Umbrella Company Help Please!!!

[fuzzy_cham]

Im looking for a good Umbrella company for my partners new job, He started today and is working as a Audio & Visual Technichian for RM
The company who employs on RM's behalf reccomended Paramount Solutions, Their Umbrella Company, But his work mate said that there is better Umbrella companys out there...We just dont know which ones!
We never even heard of these type of companys before and we arent exacly sure how they work

I know that expenses can be claimed, But his work cover all expenses (Travel, Hotel & food money when working away) The only thing they dont cover is food money when working at home. So is it worth it? We are really confused and no one seems to be explaining it to us...A his mate at work also said that been self employed is also an option.

i hope i have posted this right, as i havent been on here before

Thanks in advance

[superuser]

Giant

>So is it worth it?
Shop around. Some umbrellas charge more than others and some offer better service.

Giant aren't bad in my opinion, I used them for over 2 years. Giant give you a dedicated person and phone number to ring if you have any questions.

On the other hand, having one's own limited company gives you a lot more control and flexibility.

[NickFitz]

i hope i have posted this right, as i havent been on here before

You've posted in the right place in the forums, so that's a good start

Im looking for a good Umbrella company for my partners new job, He started today and is working as a Audio & Visual Technichian for RM
The company who employs on RM's behalf reccomended Paramount Solutions, Their Umbrella Company, But his work mate said that there is better Umbrella companys out there...We just dont know which ones!
We never even heard of these type of companys before and we arent exacly sure how they work

Basically, RM want to avoid the tax risk of being seen as employing your partner directly (that is, as one of their workforce), so they want him to be employed by another company, which will be subcontracted by them (through an agency) to provide the services that he is, in fact, performing for RM.

It sounds like the relationship is RM > "The company who employs on RM's behalf" (that will be an agency) > Umbrella > Your Partner. So RM have a contract with the agency, who in turn have a contract with the brolly (Umbrella) who are, legally, the employers of your partner for tax purposes.

As for some brollies being better than others: they all claim to be better than others (allowing higher expense claims, and so forth) but they are all subject to the same general laws and regulations, so it's not worth worrying about that.

Many people believe they are better off with one or another, but as a rule they are just "better off" in the sense that they are allowed to claim higher expenses (to be offset against tax) with one than with another... but in fact the expenses that can be offset against tax are the same for all, and if not backed up with receipts, are not claimable. If, as you suggest, all living-away expenses are dealt with by RM, expenses don't really come into it anyway. So it's best to ignore the hype, and just be content with a brolly that processes all the PAYE/NIC stuff correctly, processes legitimate expense claims correctly, and pays you on time - which is the moment they receive the money from the agency.

There is a potential difference in the fees they charge for administering all the paperwork (PAYE/NIC, etc.) but they all tend to be roughly similar in this regard - if you do choose to research different brollies, don't be distracted by heady promises of claimable expenses, just focus on their weekly/monthly administration charge.

Given that this is (it appears) the first time time your partner has worked as a contractor, and that he has already started work and therefore can presumably do without any additional hassle, it may be best just to go with the suggested brolly - the worst that can happen is that it costs a few pounds more a week than any other brolly would.

The only thing they dont cover is food money when working at home.

Nobody will ever cover that

It's the taxman's fault: they say that if you're at home, you'd have to eat anyway, so you haven't incurred any additional expense, therefore it's not tax-deductible. (They don't take notice of the fact that if you weren't working, you couldn't afford the food in the first place )

We are really confused and no one seems to be explaining it to us...A his mate at work also said that been self employed is also an option.

Self-employed is almost certainly not an option, unless he's planning to work as a plasterer or bricklayer or suchlike. For reasons that remain opaque to us lesser mortals, you can be subcontracted to do manual work and be self-employed... but the moment you're subcontracted to do work that doesn't get your hands dirty (well, any dirtier than the mouse and keyboard are) you can't be self-employed. The agency won't accept it as they then risk becoming liable for tax, or something stupid like that.



One more thing: somebody will doubtless be along in the morning to tell you and your partner that you're stupid, and that he should set up his own Limited Company and work through that. I personally think that although that could be financially beneficial in the long run, for the immediate future you have enough new stuff to deal with, and should just go with the brolly - you can explore other options later, at your leisure.

But, up near the top right there, you'll see a sidebar labelled "CUK Navigation", and about a quarter of the way down is a "First Timers" link - follow that, and read what you find there. They know more than I do

HTH, good luck, and do come back and ask further questions as necessary - just be careful in General, as they're like a pack of savages in there sometimes

Though if you have any spare time do pop over to test please delete, in the Light Relief forum - everybody's nice in there

[NotAllThere]

...Self-employed is almost certainly not an option, ...

Are you sure about that? IIRC there's different rules out in the media, and AV etc.

[scooby]

The company who employs on RM's behalf reccomended Paramount Solutions, Their Umbrella Company, But his work mate said that there is better Umbrella companys out there...We just dont know which ones!
We never even heard of these type of companys before and we arent exacly sure how they work

ask who is the work mate is with!! i've been with 3 and am now Ltd Co, much better i feel.

(PS is RM the educational sector IT Services company?)

[ASB]

Are you sure about that? IIRC there's different rules out in the media, and AV etc.

There are some different rules for television and films.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/specialist/fi..._notes2003.pdf

Also there does appear to be some round sum allowances for subsistence.

[Lewis]

Giant aren't bad in my opinion

[TykeMerc]

I binned Giant for screwing up basic admin repeatedly.

The last Umbrella that I used were Orangegenie, while they cocked things up very occasionally (like paying me twice in 1 tax period) they were a great deal better than Giant at least in my experience and paid very quickly.

[NotAllThere]

>So is it worth it?
Shop around. Some umbrellas charge more than others and some offer better service.

Giant aren't bad in my opinion, I used them for over 2 years. Giant give you a dedicated person and phone number to ring if you have any questions.

From April

I've used Giant for a few contracts. Their web interface is easy to navigate around and straight forward to use; it also keeps your records in one place and lets you track progress of expenses, payments, etc.

However, recently they've included lock in clauses with their contracts. I'd also say that smaller subsitence claims could be made easier to enter. I've raised both of these issues with them but to no avail.

On balance, I'm going limited in the new tax year.

[Money Money Money]

When you say all his expenses are covered...?

I'm sure that there is a lot you haven't thought about.

These guys do a better service than most and one of the best fee's as well.

Give them a call.

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