Discover an exciting secondment in WANO

The office is based in 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. There are lots of amenities in the Canary Wharf area, including a large shopping centre and many restaurants and bars; seasonal events are hosted throughout the year.

We understand that a potential relocation can be daunting, especially if individuals are bringing family. That’s why we have the following support in place to help families adjust to life in London:

• Monthly spouse activities (free of charge)
• Weekly English lesson for non-native speakers (free of charge)
• Monthly family newsletter
• Private spouse Facebook group
• Special social activities
• 24-hour access to our Employee Assistance Programme

Firstly is the weather; the UK has a temperate climate with temperatures typically reaching 25°C in the summer and never falling far below 0°C in the winter in London. We rarely get snow and although we do get a fair amount of rain, it keeps the parks and countryside green.

Travel around London is easy; there are buses, trains, tubes, water taxis and cycle hire available to all. All transport runs frequently, tubes usually run every two minutes. When you are considering your commute to work, each tube station takes an average of two minutes, so if your journey had three tube stops, it would take approximately six minutes. Canary Wharf is situated on the Elizabeth Line and the Jubilee Line of the tube and is also served by the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). It is common for people to commute into London from the surrounding suburbs; it can sometimes take the same amount of time to do this as it does to cross from one side of London to the other on the tube.

The UKs medical service is provided by the National Health Service (NHS) which provides free treatment for all, however if you are given a prescription from your doctor, for example for antibiotics, you will need to pay for this but the charge is capped.

Schooling is compulsory for children aged 5 – 16 and the local authority (the council of the borough you are living in) has a duty to provide a free school place for every child who is of the compulsory schooling age. The free schools are known as state schools. There are also private and public schools which you have to pay for and can be very expensive. In North London there is a Japanese school and there are many international schools. Please be aware that you are unable to be considered for a place at a state school until your child is resident in the UK and that you are living within the borough where the school is located.

We are here to support our secondees through every step of their journey at the London Office, from providing a week’s house hunting trip to secure your accommodation in London, assistance with relocation including shipping of baggage and visas to providing tailored job specific training to help you grow and English lessons for non-native speakers. We will provide annual reports to your parent company and a reference at the end of your secondment.

This booklet has been created to help ease the transition for new staff joining the London Office from overseas. We understand that relocating to another country can be a difficult and stressful process and we wish to support our staff with their move. It is important to us that our staff have a smooth transition from their home country to London and settle into life in the UK as quickly as possible. This booklet contains an overview of things to be considered when relocating and information on UK practices.