Information for Overseas Physiotherapists Working in the UK

We are delighted to welcome professionally trained physiotherapists from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and Europe over to the UK for employment.

If you are an overseas physiotherapist looking for work in the UK, then send us your CV and cover letter for a physiotherapy position at Surrey Physio. Or apply by filling in this form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1vooN9Jffg1cS344k56gcPbDWfHbtwBvn3BV22_oyRgc/viewform?edit_requested=true.

Who are the Surrey Physio Group?

We are a group of physiotherapists and like-minded, free-spirited and fun-loving physios who all work together in a big work family, across three main clinics and quite a few small subsidiary sites (in GP/doctor practices).

How do I know I am choosing the right clinic?

How does anyone know? The best thing to do your research and look online at our website www.surreyphysio.co.uk, look at the testimonials, or look at our sister site www.croydonphysio.co.uk and look at what our patients say about us, check us out on social media and then navigate to the Meet the Team page and check out our team.

It is a nerve-racking time moving to a new country, but you really don’t have anything to worry about. We have employed over 15 overseas therapists over the last 15 years, and all have had an incredibly positive experience, some staying several years.

How much do I get paid?

It does not matter where you are from, we have a set-pay structure. That ensures equitable and fair pay across the team. We pay more than most clinics that we are aware of. The pay structure simply depends on how many years you have been qualified, and if you have any additional skills (e.g. acupuncture, Pilates, sports massage etc).

We also pay 3% of your qualifying earnings into a pension scheme, although you can opt out of this.

We also offer bonuses.

I really want to travel around Europe

No problem! We encourage our team to travel so they can stay fresh. We offer an extra four weeks unpaid leave for overseas applicants who wish to travel. We encourage you to go to Rome, Dubrovnik, Barcelona, and of course Paris by Eurotunnel directly from London.

Do you offer CPD or In-Service?

Yes, every two weeks we offer in-service training, at 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm on a Monday. There is also the opportunity to shadow our most experienced members of the team. We also offer training in first aid, acupuncture, LASER, shockwave, MRI reading, injection therapy, plus more.

We also contribute £300 per year towards external courses.

We video a lot of our CPDs as well and post them on our intranet so you can watch them back later, or watch previous ones that might catch your interest.

Other Info about the clinic:

  • Consultations last 30 minutes (except First Contact).
  • We offer manual therapy to all patients
  • You can also offer rehab/exercise therapy/Pilates as part of a manual therapy programme
  • We aim for every physio to see around 55-60 patients per week.
  • Breakdown of patients: 50% private, 40% NHS, 10% medico-legal.

What services do we offer patients?

  • Physiotherapy
  • Pilates and Rehab
  • Acupuncture
  • Osteopathy
  • Injection therapy – Ostenil Plus and cortico-steroid
  • LASER
  • Shockwave
  • Electrotherapy

Social

We love social events and parties, nights-out. Sometimes organised by staff, and sometimes by management. We’ve done go-karting, historic visits, games nights, parties, and birthday celebrations. Most of our team are aged between 23-30.

Surrey Physio Innovation Fund

We strongly encourage innovation among our team, so we launched our own innovation fund, a £5000 per annum fund to help promote innovation. It is available to all staff. https://www.surreyphysio.co.uk/about/innovation/

What hours do I do?

  • 37.5 hours per week
  • 2 evenings per week and half day Saturday, depending on clinic room availability and job role (e.g. for Private Practice). This may not be applicable for our NHS provision.

Annual Leave

  • We offer 5.6 weeks annual leave per annum.
  • We have introduced a Live Life Have Fun policy allowing staff who want to travel to request additional un-paid leave up to 4 weeks per annum.
  • We pay staff on public holidays, over Easter and during the Christmas and New Year period.
  • Loyalty days for each year you work with us, get extra annual leave!

Accommodation

We may have available some limited accommodation at our clinic in Mitcham, 409-411 London Road, Mitcham, CR4 4BG – a short tram and train right into the heart of London is about 20 minutes away.

We have three rooms available, two doubles and one small single box room. We charge £400 per month which we can deduct straight from your salary making it 20% tax efficient. You basically live for free! That includes all bills but does not include a TV licence as we don’t have any TVs in the clinic at present, we do not have our own TV licence. We do not let these rooms to anybody, we save them just for physiotherapists or admin staff who need somewhere to stay. Of course, it is completely up to you and you can also find your own accommodation. London room prices are around £500 (cheap) to £600 (nice). For longer term options, you can rent studio flats, 1-bed flats/apartments, or 2-bed flats/apartments. Prices in South London are around £800 for a studio per month, £900-1000 for a 1-bed, and upwards of £1200.00 for a two-bedroom flat or apartment. There is council tax, gas and electricity bills, and water bills to add to this.

  • You can use websites like www.spareroom.co.uk and AirBnB.co.uk

  • For longer term accomodation, you should use www.rightmove.co.uk and input the required town or postcode, and select To Rent.

  • If you are planing to invest in London (and we encourage all of our team to do this), then consider buying a premises in London. Prices are not cheap, and we suggest you get established and comfortable first, but many of our team have bought houses and flats in London and are now sitting on an amazing long-term investment.

    Registration

    You need to be registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and that can take 60 days. You cannot practice in the UK without HCPC registration, that is a legal requirement. The HCPC will want to see copies of your University degree, course syllabus (translated into English if not already), and details of your experience and previous jobs. Watch this video for a guide on applying for HCPC regisration:

    We do not pay for initial registration. However, we do pay for the renewal costs once you are working with us. Approximate cost is £500.

    In addition, every physiotherapist in the UK is required to have a DBS check (that is a criminal records check). We do not pay for this, the approximate cost is about £60 so it is quite cheap.

    Professional Indemnity Insurance

    You are required to have your own professional indemnity insurance. That is usually done through registration with the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy and included automatically in the membership price. Joining the CSP is not obligatory. We do provide insurance for our team as well. Indemnity insurance is £10m.

    We encourage all employees in the UK to join the CSP and this is just a formality once you have HCPC registration. https://www.csp.org.uk/join-csp/join-qualified-member

    Cost of Living in the UK

    Food and clothes in the UK are very cheap, much cheaper than many other parts of the world. Accommodation is expensive in London, but cheaper outside of London. Travel into and out of London is mid-priced. Petrol for car drivers is considered medium-high priced.

    Cost of living in the UK compared to Australia is cheaper but more expensive than Eastern Europe, and similar or slightly cheaper than France, Switzerland and Germany.

    Will I need an Enhanced DBS?

    When you arrive in the UK, we need to do a number of checks including an Enhanced DBS which costs £54, and is deducted from your salary on the first month. The DBS is to show that you have not had a criminal conviction.

    Will I need a VISA?

    Yes if you are currently living outside of the UK, and you are a non-UK resident. You should go to the UK government website to find more details https://www.gov.uk/browse/visas-immigration/work-visas. We do not cover the cost of your VISA or your flights to the UK. The cost of a VISA is £192, and each annum there is an Immigration Skills Charge (ISC) of £364 per person. We will deduct this from your salary.

    Immigration Health Surcharge - do I need to pay it?

    Good news. Staff that work for Surrey Physio are not required to pay the £624 annual immigration Health surcharge because we are an A-rated company and provide the Health and Care Worker visa.

    Will I need a Certificate of Sponsorship?

    Yes. Before you apply for a UK visa, you need a certificate of sponsorship and we apply for this on your behalf. You need to fill in the information on this form: www.surreyphysio.co.uk/cos-form. Let us know when you have filled in this information and we will apply for the CoS.

    What should I do now?

    The next step is to start the HCPC process: http://www.hcpc-uk.co.uk/registration/getting-on-the-register/international-applications/how-to-apply/

    Here are the forms you need to apply http://www.hcpc-uk.co.uk/registration/getting-on-the-register/international-applications/international-application-forms/

    Here are the forms you need to apply http://www.hcpc-uk.co.uk/registration/getting-on-the-register/international-applications/international-application-forms/

    Any other Questions?

    Email Tim Allardyce, Clinical Director, or Lorraine Carey, Group Practice Manager