The latest news affecting umbrella companies in the UK. Featuring HMRC, the Agency Workers Directive, the 2003 Agency Regulations, and IR35.
We are not here to antagonise anyone, especially umbrella companies that are committed to operating compliantly. However, we recently came across an article that grabbed our attention – for the wrong reasons. The article in question suggests that a margin up to £30 per week for an umbrella company is …
£30 a week for an umbrella company margin? No thanks! » Read the full story
Can you trust an umbrella company calculation? ‘Umbrella company calculation’ is a much-searched phrase by contractors and freelancers in the UK. And it’s no surprise. Whether you’ve been contracting for years, or you’re relatively new on the scene, it’s only natural that you want to get an idea of your …
Can you trust an umbrella company calculation? » Read the full story
Umbrella company holiday pay can confuse contractors and freelancers, and this doesn’t surprise us. Umbrella company holiday pay is slightly unusual, but don’t worry – it’s not as confusing as you think. Whether you’re new to contracting, unsure how umbrella companies work, or just want a friendly reminder – we’ll …
How does Holiday Pay work with an umbrella company? » Read the full story
Off-payroll in the public sector came into effect a few years ago now, and the impact on the temporary workforce has been massive. Hats off to all the public sector organisations that took the legislation seriously and had reliable and efficient IR35 assessment protocols in place. Unfortunately, loads of companies …
Hopefully a fair world awaits contractors after April 2021 » Read the full story
This week when speaking to a contractor, I got told: “your lot are finished, HMRC have seen to that.” Quite who my “lot” are, or how we have offended this gentleman – I don’t know. However, this did encourage me to go and do some research into what this chap …
Umbrella companies aren’t finished yet – according to HMRC » Read the full story
To put it bluntly – tax avoidance schemes are evil. They trick you into thinking paying less tax is fine and they’ll help you retain more of your hard-earned money. But what they fail to mention is the fact that if you engage with one, you’ll more than likely face …
How to spot a tax avoidance scheme, and why you should never use one » Read the full story
Under new employment legislation, recruitment agencies will present contractors and agency workers with a Key Information Document before a contract is signed or agreed. The Key Information Document will give you a realistic take home pay projection and outline the deductions you can expect to see to your pay. The …
Some weeks, here at UCHQ, while we spend far more time than we should wondering exactly what the intern does, we also spend a good deal of time wondering how the umbrella company industry managed to get itself into such a mess. The tales of the umbrella companies of old, …
Why a Good Umbrella Won’t Stop You Paying Tax » Read the full story
It’s been a rough year for contractors. As we have previously reported here, the industry is showing signs of recession, not made any easier by the still-lingering threats from IR35 and a nation of new work-from-homers. But there is some good news. Some of you have already got some key …
Job Skills to Have in the Post-Covid Era » Read the full story
This week here at UCHQ, life is returning to something approaching normality. The intern is back to wasting time on social media, the old ‘umbrella’ jokes keep flowing, and we ponder what autumn will bring, besides a renewed need for actual umbrellas. There seems to be something of a …
Disguised Renumeration and Spies in the Grass » Read the full story
It seems the lockdown dreams of the life of a freelancer were cut short for many self-employed during lockdown. It has been reported by the ONS (Office for National Statistics) that over a quarter of a million self-employed workers returned to full time employment during the COVID crisis, we assume …
Yes, more news this week as those further details that we were promised back at the start of July about what was going to happen with the Job Retention Bonus Scheme Payments has finally been announced by the UK government. As discussed in an earlier post, we were not …
More news on the Job Retention Bonus Scheme » Read the full story
This week sees more people than ever back at work. In theory anyway. Today was the day that the great British public were meant to be back at work – office workers included, but that isn’t what has happened. Public transport remains far emptier than usual, famous landmarks in …
While life appears to be returning to something approaching reality, the view ahead is not quite so cheery.
As the weeks go on here at UCHQ, the world is starting to return to normal for us, thankfully. We are all back in our socially distanced office (although we could just call that ‘the office’ – it wasn’t like we were that close to start with). The intern is …
Another week, another COVID-related budget update from the chancellor, Rishi Sunak. And, as the sun is shining, the forecast is that umbrellas may not be needed. (Well. One kind, anyway). Umbrella companies are still definitely needed for all those contractors who would be financially worse off without them. In his …
