21st October 2006, 04:35 PM
It did surprise us when we relocated to France and found the wages rurally to be what I would call 'miserable'. That said, it's easier to live in style for less in many parts of Europe.
We did a bit of wailing and beating chest and settled on paying the same rate as we would in the UK. Our head office location has no real financial bearing on our quotations and tenders for work but our ability to pay a subcontractor does.
Personally, I like the idea of published suggested/minimum rates and grades in any field - it saves a lot of bitching about who is getting paid most, and goes some way towards stopping employers taking advantage of innocent potential employees.
Perhaps the 'regional weighting' idea could be introduced? We used to have it in the UK and it does address the substantial cost of living difference between London and Bradford. I'm sure that a bit of research (Like Mercer's survey showing Moscow the most expensive place to live) would help develop a rough and ready framework.
We did a bit of wailing and beating chest and settled on paying the same rate as we would in the UK. Our head office location has no real financial bearing on our quotations and tenders for work but our ability to pay a subcontractor does.
Personally, I like the idea of published suggested/minimum rates and grades in any field - it saves a lot of bitching about who is getting paid most, and goes some way towards stopping employers taking advantage of innocent potential employees.
Perhaps the 'regional weighting' idea could be introduced? We used to have it in the UK and it does address the substantial cost of living difference between London and Bradford. I'm sure that a bit of research (Like Mercer's survey showing Moscow the most expensive place to live) would help develop a rough and ready framework.