You may already have found the first hire to implement your UK set-up. If done through a personal network, the person may be good, although his recommendation is necessarily subjective. If using a recruitment company, then their advice and reference checking would be useful, but unless on a retained basis, their main aim may be to get the person hired and get their fee. You may even be sending someone over to start the business, perhaps a UK national.
But what to offer the UK hires? Start-ups generally are not expected to provide a range of benefits – people accept that getting the business first takes priority over a tranche of benefits. But some well-established companies overseas are happy to provide similar benefits to their UK staff as they do for their own people. And some potential UK hires will not join unless certain benefits are included as part of the package – like private health insurance.
Job offers or offer letters are typically based on the parent company’s usual employment contract, including such terms as employment at will and providing 10 days vacation. However, be aware to seek advice on what would be normal in the UK (these two examples are actually illegal). Where insurances are offered care should be taken to ensure that they will actually be in place for when the hire starts. A similar US scheme, for instance, giving two times salary life cover to all employees may not extend to the UK, meaning that the UK hire is not covered (and his employer is at risk) until such time as underwriting takes place.
Companies are able to set salary and benefit packages themselves, but must comply with the statutory minimum wage legislation. It is compulsory for all companies with five or more employees to provide, or to provide access to, a formal pension plan.
Tags: FDI, Hiring staff in the UK, Top 10 for setting up in the UK, UK Inward Investment
