Money
There will be certain initial costs in your home country, such as the fee charged by the Agency’s Local Representative and the charge for a UK Criminal Record Bureau check – see “Into Caring/Agencies/The Local Representative”. Then there will be the cost of traveling to UK. Because an Agency cannot normally give you an assignment immediately following the interview or induction training, you must be realistic about the time between your arrival in the UK and the start of your first assignment. A wait of ten days is not unusual but you may have to wait as long as two weeks and will need sufficient money, some of it in cash, to see you through.
Here is a guide to your possible expenses:
| Description | Cost |
| Travel to accommodation from airport, say, | 30 |
| 15 nights bed and breakfast at a B&B or guest house at £25 (minimum) per night | 375 |
| Other meals for 15 days | 75 |
| Purchase of mobile phone on prepay contract | 50 |
| Talk time for mobile phone | 25 |
| Phone card for use with land line phones | 10 |
| Travelling expenses to first assignment, say, | 60 |
| Total (GB pounds) | 675 |
| Allow, say (GB pounds) | 700 |
Note: These are only a guide to expenses in UK, and do not include any insurances; there is no allowance for expenses incurred in your home country or the cost of travel to UK.
£700 is a large sum of money, especially when converted to your local currency and compared with people’s incomes. Do not be put off by this, though. Think positively!
Even if you do not have the full amount in the bank at the moment, perhaps you could borrow from a family member or good friend knowing that before the end of the second month you should have earned enough to cover both your air fare and whatever you borrowed.
Doing care work in the UK for only two months is barely worthwhile. Plan for a stay of three, four or even six months, with good breaks for relaxation between assignments.