| United Kingdom Employment Legislation Employment legislation in the UK is probably the most lenient and flexible in Europe, employees have little rights until they have been employed for at least 1 year. Typical notice periods are about 4 weeks on both sides. It is not uncommon to have a 6 week or 3 month trial period however this is not statute and can be individually negotiated. Availability of Trained Staff. The UK has been suffering a shortage of skilled labour in IT. The Skill and training level of staff in the UK is probably best described as average for the European sector. There has been a growth of movement towards further education in the UK. And an ever increasing percentage of school leavers are taking IT degrees and training in IT skills. Further recent legislation introduced in the UK includes the basic minimum wage being introduced however this is unlikely to effect trained or skilled staff. Costs of Employment The cost of employment in the UK is relatively low, the only significant expense is Employers National Insurance which is c. @11.5 % of the Salary . Most employees in the UK have there own personal pensions and are often happy to run there own car with an allowance instead of having a Company car which is quite highly taxed for the employee. Statutory sick pay is at about £55.00 a week with full pay for only the first week away from work. These low costs and limited contractual obligations in the UK as well as many other aspects are the reason the vast majority of the Major US software companies base their European HQ's in the UK. Language and Cultural Factors One of the few disadvantages of a HQ in the UK is the lack of language skills of the typical UK citizen. Due to English being the most commonly used business language in Europe they also have a distinct advantage of being able to speak the 'native' European language. Further to this many highly trained and skilled Europeans are coming to work in the UK. There has also been a growth of younger people studying languages to a much higher standard than before. London is also noteworthy of being the most multi-cultured and 'trendy' city in Europe (at present). Travel and Communication The UK Road and rail network is not the best in Europe. It is expensive and the roads are crowded especially in the London area. The South-East UK is likely to be the most suitable place locate
an HQ in the UK. Up until recently, nearly all major software vendors
have chosen to be based near or around Heathrow Airport. This avoids
having expensive central London costs. Regus (a leading supplier
of managed office facilities) serviced accommodation seems to be
one of the most common start-up facilities and are used in all parts
of Europe. There has however been a slow and gradual but definite
change to the communication infrastructure to the south-east of
the UK. Firstly it should be noted that Stanstead airport is the
fastest growing in the UK and is based in the North East of the
London home counties, this airport coupled with improved road links,
enables people to arrive in central London and the City with less
traffic and is far quicker to the City, than from Heathrow. The
accommodation is favourably priced and availability of high trained
staff is excellent in this region too. This is the reason why Microsoft
has chosen Cambridge as its European centre of excellence and has
invested huge amounts of capital in the region. It is also noteworthy
Cambridge is being perceived now as being the next Silicon Valley
of the UK. |
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