How to relocate employees to London

How to relocate employees to London

So, one of your employees is relocating to London soon, and they need your support. So much to organise, and it all rests on your shoulders. Where to start?

Fear not, we will give you a few pointers below, and a methodology which will give you the peace of mind that you haven’t forgotten anything.

Step 1 – Define the assignee’s situation and timing

• First things first, you need to assess the assignee’s personal and professional situation.  Are they relocating on their own, with a partner/spouse, with children?
• The second thing you need to assess is the visa situation.Having a valid visa for your employee is not only a necessity for permanent work, but also to rent in the UK!
  Simply London Visa has a team of excellent visa advisors, who can help answer all of your questions on the most appropriate immigration route and how to apply for a visa.  Head over to the website to discover their services, as well as some really useful information guides on UK immigration.
• The third thing is timing. When are they starting their new job in London? Anything less than a month away will be challenging. If you have two months, that sounds better, and anything above 3 months will give you some leeway.

Step 2 – Define the scope of the support you want to offer

The next thing you need to decide is how much support you want to provide your employee with. Different businesses have different policies, or rules. If your business hasn’t set up any policies yet, you will find a few pointers below.

We are slightly biased, but generally it is a good idea to provide some support so that:

• Your employee feels appreciated and supported
  Relocating to London can be both exciting and challenging. Demonstrating appreciation and providing the right support shows your employee that they are valued – something especially important in a city with a competitive job market. When employees feel recognised, they’re more likely to remain engaged and committed to your organisation.
• They can focus on their work – not on paperwork
  By offering relocation assistance, you help your employee avoid being overwhelmed by administrative tasks. This allows them to focus on what they were hired to do, easing their transition and boosting productivity from day one.
• You reduce the risk of dissatisfaction and early departures
  A smooth relocation, particularly when it comes to housing and neighbourhood choice, can make a big difference in how quickly your employee settles in. When these personal aspects are handled well, your employee is more likely to enjoy life in London and stay with your company for the long term.

Of course, relocation services come at a cost but this is often minimal compared to the expense and disruption of replacing a valued team member. If you’re investing in relocating them, it’s likely because they bring unique skills or experience to your business, talent that’s worth supporting to ensure a smooth transition and long-term success.

The support you can provide to your employee can cover:

• Orientation / decision tour
• Home search
• School search
• Removal
• Settling-in assistance
• Tax advice
• Language courses
• Cultural coaching

At a minimum, we recommend supporting your employee with their home search and removals, these are the core essentials of any successful relocation to London.

Whilst deciding which level of support you are going to provide, also consider the following:

• Will your business manage payments directly with service providers, or will the assignee be given a lump sum to make their own arrangements?
• Will the assignee be responsible for paying the rent directly, or will the company act as the tenant and handle the rental payments?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so it’s important to consider all implications, especially when it comes to corporate lets, which are less common than they once were.

Step 3 – Find a London relocation specialist

Once you have defined all the above: first and foremost, congratulate yourself!  You have got your relocation path set out, and now just need to execute it.

If your assignees are receiving a lump sum, and are making their own decisions, you might want to point them in the right direction. A good start could be for them to check out the website of the UK relocation professionals, where they will find a list of relocation providers. They can also search on Google, and speak with different businesses to see which one is the best fit.

A note of caution on lump sums: We’ve seen cases where employees choose to use their relocation allowance for non-essential expenses, leaving critical aspects like removals or settling-in support underfunded. This can lead to complications later, often requiring the business to step in with additional resources. One way to mitigate this risk is to ask for proof of payment or invoices to ensure the allowance is being used as intended.

If you are providing support directly, now is the time to start to looking for relocation providers and removal services.

Here are a few pointers on how to select a good relocation provider:

1. Check their credentials: trade body memberships, industry awards
2. Check their references: Find out who the provider currently works with, and don’t hesitate to ask for references from clients or assignees. Their response to this request can be very telling and will give you valuable insight into their reliability and service quality.
3. Check how long the provider has been in operation: While longevity doesn’t always guarantee quality, a very recent setup may lack the experience you need. It’s also worth confirming whether they have experience working with corporate clients, particularly senior executives, as their needs can be more complex and require a higher level of service.
4. Compare their pricing: Be sure to carefully review what’s included in the service package. Some providers may appear cheaper upfront, but they may be offering less support than you might expect.
5. Fixed or variable pricing: Another important consideration is whether the property search fee is tied to the rental budget eg. charged as a percentage of one month’s rent. We believe it shouldn’t be, as larger budgets don’t necessarily mean more work for the relocation company (often, it’s quite the opposite!)

Step 4 – Find a removal provider

Assuming you are covering the cost of your assignee’s removal, you will have to find a provider for that.

There are 3 types of solutions:

1. A stand-alone removal provider. Moving personal belongings is what they do, day in, day out.
2. A provider combining removal and relocation: This isn’t our preferred approach, as the skills required for each service are quite different, meaning you’ll likely be dealing with two separate teams within the same company.
3. A relocation provider partnering with a removal company and managing the entire process offers the most seamless experience for both you and the assignee. With everything coordinated under one roof, it’s more convenient and can also save you money (as the relocation provider can obtain multiple quotes on your behalf, giving you options to compare without the extra legwork).

Step 5 – Let the providers do the work… but keep an eye on it!

You’ve now selected your provider(s)—great work! We’ll assume the paperwork and payment terms have now been agreed.

The next step is to introduce them to your assignee. Usually, a simple email introduction is enough for the providers to take it from there. We also highly recommend clearly outlining the scope of services to the assignee upfront, so they understand exactly what support they can expect. This helps prevent any misunderstandings later on with the providers.

• Ask your providers to keep you regularly updated throughout the relocation process. This way, you’ll always be informed and ready to address any questions from managers, directors, or executives regarding the status of the move.
• For sensitive relocations, such as those involving senior executives, it can be helpful to schedule weekly updates by email or phone, or to be copied in on all communications. (While the latter isn’t always ideal, it’s an option we sometimes use.) We personally recommend keeping HR managers or directors informed at key milestones during the home search process. These updates can be shared through a digital platform or simply via email.
• Another good thing can be to ask the assignee on a regular basis how things are going from his / her perspective, so this enables you to pick up potential issues / challenges early on, rather than after everything has been completed.  This also demonstrates you care for the employee, which reflects well on both you and the company.

Consult with Simply London

At Simply London we offer a comprehensive range of services, contact us today to learn how we can help make your employee relocation to London smooth and stress-free.

We’ve helped so many people relocate and settle into their new home in London, find out what some of them have to say about our services here.

Article published 10.07.25