My Thai wife has just arrived in London on a settlement visa and would like to find work. I was just wondering if any of the London members of the forum had any suggestion/contacts for work.

My wife has fairly good english but she is obviously lacking any uk work experience.

Any help would be appreciated.

Probably anything if she can speak reasonable English. Most people working in unskilled jobs in London these days have English as a second language anyway. Supermarkets, restaurants etc

Hi Chaca,
What does she want to do/what skills has she got?
My wife was a manager for a big insurance company in BKK but quickly found she wasn't going to get into that here even if she wanted to.
After weeks and weeks of looking and applying to agencies and companies with no luck she picked-up the telephone one day while I was at work after searching the net for Thai restaurants locally and rang about 12. She had interviews with 5 and got offered jobs.
It was almost a last resort as both of us had said beforehand we didn't want her to work in a Thai restaurant, as we'd heard some bad stories about exploitation etc, but at least she had a job and it's improving her English and she's gaining valuable experience working here, not to mention giving her an income.
It's not everyone's cup-of-tea, but it's a start unless you're lucky enough to find a job you want or have the necessary transferable skills.
There's always college while she's waiting as an option too.

Quote - posted in Miscellaneous
She has a nectar card, NHS card and is waiting for her NI, -hopefully arriving any day now.
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Thanks for the advice, re writing to the utility companies -but to save a paper trail, did you get your missus to sign the letter also, or just yourself?

Also, I don't want to appear as prying or anything but did your lady get her job in the local Thai restaurant on the premise of her NI card to come? I was under the impression that it is a no-no for employers to recruit staff without one?

Cheers

alvin

quote:

Originally posted by alvin:
Also, I don't want to appear as prying or anything but did your lady get her job in the local Thai restaurant on the premise of her NI card to come? I was under the impression that it is a no-no for employers to recruit staff without one?

Obviously, any prospective employer needs to ensure that an applicant is legally entitled to work in the UK; however checking the visa will confirm this.

The NI number can be a bit of a catch 22 situation as new residents cannot apply for one until they need it, that is until they have a job (or some other reason such as a tax credit claim). However some employers wont employ someone who doesn't have one!

However, it is the employer who is wrong as a temporary NI number can be used until the actual number is issued.

Thanks Nick that clears that one up.

alvin