When negotiating your assignment rate with your agency or client, you need to consider holiday pay, which your umbrella will pay you each time they run your payroll. Holiday pay is a reallocation of your assignment rate and will be shown on your payslip as 12.07%. As your employer, umbrellas need to process holiday pay for you legally, and it’s taken from your assignment rate (meaning you’re no better or worse off, but the umbrella company isn’t giving you a 12.07% uplift). Most umbrella companies will allow you to have holiday pay processed each payment frequency or accrued and paid in a lump sum later. We recommend you have it paid each payment frequency – as we’ll explain. Holiday pay is a hot topic. While a majority of compliant umbrella companies process it ethically and efficiently, there have been a few cases where “compliant” umbrellas have been accused of retaining accrued holiday pay of employees for themselves. This practice is appalling, and all umbrella employees must understand that holiday pay is theirs and the umbrella should never pocket it. Before registering with an umbrella company, discuss holiday pay and make it clear you want it paid each payment frequency – to avoid any potential issues.