overseas rates

[cjonline]

Hi,
I've been offered the chance of working in Paris.. I've been asked what daily rate I'd be looking at.. its a six month gig minimum.
I'll probably take my missus so would need decent accomodation.. looking its around 2000euros per month for a decent place.. I've no idea what I should be charging the client.. I was thinking about the 700-750 euros per day..

any advice appreciated.

C

[stek]

Hi,
I've been offered the chance of working in Paris.. I've been asked what daily rate I'd be looking at.. its a six month gig minimum.
I'll probably take my missus so would need decent accomodation.. looking its around 2000euros per month for a decent place.. I've no idea what I should be charging the client.. I was thinking about the 700-750 euros per day..

any advice appreciated.

C

Could your skills command that in UK equiv.? When I get Paris sniffs they are always less than UK rates which makes it pointless. Plus even though the spec is all in English, they still want you to have decent French I've found. In fact the last one I had, wanted fluent English (spec all in English) agent called me and asked me (in French) if I spoke French, I said un peu, est-ce nécessaire? etc and he hung up.

[NotAllThere]

You should be charging as much as you can get away with. The question to ask is - how much are you worth?

As a quick rule of thumb, I won't take a contract with a daily rate less than a week's rent. But generally, I'd be asking rather more.

[cjonline]

Could your skills command that in UK equiv.? When I get Paris sniffs they are always less than UK rates which makes it pointless. Plus even though the spec is all in English, they still want you to have decent French I've found. In fact the last one I had, wanted fluent English (spec all in English) agent called me and asked me (in French) if I spoke French, I said un peu, est-ce nécessaire? etc and he hung up.

Depends.. in Scotland I doubt I would get half that rate but in London I'm sure I could get a bit more.. as I said I've no idea what to ask for so just chancing my luck.. the agent seems to think 700-750 euros is fair play.

[northernladuk]

Totally up to you. Do you want it just to cover your living expenses over there and you consider it lifestyle change for a short time or do you expect it still to delivery the savings etc that a gig here would?

[SueEllen]

The tax régime in France makes few contracts worth while especially with the difficulty in finding short term rental accommodation.

Also have a look at the Euro exchange rate.

[stek]

You should be charging as much as you can get away with. The question to ask is - how much are you worth?

As a quick rule of thumb, I won't take a contract with a daily rate less than a week's rent. But generally, I'd be asking rather more.

My rule of thumb is I won't spend more than a days rate on travel and accom, tight arse Northerner though.

Another thing to consider is the Euro/Sterling rate, and the cost of converting to Sterling, you'll have to do it somewhere along the line and it can get quite costly.

[VillageContractor]

I've found rates in Europe to be lower than what I'd get here when you factor in converting it back to pounds.

Ask for as much as you think you'll get not how much would be willing to do the job for.

If you're still at the interview stage the you've got to consider the agent looking to place cheaper options and take a bigger cut. If you've already been offered the role then you're in a better position.

[expat]

My experience in Paris is that rates are low. I think it comes from the mindset that social provisions are very high, which may justify lower salaries but that doesn't properly apply to contracting, where you have to pay for health insurance, pension etc yourself.

[WTFH]

The client is looking for a contractor, not a contractor + wife. They'll be looking at a rate based on what they think is reasonable for that.

You've stated a figure of €700-750 per day, but not said what the role is.
Is that a reasonable figure for the role?
At the current exchange rate is that more or less than you are currently on?
Is it more or less than is average for your previous roles?
Have you looked on websites to see how much similar roles go for in Paris (or even in France)?