New to contracting - umbrella advice please!

[Zippy]

I used Parasol and they only screwed up once. My mate said the one operated by SJD were very good.

[TykeMerc]

I had multiple good years of service from Orangegenie, but I binned them for repeated minor, but annoying cockups over several months which meant I was having to micromanage things more than with a MyCo Ltd. Their service levels improved dramatically, but I had already set up MyCo.
I had a poor experience of Giant so I would never go back to them.

Liz
If you're likely to go perm after a relatively short period on contract you've made a rational decision to go with an Umbrella. Assuming their service levels are back on track Orangegenie are worth a serious look.

[The Wikir Man]

I have had a look at a number of umbrellas (want to go down that route, as there is a very good chance of being made permanent after the contract ends). However, I don't want to take pot luck and perhaps have it come back to bite me! Can anyone recommend a reliable good umbrella company to use, as I am new to it all, so its a bit hit and miss so far. Thanks!

If you have no intention of having different clients (i.e. you only intend to do one contract through the umbrella), then you would not be able to claim travel expenses. This is because you would no longer be able to claim that you have a temporary place of work that you are travelling to - you are going to what is essentially your permanent place of work.

I've not used an umbrella (and only know one person who does) - I think I would be looking at ContractorUmbrella (which as someone else says, is the SJD run one).

[Lester]

YMYA.

I joined Parasol in January. Does what it says on the tin - I've been impressed.

[Olly]

Orange Genie never bit me....
Post up your short list and let the crowds guide you

Are you certain you won't to be PAYE? I mean reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllly certain?

P.S. When you decide please send me a PM. I'll recommend you and we'll split the introductory bonus...deal?

P.P.S. Going with one attached/affiliated to a well known accountancy seems like a plan. Especially because if you bitch about them on here when they stuff up they'll fix quick

P.P.P.S. "NONE" of them will be perfect!

[centurian]

Liz,

It sounds as if the fact that it's a contract is more by chance than by design, which is fine - you say it could end up being permanent - also fine if that is what you are looking for.

So if you're not into contracting for the long haul, then umbrella is definately the way to go as it's much quicker and easier to sort out.

One important thing to remember is that being a contractor is not the same as being an "agency temp". This is not a "temporary contract" - it's a business-to-business contractual arrangment. You have considerably fewer rights (i.e. didly squat - zero) plus the financial risks of agency/umbrella going bust where you will be treated as a supplier, not an employee.

Don't want to put you off - quite the opposite. Just be fully aware of what a contractor is.

HTH

[questiontime]

You are not going to get a definitive answer ... The same brolly works well for one person but screws up another ..

as others have suggested, parasol(who run pcg's umbrella), orangegenie, contractorumbrella,giant are a few that get recommended often ..
as far as i have heard, parasol and cu take compliance seriously. unless your luck is very bad, with either of these two, you will be in good hands without much issues ... hope for a trouble-free service but do not be disappointed if you face glitches ..
Understand how the umbrella companies operate and keep your expectations reasonable too ...

good luck and btw, welcome to the real world

Hi,

I have just got a new job after 7 months unemployment following redundancy, and it is a contract. I have never contracted before, so am just learning what its all about! I have checked advice on the forum and I know this is probably a frequent question, so I apologise if it is tiresome to anyone, but I couldn't find recent advice for it. Basically, I am completely confused regarding what umbrella company to use - the more I check advice in various places, the more confused I get. Please could anyone give me some advice on what umbrella company would be the best for me to use. Also, if there is any advice you think would be helpful to a new contractor, that would be great.

Thanks!