September 2006 - Posts
Well have had my meeting with the boss - and have explained my view point and reminded HR about their initial offer when I joined the company as I referenced it in my acceptance letter etc. They agreed that my skills are needed and that being home based in France is no barrier - but explained that living in rural France will be so much cheaper than the UK that I can't possibly expect my current terms and conditions...... but my response was that a 25% pay cut and removal of my car allowance was outrageous. I also pointed out that just because we didn’t have a huge mortgage to pay – didn’t mean that everything else was going to be cheaper – taxes, health top-up etc will all be more than in the UK and I don’t suppose our food bill or utilities will be any cheaper
Anyway - HR have gone away to draw up a proper binding offer, rather than the "of course we’ll transfer you type of response" - and I've made it clear that if it's not good enough I'll look else ware and possibly look at "constructive dismissel". Thank goodness I work in a job where there are other possibilities out there and that will be something “they” won’t want to happen – mind you if I was to leave I’d probably get put on “gardening leave” instead of serving out my notice and the thought of several weeks at home on full pay is not too unpleasant.
So hopefully having made my position clear and them knowing that the last thing they want is my going to one of their competitors we can all sort this out amicably. They have been a great company to work for up and till now - and the people I work with are really wonderful - so I'd rather not have to make another change.
On a more positive note – we now have some good quotes in for moving – including a full pack and export wrapping of out stuff – which is important to us as on top of around 4500 books we have around 30 paintings – none of them particularly valuable – many of them painted by my grandmother – but very precious to us and the thought of them being damaged during the move doesn’t bear thinking about. We also don’t want to have to move our dining room table – it’s made out of railways sleepers and is huge and very heavy.
Our next trip over in a few weeks time we will be measuring up to see where everything we’re brining with us will go. Because we’re planning to make what is currently a partially converted attached barn into a kitchen / family room – some of the furniture we’re bringing with us is a bit big for the space we have now – so we may need to do a bit of juggling to fit it all in.
Anyway the cat’s had all his jabs and has his passport – so he at least is all set – mind you he howls on his trips to the vets 10 minutes down the road – lord knows what he’ll be like on the trip over to France – but we will have some pheromone stuff that should help keep him calm – and he’ll be in my hubbies car….
Thought everything was going way too smoothly……. Noticed this week that on my department organogram my job title had changed – it was now at least 2 grades lower than it should be and this had not been discussed with me before hand……. Interestingly it is now the grade that removes the need for a company car and will result in a 25% pay cut in France. Needless to say I’m not a happy bunny and will not agree to this imposition. My job requires me to travel from time to time and we’ve done all our sums on my retaining my salary / benefits and a cut of this size drives a coach and horses through our plans. Feeling very stressed out by this. Its all politics - I guess the company think that I'll agree to this or something close and they'll get a better deal out of me - but I value what I do and the benefits I bring, so two can play at this game.
Am trying at the moment to get my manager to a meeting – but all of a sudden he’s too busy to take my calls – and he hasn’t even acknowledged my e-mails. Have arranged to see the director of HR later today about this as I need to work in France to pay our bills – but there’s no way I’ll carry on doing the same job for 25% less and no car…… I’d like to see what chaos ensued if I worked “to rule” within the grade they’re trying to impose.
Why can’t people just be honest and when they enter an agreement see it though. Signing off very frustratedly……
HR have come back to me and asked for a formal letter with our move date - so they can set up a meeting for me in France - so we've spent the last couple of days trying to decide exactly what date we want to move. The lease is up on our rented house at the end of January - so we've set the date as the 25th January - I'll have a couple of weeks holiday to carry over - so will actually start work in France around Feb 12th. Gosh setting the date was actually a bit scary - kind of like finally stepping off the top board at the swiiming pool after standing up there for a while because it suddenly looked much higher than you thought.
We're in the process of arranging to visit some schools to see about where our son will feel most at home on the Monday / Tuesday of half-term as the UK and French one are slightly adrift - so we can spend that week in France and get a few things sorted.
We also have finally managed to get a quote for moving - pretty much everyone simply told me I was looking too far ahead and they'd contact me "nearer the time". But as I kept explaining - we were trying to decide what to sell and what to keep - so I'll be busy on ebay for a while and probably by Christmas our clothes will be on racks and we'll be sleeping on mattresses on the floor as the bedsteads and wardrobes will be going. We'll also have to take a tape measure with us in October because we have a huge dining room table - that will look fabulous in the barn kitchen - when it's done - but won't fit in our current kitchen - so if that goes in the living room - then my big bookcase won't have a home - so we'll be looking to seewhere else in the house a 12 foot long and 9 foot high book case can go, it does split in 2 a bit like a dresses - but as it holds my 4500ish books - it will be coming with us, no matter what. Still wondering about the electric cooker though - it's nearly new and we bought it before we had finally decided that we were going NOW rather than in about 7 years time - and although there isn't an oven in France we do have a bottled gas hob - and were going to put in a gas oven - and I know that electric stoves are expensive to run in France and we'd also need to make some changes to the kitchen, but part of me is very loathe to consider selling it.... but that may be the sensible thing to do. Or maybe one of our older sons will be able to use it. So may decisions - and suddenly January 25th seems so close
Where to start…….I guess an introduction would probably work as well as anything else.
I’m one of hundreds of 40 something working Mum’s out there who’ve been wondering whether we’re really all that liberated with long working weeks, mortages and trying to have some sort of life between work and home demands
Here in the UK – I hold down a very enjoyable job – at the end of a 45 minute commute each way. I have an office and a title –which I guess is meant to make me feel good – but I work in a fast growing international company and am really a project manager. Most of “my” team sit either in their home offices or at desks and computer screens literally all over the world – we talk on the phone and internet and share files and very, very occasionally meet up face to face. I could be anywhere it makes no difference to how I do my job.
I’ve been married for nearly 25 years now and we have 3 sons – 2 have already left home and gone down the university / job route and the house is very empty without them – but when I look at the way they manage and are such confident happy young men – I know that we did a good job bringing them up, somehow.
We have our youngest at home – our little surprise package – usually the happiest natured chap you could ever hope to meet – he loves French food and wine – we give him a sherry glass full with Sunday dinner each week – which he carefully looks at, sniffs and then tastes – he already has very adult preferences and loves a good robust red. His brothers say he’s already half French in his food tastes – so may as well go the whole hog.
Then there’s my other half – we were the couple that no-one thought would make it – we fell in love at first site – literally, were engaged within weeks and married inside a year –and no I didn’t have the proverbial bun in the oven….We’re best friends and enjoy each others company – he’s very outgoing and sociable –good at all the things I’m not.
We’ve dreamt about living abroad since we first got together – we seriously looked at Spain back in the 80’s but never actually did anything about it. France has always been a country I loved – and gradually over the past 15 years or so –Nigel has come to share that love – we’ve spent a great deal of time down in the Vendee / Deux Sevres region – we’re not the type that like “ye olde englishe pubbe” on holiday – we’re more often to be found in some small bistro checking out whatever the local dish is – but we won’t be eating andouilette’s again. We first started considering a permanent move about 5 years ago –agreed on where we wanted to go and started half heartedly looking while we were on holiday…..and needless to say didn’t find anything.
So we sat down – did our sums and realized that we could afford to live on one salary if we sold up in the UK and moved to France. My HR department – human resources agreed in principal…. So we started looking.
We went about it all wrong at first – thinking our house in the UK would sell very quickly, it didn’t – it took a year – but we finally sold it last year and found and completed on la Fernandiere in Deux Sevres…. It’s not a big house – it’s a mostly renovated 3 bed farmhouse – with 2 attached barns that have “potential”….. I love that word – I’ve been creating kitchen / family rooms in this barn in my imagination ever since.
So that about brings me up to date – work have agreed that I can make the move and we’re hammering out the final details – I’ll be moving to the French headcount – so insurance etc won’t be too much of a problem –and will go into that in more detail later
The BIG move date is set for sometime in January for us, our pets including 16 chickens and my collection of a little over 4000 books……I’d like to share where we’re going and how we get there and hopefully how things pan out with you – hopefully some of what I write maybe of interest……please join me