Reply to: Contractor Umbrella - I would never, ever, use again

[Paralytic]

I think my pension contributions were taken correctly after the initial issues, but it’s worth noting that they make the payment into Scottish Widows on the 22nd (ish) of the *following* month which is very late. It’s also technically the last day they can legally do it.

So, not late then.

[Sandy100]

Yes, it was by me proactively reconciling the amount uploaded against my payslips that this came to light. The other issues I listed such as missing payments & incorrect pension deduction required me to proactively check too.

I think my pension contributions were taken correctly after the initial issues, but it’s worth noting that they make the payment into Scottish Widows on the 22nd (ish) of the *following* month which is very late. It’s also technically the last day they can legally do it.

[Sandy100]

Hi Sandy100,

Thanks for your co-operation.

As you're aware, unfortunately there was an issue with invoicing within the end clients invoice deadline, and to rectify this we processed the payments to you at no charge, and also advanced the payment so that you were able to receive funds sooner than we had received them.

The end client paid us in the 2020-21 tax year, which meant we had to declare the salary payment in this year.

We also defer pension auto-enrolment for a period of 3 months as we've seen that the average assignment lasts around 3-4 months and many workers don't always want to be enrolled into the scheme for only a temporary time. We do, however, allow workers to be enrolled from the start if that is their preference, and which you requested.


Kind regards


Zeeshan

Thank you. It's also important to delcare that the reason the end client so paid late was (largely) because CU failed to follow up properly. Direct quote from CU: "I acknowledge and apologise that the invoice was raised late."

The advance payment was only a week before CU received the funds and is immaterial to the wider delay which spanned from February to April.

[DolanContractorGroup]

Hi everyone, after a few weeks of to and fro (mostly circular discussion) I wanted to share my experience.

Here's the detail (lowest priority first):

1. The contracts provided by me were not initially set up correctly. I had to chase CU to even be able to able to raise invoices at the outset.

2. The system does not allow odd days (e.g. 0.3) even though my employer does. CU's suggestion was to change my invoice, which obviously doesn't work. It took many, many weeks to get it paid and about 20 chasing emails.

3. I was promised the ability to make pension contributions from day one. I then received an email to say they'd be made from month three, and again I had to challenge. The challenge was successful but I shouldn't have had to do it.

4. And most importantly, despite me paying CU they don't do any automatic chasing or following up of unpaid invoices. Even when I asked for this to happen (several times) there was a total lack of proactivity. The summary is that payments were made many weeks later and CU admitted fault.

5. As a result of the late payments, some of them fell into a new tax year. Payments made for work in March (19/20) were paid and taxed in April (20/21). That's excusable. However a payment made for work in *February* (19/20) was also not paid until April (20/21), which is totally unacceptable. I will have an increased marginal tax rate on these and missed out on some of last year's pension allowance - it's cost me over a grand. CU's gesture of goodwill was £25.

It's not the end of the world - there are far worse things in life at the moment - but for anyone thinking of signing up you might bear this in mind.

Thanks for reading this far and I hope the info is helpful to someone. Stay safe!

Hi Sandy100,

Thanks for your co-operation.

As you're aware, unfortunately there was an issue with invoicing within the end clients invoice deadline, and to rectify this we processed the payments to you at no charge, and also advanced the payment so that you were able to receive funds sooner than we had received them.

The end client paid us in the 2020-21 tax year, which meant we had to declare the salary payment in this year.

We also defer pension auto-enrolment for a period of 3 months as we've seen that the average assignment lasts around 3-4 months and many workers don't always want to be enrolled into the scheme for only a temporary time. We do, however, allow workers to be enrolled from the start if that is their preference, and which you requested.


Kind regards


Zeeshan

[WTFH]

I'm on a daily rate but my employer allows fractions to be charged. The CU system also allows fractions to be charged, but only 0.25, 0.5, 0.75. I'd already invoiced by employer for 0.3 days which had been approved, and I couldn't retrospectively change that 0.25 for CU's sake (and nor would I want to).

Is your contract direct with your "employer" or with CU?

[Sandy100]

Yes, it was by me proactively reconciling the amount uploaded against my payslips that this came to light. The other issues I listed such as missing payments & incorrect pension deduction required me to proactively check too.

Oh wow...... back to the payslips I go!

[Wary]

Oh...
I haven't checked that my pension provider has actually received what was promised by CU. Did you notice differences?

Yes, it was by me proactively reconciling the amount uploaded against my payslips that this came to light. The other issues I listed such as missing payments & incorrect pension deduction required me to proactively check too.

[Sandy100]

During my relatively brief stint with CU, whilst I wouldn’t want to portray my experience as being totally negative, I have experienced a number of issues including:
- invoices raised late (& hence paid late) on multiple occasions
- incorrect pension contribution being deducted
- pension contribution not included as part of the monthly upload to the SIPP provider
- insufficient explanation for what appeared to be inconsistent payslips (which may of course been correct)
- P45s from previous employments were not taken into account despite having been provided
Had they been willing to furlough me then it could have been a case of all-is-forgiven for the above, but alas not.

Going forward, any further contract work I undertake via a brolly will be through a company that are participating in CJRS.

Oh...

I haven't checked that my pension provider has actually received what was promised by CU. Did you notice differences?

I was due a £15 tax refund in one week and apparently they expect to charge their £25 margin on this! So watch out for that too.

[Sandy100]

Your employer? You mean your client or the umbrella?

Good question - client. In the end it was worked out by CU, but it took months to do so.

[Sandy100]

A couple of questions:
1. Were you on an hourly rate or a daily rate? If you were on a daily rate, why would you charge for less than a full day? If you were on an hourly rate, why would you charge for a fraction of an hour?

2. Why could you not change your invoice? You say it “obviously doesn’t work”, but without explanation as to why.

I'm on a daily rate but my employer allows fractions to be charged. The CU system also allows fractions to be charged, but only 0.25, 0.5, 0.75. I'd already invoiced by employer for 0.3 days which had been approved, and I couldn't retrospectively change that 0.25 for CU's sake (and nor would I want to).

[Wary]

During my relatively brief stint with CU, whilst I wouldn’t want to portray my experience as being totally negative, I have experienced a number of issues including:
- invoices raised late (& hence paid late) on multiple occasions
- incorrect pension contribution being deducted
- pension contribution not included as part of the monthly upload to the SIPP provider
- insufficient explanation for what appeared to be inconsistent payslips (which may of course been correct)
- P45s from previous employments were not taken into account despite having been provided
Had they been willing to furlough me then it could have been a case of all-is-forgiven for the above, but alas not.

Going forward, any further contract work I undertake via a brolly will be through a company that are participating in CJRS.

[northernladuk]

Your employer? You mean your client or the umbrella?

[WTFH]

2. The system does not allow odd days (e.g. 0.3) even though my employer does. CU's suggestion was to change my invoice, which obviously doesn't work.

A couple of questions:
1. Were you on an hourly rate or a daily rate? If you were on a daily rate, why would you charge for less than a full day? If you were on an hourly rate, why would you charge for a fraction of an hour?

2. Why could you not change your invoice? You say it “obviously doesn’t work”, but without explanation as to why.

[Sandy100]

Hi everyone, after a few weeks of to and fro (mostly circular discussion) I wanted to share my experience.

Here's the detail (lowest priority first):

1. The contracts provided by me were not initially set up correctly. I had to chase CU to even be able to able to raise invoices at the outset.

2. The system does not allow odd days (e.g. 0.3) even though my employer does. CU's suggestion was to change my invoice, which obviously doesn't work. It took many, many weeks to get it paid and about 20 chasing emails.

3. I was promised the ability to make pension contributions from day one. I then received an email to say they'd be made from month three, and again I had to challenge. The challenge was successful but I shouldn't have had to do it.

4. And most importantly, despite me paying CU they don't do any automatic chasing or following up of unpaid invoices. Even when I asked for this to happen (several times) there was a total lack of proactivity. The summary is that payments were made many weeks later and CU admitted fault.

5. As a result of the late payments, some of them fell into a new tax year. Payments made for work in March (19/20) were paid and taxed in April (20/21). That's excusable. However a payment made for work in *February* (19/20) was also not paid until April (20/21), which is totally unacceptable. I will have an increased marginal tax rate on these and missed out on some of last year's pension allowance - it's cost me over a grand. CU's gesture of goodwill was £25.

It's not the end of the world - there are far worse things in life at the moment - but for anyone thinking of signing up you might bear this in mind.

Thanks for reading this far and I hope the info is helpful to someone. Stay safe!

[DolanContractorGroup]

Edit post - I'll give them one last chance to reply. Will delete.

Hi Sandy100,

What issue are you having?

I'll PM you the Compliance Manager's email address. Please explain the issue in its entirety and he will respond as soon as possible.


Kind regards