Blackfriars

Tel (020) 7583 0073

Website www.badenochandclark.com

Capita Education Resourcing

Teaching

Tel 0800 731 6871

Website www.capitaers.co.uk

City Centre Recruitment

Specialists in hospitality, events and bar work.

1st Floor, 11 Argyll Street, London W1F 7TH

Tel (020) 7317 9300

Website www.city-centre.co.uk

Classroom Teachers

Teaching

Tel (020) 7636 0600

Website www.classroomteachers.co.uk

Elite Recruitment Specialists

Medical laboratory staff, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, social workers and speech therapists

11 Grosvenor Place, London SW1

Tube Hyde Park Corner

Tel 0800 43 53 63

Website www.elitemedical.co.uk

Finance Professionals

Accountancy and finance

26-28 Bedford Row, London WC1

Tube Chancery Lane, Holborn

Tel (020) 7845 4110

Website www.financeprofessionals.com

Hewitson Walker

Accountancy and Financial Recruitment

7 Hanover Square, London, W1S 1HQ
Tube Oxford Circus
Tel (020) 7930 9066
Website www.hewitsonwalker.com

Montagu Nurses

Nursing

18 Nottingham Place, London W1

Tube Baker Street

Tel (020) 7486 0818

Website www.montagugroup.co.uk

Nigel Lynn Associates

Accountancy

1st Floor, 30-31 Furnival Street, London EC4

Tube Chancery Lane

Tel (020) 7269 5850

Website www.nigel-lynn.com

Office Angels

General office work, receptionists

67-69 George Street, London W1

Tube Oxford Circus

Tel (020) 7935 7248

Website www.office-angels.com

WORKgateways

This agency specialises mostly in professional work such as accounting, banking and engineering and provides services to travellers on a working holiday, such as advice for new arrivals to London and assistance in opening bank accounts.

Website www.workgateways.com

Verity Legal

Legal secretaries

10 South Molton Street, London W1

Tube Bond Street

Tel (020) 7493 0437

Website www.verityappointments.com

You can also look at the job advertisements in free weekly newspapers and magazines including the backpacker-oriented TNT Magazine (website www.tntmagazine.com/uk/).

Tax

If you’re working in the United Kingdom you will pay tax ranging from 10 to 40% depending on how much you earn.

You will need to get a National Insurance number before you start work in the United Kingdom. You will need to bring your passport, proof of your address and other identification to your local Department of Social Security (DSS) office. Expect to spend plenty of time waiting at the DSS office plus a further couple of months waiting for your National Insurance number to arrive in the mail. Call (020) 7712 2171 for details of your nearest DSS office.

If you don’t work a full tax year or leave the UK before the end of the financial year (5 April) you will most likely be owed a tax refund.

There are plenty of tax refund agencies advertising in backpacker magazines like TNT at the end of each tax year, however doing your own tax return is a fairly simple process in the UK and it is a waste of money to pay someone else to do this for you.