The latest news affecting umbrella companies in the UK. Featuring HMRC, the Agency Workers Directive, the 2003 Agency Regulations, and IR35.
The government has unveiled a new open consultation, and they would like you to help. Whether you work through an umbrella company, possibly as a contractor or freelancer, or you represent a recruitment agency or end-hirer, now is your time to share your thoughts on umbrella companies to help the …
How Can You Help The Government Regulate The Umbrella Company Sector? » Read the full story
Unusually, the government has opened a consultation to “call for evidence to ensure it has an up-to-date and well-informed view of how the umbrella company market operates”. Is this a sign that the umbrella company is on the verge of being regulated by the government? Keep reading, and we’ll summarise …
Is The Government On The Verge Of Regulating Umbrella Companies? » Read the full story
The demand for umbrella companies is rising due to recent changes to off-payroll working rules (IR35). It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of temporary workers require the services of an umbrella for their payroll. Our latest article is aimed at both well-established contractors and those who are becoming temporary workers …
Sadly, it appears that a well-known umbrella company has filed for liquidation – leaving hundreds of contractors potentially without pay. This is a terrible scenario, and our deepest sympathies are with all the affected employees. We sincerely hope that all outstanding payments are made and no temporary worker finds themselves …
Helpful information if you are unpaid by an umbrella company » Read the full story
The government has been very busy writing guidance to help those who require the services of umbrella companies. Earlier in the year, the government published advice on working through an umbrella company. Since then, we’ve seen multiple new guidance pieces appear on the government’s website, including information on the risks …
To help temporary workers who are required to use an umbrella company for specific assignments (should they choose to accept the role), the government has released several pieces of guidance designed to make life easier for those impacted (including the supply chain). In this article, we’ve summarised the available government …
What Government Guidance Is Available About Umbrella Companies? » Read the full story
Published on Thursday 18th November 2021, the government has released some online guidance to help agency workers and contractors who have used the services of umbrella companies. The guidance involves the user answering a series of questions. Once the final question has been answered, a screen appears with guidance relating …
In a recent article posted on Contractor UK, HMRC defends itself for exclusively referring contractors to umbrella companies that have an accreditation from the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) and claim it’s because of a supplier. From our perspective – surely this is proof that HMRC values the FCSA? …
The umbrella company sector has recently come under scrutiny from several stakeholders. Some have gone as far to refer to the marketplace as being like the “wild west”. Keep reading our blog, and we’ll explain why the umbrella company industry has been criticised and what you can do to ensure …
Why is the umbrella company marketplace compared to the “wild west”? » Read the full story
In September, we reported that Unified Payroll, a well-known umbrella company, was subjected to security issues that resulted in delayed payments to its employees. Well over a month later, there still appears to be no resolution to the deeply concerning situation. Here is what we know so far. Overview Several …
No Update From Unified Payroll Leaves Umbrella Employees Very Worried » Read the full story
The team at UCHQ has been extremely busy over the last few months building a new umbrella company calculator for contractors, freelancers and temporary workers in the UK. Now, we’re pleased to announce that Umbrella Company Calculator is live. If you’re interested in an accurate and free umbrella company calculation, …
New umbrella company calculator sets out to help the UK’s temporary workforce » Read the full story
In a series of tweets posted on Tuesday 26th October, Oasis Umbrella announced it has been subjected to umbrella company cloning. The FCSA accredited umbrella company released a series of messages to its followers warning them about cloning and how to stay safe from potential communication by criminals. Keep reading …
Oasis Umbrella issues warning that it has been cloned » Read the full story
The government may not actively endorse umbrella companies, but they have recently released some helpful guidance online for temporary workers, recruitment agencies and businesses that engage with contractors and freelancers. The latest guidance (released in October 2021) is written for recruitment agencies and firms that use temporary workers and is …
The FCSA, the UK’s leading professional body committed to ensuring the supply chain of temporary workers is compliant with UK tax law, has updated its Charter in response to concerns raised by third parties. Rather than approach the FCSA in a calm and collected manner, some stakeholders were quick to …
The FCSA has come under more scrutiny by a “well-respected” online source of information for IT contractors, and we wanted to explain the situation. Apparently, the FCSA is happy to endorse non-compliant, offshore umbrella companies. This simply isn’t the case – and it’s accusations like this that do far more …
The Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) has had its website cloned by a third party. This type of behaviour is shameful. The person or persons responsible registered a similar-sounding domain on the 11th of October and have built a replica of the FCSA’s website. The cloned website includes bogus …
