Practical Resources
Britain Explained: Britain Explained is a resident’s guide to England, Scotland and Wales that offers simple answers to over 700 of the most common questions. Click here for more information.
Citizens’ Advice: Citizens Advice is an independent organisation specialising in confidential information and advice to assist people with legal, debt, consumer, housing and other issues in the United Kingdom. Click here for more information.
Find Your Place: Find Your Place is a guide to healthcare careers in the North East and North Cumbria. It includes information about specialty training programmes, trusts and general information about the region. Click here for more information. Click here to view the welcome brochure made by Find Your Place.
Accommodation: Before starting work you will need to think about where you are going to live. Some trusts can provide hospital accommodation (temporary or long-term) or you could consider renting or buying a place to live. This guide from Britain Explained gives information on renting or buying. This guide from gov.uk provides a checklist for renting in England.
Bank accounts: Most people set up a new bank account when they arrive which will make it easier to be paid and to pay for things. Keep in mind that some banks require proof of address before you can open an account which you may not have until after you arrive. This guide from Britain Explained gives information on bank accounts and advice on finances and tax.
Registering with GP & Dentist: When you arrive, you should register with a GP practice as this will make it easier to access NHS and social care services. You can search for a list of GP practices in your area here. You should also register with a dental practice but be aware that many dental practices only provide private dentistry services and dental practices which do provide NHS dentistry services sometimes have long waiting lists to join. You can search for a list of dental practices and details on whether they are taking NHS patients here. This guide from Britain Explained also gives an overview of how to access healthcare in the UK.
Emergency services: In the UK, in an emergency you can ring 999 on any mobile or landline phone to call one of the emergency services including Police, Ambulance, Fire and Coastguard. This guide from Expatica gives more information on emergency services in the UK. If you have an urgent but non-emergency medical problem you can also phone 111 to speak to NHS 111 for advice about what to do or where to seek medical care.
Schools and education: In the UK there are state-funded and privately-funded schools for primary education (4 years old to 11 years old) and secondary education (12 years to 18 years old). This page on Britain Explained has information on state and private schools. This page on gov.uk has information on school admissions in England.
Insurance: There are many types of insurance in the UK, some of which are mandatory and many are highly recommended. This guide from Expatica explain many of the types of insurance. This section of the Which website offer guides on how to find the best insurance policies.
Local authorities and Council tax: Council Tax is an annual fee your local authority (council) charges you for the services it provides, like rubbish collection and libraries. Normally you pay it in 10 monthly instalments, followed by two months of not making any payments. How much Council Tax you pay depends on your personal circumstances, which valuation band your property is in and how much the council needs to fund its services. This guide from Money Helper gives more information on council tax. This guide from gov.uk explains how council tax works. You can search for your local authority to pay council tax to here.
Utility bills: Utilities such as water, electricity and gas are provided by private companies usually on a contract. This guide from Britain Explained gives information on how utilities work. This guide from Citizens Advice gives details of grants or benefits you may be able to access to help pay your energy bills.
Internet, TV and phones: Internet access, Live and streamed television and mobile telephone contracts are provided by private companies, some individually and some as package deals. More information on this can be found here.
Income tax and national insurance (NI): When you work in the UK you will have to pay tax on your income as well as national insurance contributions which allow you to qualify for certain benefits and state pensions. Most often income tax and NI contributions are taken automatically from your monthly pay but sometimes there will be different actions you need to take based on your personal circumstances. This guide from gov.uk explains how income tax works. This guide from gov.uk explains how national insurance works. This page on Britain Explained gives more information on tax and national insurance.
Driving licenses and car hire/purchase: To drive a car (or other motor vehicles) in the UK you must have a valid driving license. Sometimes you will be able to use a driving license from your home country but not always. This tool from gov.uk can tell you if your driving license is valid in the UK. This guide from Expatica gives information on driving in the UK as well as information on car hire and purchase.
Public transport: There many different kinds of public transport in the North East and North Cumbria most of which are operated by private companies although sometimes you may qualify for discounted or free travel. These websites, Traveline North East and Cumbria County Council, give information on public transport timetables and has a tool to help you plan your route around the North East and North Cumbria.
Public Holidays: There are a number of public holidays (known as bank holidays) throughout the year in the UK (although they differ a bit between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). This page on gov.uk gives the dates for the upcoming bank holidays. During bank holidays many office-based businesses are closed but many service industry and public sector businesses are still open but may have reduced service or different opening times. This page on Britain Explained has a section on “festivals and events” which explains some other holidays or important times of year that aren’t necessarily bank holidays.