Business Etiquette in The UK

There are many aspects of etiquette in any country. Some countries are very similar to each other while others are vastly different. In the UK there are aspects ranging from timeliness to gift giving. Here are just a few.

• Meetings, presentations, and other business occasions
• Greetings and introductions
• Business clothing
• Direct statements
• Humour
• Social aspects of work
• Business gifts
• Personal space
• Pace of work

Meetings, presentations, and other business occasion

In the UK it is highly valued that you are on time as they treat them as an invaluable resource. Everyone in a meeting will arrive early or right on time, if not they will apologize to the room if late a few minutes or call ahead if they are extremely late. Business cards are exchanged politely and gratefully.

Greetings and introductions

The handshake is the go to introduction for both men and women in a professional situation. It is best to remain formal before going straight to the first name basis. Eye contact is great, but don't stare too much.

Business clothing

Whit anywhere you work there will be different dress codes. For the most part business clothing is conservative, so men wear suits and women wear either business suits or conservative dresses. 

Direct statements

British people often avoid direct statements or commands in favor of“more polite”suggestions and indirect speech. For example, when a senior colleague says“perhaps you could finish that later”,they are probably telling you to finish it later. In a meeting, if a colleague says “that’s an interesting point, but…”, then they are probably not endorsing your idea.

Humour

Humour is very important in the English language and can often be found in the working environment. British humour can be quite sarcastic or self-deprecating but is generally used to “lighten the mood”.

Social aspects of work

The British love drinking tea, although some prefer coffee. You will probably notice in your new job that people regularly offertomake tea/coffee for their team, and it is a good idea for you to offer your help with this. This is a great way to get to know your colleagues, as it opens up the opportunity to small talk.

Business gifts

Giving gifts is very rare in business situations in the UK. Indeed, some UK businesses have policies forbidding the accepting of gifts from other businesses on legal grounds. If you wish to give a gift to an individual or business as a “thank you”for something, make sure your gift is small and not overly expensive.

Personal space

Personal space is very valued by British people. It is considered impolite to put yourself in a very close proximity to another person during conversation.

Pace of work

You might find that the pace of work in the UK is different to what it is in your home country; it might be more relaxed, or more rigid, depending on where you come from. It also varies between different sectors and different companies, so it is a good idea to pay attention to how your colleagues behave to get an idea of what is appropriate in your workplace. In general, in the UK it is acceptable and normal for people to have short conversations with each other throughout the day, but not constantly.

Source

(Southampton, n.d.)

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/fblaplacements/files/2014/05/Business-etiquette-in-the-UK.pdf