safe umbrella company for a visitor

[troyx77]

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering to have a contractor role in UK for 6 months only, and then I will come back to my home country. Actually I'm not much interested in higher returns or any kind of accounting magic, my only preference is to be on the safe side, receive my payments in time and have my questions answered with good customer support. That's why I'm looking for a reliable umbrella company. Parasol website seemed very professional, however I prefer to have your opinion.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions,

Troy

[Steven@Parasol]

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering to have a contractor role in UK for 6 months only, and then I will come back to my home country. Actually I'm not much interested in higher returns or any kind of accounting magic, my only preference is to be on the safe side, receive my payments in time and have my questions answered with good customer support. That's why I'm looking for a reliable umbrella company. Parasol website seemed very professional, however I prefer to have your opinion.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions,

Troy

Hi there.

Obviously I work for Parasol so I can't comment as I'm bias. Here is a link to a good article on what to look out for when you are shopping around for an umbrella and the types of questions to ask.<snip>

[Old Greg]

Have a look at this http://forums.contractoruk.com/umbre...endations.html

[Svalbaard]

I have been with Contractor Umbrella for a number of years now. Customer service is and has always been first class despite a number of account manager changes.

[Platypus]

I don't use an umbrella myself, but I remembered seeing the 2010 CUK awards, as follows:

Best Umbrella Company of 2010

WINNER! Giant group

CUK READERS:

Personal and efficient service, clear communication, ease-of-use online
Consistently professional approach to answering queries and solving issues
Sound understanding of contracting

RUNNER UP: Contractor Umbrella

Always reliable, available and personable
Makes the work and payment process easy to understand
Comprehensive knowledge from support staff

RUNNER UP: Parasol

Excellent service, always paid on time

[Ltdexperience]

I've had my fingers burnt by Parasol, initially everything was okay, but out of £500 a week, I'm lucky to see £300 if I don't submit 'tax offset expenses' or as they call it Business Expenses. In your payslip you will see 'Commission' and you will be paying two lots of tax 'NI' and 'PAYE'. You will also pay 'Employer's NI' and 'Employee's NI' in addition to £27 processing fee. I have tried everything to lower this 'commission' which can be offset by how much expenses you give them - I've done nothing but fight with the various voices on the phone - my last lot of expenses (around £420) they used up in a fortnight If my expenses were like an MP's this wouldn't be a problem, but in the end I thought I'll get my coat and went Ltd co.

[stek]

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering to have a contractor role in UK for 6 months only, and then I will come back to my home country. Actually I'm not much interested in higher returns or any kind of accounting magic, my only preference is to be on the safe side, receive my payments in time and have my questions answered with good customer support. That's why I'm looking for a reliable umbrella company. Parasol website seemed very professional, however I prefer to have your opinion.

Thank you in advance for your suggestions,

Troy

Do you have permission to work in UK? You can't work on a visitor's visa if that's what you have.

[Steven@Parasol]

I've had my fingers burnt by Parasol, initially everything was okay, but out of £500 a week, I'm lucky to see £300 if I don't submit 'tax offset expenses' or as they call it Business Expenses. In your payslip you will see 'Commission' and you will be paying two lots of tax 'NI' and 'PAYE'. You will also pay 'Employer's NI' and 'Employee's NI' in addition to £27 processing fee. I have tried everything to lower this 'commission' which can be offset by how much expenses you give them - I've done nothing but fight with the various voices on the phone - my last lot of expenses (around £420) they used up in a fortnight If my expenses were like an MP's this wouldn't be a problem, but in the end I thought I'll get my coat and went Ltd co.

I know you aren't working with us anymore but I work for Parasol and myself or our operations manager would be happy to take you through the process if that would help. You can get me on steven.proud@parasolgroup.co.uk or 01925 644892.

There are legal reasons why we have to call it 'commission' but we do give a full breakdown on the payslip. In a nutshell, its the amount of money left as take home pay once statutory deductions have been made (e.g. NIC).

[escapeUK]

I was with Parasol too, they were ok I guess. Though had a few times where they thought I worked for them, like suggesting they would penalise me financially if I typed a figure wrong into their website a second time (by accident).

I much prefer having a Ltd company, an accountant who works for me, and paying none of that NI scam.

Parasol will do to get your feet wet, and see if contracting is for you, but limit it to 6 months to a year is my recommendation.

[Wanderer]

I've had my fingers burnt by Parasol. you will be paying two lots of tax 'NI' and 'PAYE'. You will also pay 'Employer's NI' and 'Employee's NI' in addition to £27 processing fee.

To be fair, it wasn't Parasol that burnt your fingers - that is the way ALL umbrella companies work and you will pay a LOT of tax.

As for paying two lots of NI, you will do exactly the same through a limited company unless you are outside IR35 and take the money as dividends.

What you get with an umbrella is simple tax and admin.

As escapeUK says, they are OK if you are just starting out, don't know if you will be contracting for long or you are IR35 caught and don't want the admin of running your own company.