Chris Zieminski, 34
Plumber from Lublin, southeast Poland

“I returned to Lublin almost two months ago, I was working as a plumber for a Scottish company in Edinburgh. I spent two years there from 2005.

“I didn’t think the Scottish plumbers were very good at all. I thought they were very lazy. They didn’t even understand their own regulations. They wanted to get the big money for their job but they’re not prepared to work.

“I was working 50 hours a week at £8 per hour. The Scottish plumbers were working for £15-20 an hour to do a poor job. I only got my first wage after a month. My boss took off lots of cash. He took about £700 for a ‘deposit’.

“Edinburgh is an amazing town with nice people. But I was treated like a foreigner at work. I wasn’t appreciated at all. I was very unhappy because I was away from my family.

My wife brought up my son, Michael, when I was in Scotland. She had to work very hard in Poland. I saw my son only three times in two years. “ Now I’m a plumber for a company in Poland. Plenty of Polish people have gone out of the country so it’s much easier to find a better job than before. I’m happy.”

David Kiljan, 27
Graphic designer living in Ladbroke Grove, West London
“I’ve been in London for four years. I’m going back to Warsaw next year. It’s good to be going back to my own culture. Now in Poland it’s a better situation – there’s much more work, the market is flourishing. For the first time I think I can get a comparable job as a graphic designer. You’ll get paid less but if you factor in the cost of living it’s a better deal.

“I’ve been talking to my friends who have gone back and they’re doing really well. The big change was the fall in the pound. It’s much weaker than it was before. A few years ago I could get much more for my money.”

Agnieszka Malorepsza, 34
Librarian living in Harrow
“I came to England nearly eight years ago. I couldn’t speak English at all. Now I’m a librarian. But they won’t put me on a permanent contract. I’m a little bit fed up struggling through employment agencies and through authorities.

“Four years ago I went to Poland for Easter and I could buy a packet of cigarettes or a beer for a pound. Now, because of the worse exchange rate, I could probably get only a beer – and not a good one. It does make you think. I’ve my parents in Poland – it would be nice to see them more. I always felt that I was missing something in England. Now I can go home.”

Ola Wiacek, 23
Final-year student at Lodz University
“I came back to Poland to finish my studies and I’m not going back to England. I don’t want to go to England just to work as a shop assistant or something like that. “Poland is getting more prosperous and my future is here.”

Tomek Goreski, 27
Computer designer living in Finsbury Park, North London
“It’s been over four years now since I moved. I started off as a builder and slowly I worked my way up. I took a course in computer design and got a job doing that. This year I made the decision to go home. I definitely don’t want to stay here. I don’t feel at home here. It’s not my country. I miss my family, my mother and father. I miss the food, I miss it all, really. Now I’ve made enough money to go back.”

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