First Contract - Choosing an Umbrella Company

[GillsMan]

OK, firstly a big thank you to everyone on this forum. I've been lurking for a while, reading all the great advice on here.

I've just been offered my first contract. I'm very nervous as a) it's a lot more money than I'm used to so it'll be a lot more pressure and b) it's quite a hard job, so I'll have to work extremely hard to impress.

Anyway, I'm going to join an umbrella company as I don't want to set up a company for my first contract. I'll probably set up MyCo Ltd when I'm more experienced, but for now I'm more than happy to use an umbrella co. I've read the very useful section on umbrella companies and I'm happy with what I've learned.

So, my question is: how do you choose an umbrella company? I'm obviously looking at things like rates and whether there is a minimum tie-in. The only annoying thing is a lot of them don't have all the info on their website, and I don't fancy ringing a bunch of them from my mobile to an 0845 number. If anyone has any advice, that would be great.

Thanks, again, for all the great advice on here.

[Steven@Parasol]

Congratulations on the first contract!

As you've said, there is a lot of good info on Contractor UK and beyond on choosing an umbrella and Contractor Calculator recently posted a good checklist as well. Link is here:

Choosing a contractor umbrella - checklist download

The most important thing is that you receive a proper contract of employment from your umbrella and a guarantee of your minimum hours.

A few key things to ask/keep in mind:

The most important thing to note is how the umbrella calculates your pay and their fees and how much you are actually being charged.

Also ask what extras are included, especially which insurance is included with the fee.

Don't trust anyone who tells you that you do not need to keep you expenses receipts and look for accreditation, e.g. an umbrella accredited by the FCSA, REC, APSCo etc.

I’ve put a few links to our guides below and have genuinely tried to be impartial with these as, although it’s fair to say we aren’t the cheapest, we have a responsibility to the industry as the UK’s largest umbrella.

As ever, happy to be told if people reading this aren’t happy with any of the points.

Information on IR35 calculator and compliance with HMRC - Parasol

The survivors guide to contracting | ClearSky Accounting Blog

[ilovehr]

Spiced pork and ham.....

[BolshieBastard]

Unless you're being paid £200 a day or less, dont go umbrella. Go limited.

just say 'No!' to brollies.

[Peter Loew]

Most things people don't mention is that if you are looking to get a mortgage, the Ltd can work against you. Most banks will see your income as being the salary + div from your Ltd to your personal bank account, and discount your profits even though you may be a 100% shareholder.

From that PoV, umbrella would be better as you get all income into your personal bank account.