Reply to: Parasol Group: Do not use this umbrellas / ltd limited liability company

[Beiberbuffet]

Are you sure self-assessment is part of Parasol's Umbrella service? I can't see that mentioned on their website, but perhaps it was some special service they only offered you.

What specifically did you sign that said they'd do your self-assessment? How much were you paying for this? Was it via Parasol, or their accountancy arm (ClearkSky)?

It was included in the parasol price.

[eek]

Agreed plus i have other income to declare in self assessment so i wouldn't be wanting them to do my self-assessment either - i don't really see much additional value in the platinum offering tbh.

I think reward schemes cost £1 / week or so a member in bulk...

[gizzmo]

I'm really unhappy with an umbrella company doing tax returns though - as the majority of "umbrella" companies that offer such things are usually doing it for their benefit (to hide the tricks and keep the scheme running longer) not the employees.

Also how can Parasol help you maximise your income - it's PAYE (unless they talk about pensions and other salary sacrifice options they may offer but I don't know about.)

Agreed plus i have other income to declare in self assessment so i wouldn't be wanting them to do my self-assessment either - i don't really see much additional value in the platinum offering tbh.

[Paralytic]

I'm really unhappy with an umbrella company doing tax returns though - as the majority of "umbrella" companies that offer such things are usually doing it for their benefit (to hide the tricks and keep the scheme running longer) not the employees.

I suspect this is just a marketing thing, and the actual SA work will get done by ClearSky who have the same registered address and are clearly closely related. I'd expect that to be in the T&Cs/smallprint.

[eek]

I am in discussions with Parasol as will be starting a contract in Dec and the client has said they only work with Parasol. I can confirm they offer 2 levels of service, Standard and Platinum. The Platinum includes completion of self assessment. I couldn't find it on their website anywhere but they emailed me a pdf with the comparison. I've copy pasted the text here:

Parasol is one of the largest professional employment organisations in the UK. We have
helped over 100,000 contractors since our launch in 2000. We’ve highlighted some of the
benefits below of both our standard and platinum employment solutions:

Parasol Standard
Our standard employment solution includes:
• Online Portal - Easy to use, secure online
portal available 24/7 for all admin.
• Employee Support Team - Available to help
with any queries 6 days a week including
Saturdays.
• Same Day Payroll Guarantee - If we have all
the necessary information from the agency to
identify the payment by 5pm, we guarantee
to make the payment to you by same day
payment. If we don’t send payment the same
day, we’ll return the margin we have retained
from you.
• Multiple Payrolls - We run up to 5 payrolls daily.
• Insurance - £20m comprehensive insurance
package.
• Expenses - Maximise your income through
claiming legitimate business expenses.


Parasol Platinum
You have access to everything included in the
standard employment solution, plus:
• Dedicated Employee Support Advisor -
Available to help you with any queries 6 days a
week.
• Free Self-Assessment Tax Return -
Our specialist Tax Centre of Excellence offers a
quick and easy tax return service.
• Regular Reviews - We’ll call you regularly to make
sure you’re getting the most out of working with
Parasol and to ensure you’re maximising your
income.
• Optionis Rewards - We’re partnered with Remus
Rewards, one of the UK’s largest providers of
employee benefits. From your weekly shop to
your annual summer holiday, you’ll be able to
make significant savings with some of the biggest
names on the high street.

Parasol Standard
£28.50 per week
(net impact of £14.46)
Parasol Platinum
£35.00 per week
(net impact of £17.76)
W

So that's the difference between the 2 products - everything I've seen made it look like it was designed for the agency to pick not the worker.

I'm really unhappy with an umbrella company doing tax returns though - as the majority of "umbrella" companies that offer such things are usually doing it for their benefit (to hide the tricks and keep the scheme running longer) not the employees.

Also how can Parasol help you maximise your income - it's PAYE (unless they talk about pensions and other salary sacrifice options they may offer but I don't know about.)

[gizzmo]

Are you sure self-assessment is part of Parasol's Umbrella service? I can't see that mentioned on their website, but perhaps it was some special service they only offered you.

What specifically did you sign that said they'd do your self-assessment? How much were you paying for this? Was it via Parasol, or their accountancy arm (ClearkSky)?

I am in discussions with Parasol as will be starting a contract in Dec and the client has said they only work with Parasol. I can confirm they offer 2 levels of service, Standard and Platinum. The Platinum includes completion of self assessment. I couldn't find it on their website anywhere but they emailed me a pdf with the comparison. I've copy pasted the text here:

Parasol is one of the largest professional employment organisations in the UK. We have
helped over 100,000 contractors since our launch in 2000. We’ve highlighted some of the
benefits below of both our standard and platinum employment solutions:

Parasol Standard
Our standard employment solution includes:
• Online Portal - Easy to use, secure online
portal available 24/7 for all admin.
• Employee Support Team - Available to help
with any queries 6 days a week including
Saturdays.
• Same Day Payroll Guarantee - If we have all
the necessary information from the agency to
identify the payment by 5pm, we guarantee
to make the payment to you by same day
payment. If we don’t send payment the same
day, we’ll return the margin we have retained
from you.
• Multiple Payrolls - We run up to 5 payrolls daily.
• Insurance - £20m comprehensive insurance
package.
• Expenses - Maximise your income through
claiming legitimate business expenses.


Parasol Platinum
You have access to everything included in the
standard employment solution, plus:
• Dedicated Employee Support Advisor -
Available to help you with any queries 6 days a
week.
• Free Self-Assessment Tax Return -
Our specialist Tax Centre of Excellence offers a
quick and easy tax return service.
• Regular Reviews - We’ll call you regularly to make
sure you’re getting the most out of working with
Parasol and to ensure you’re maximising your
income.
• Optionis Rewards - We’re partnered with Remus
Rewards, one of the UK’s largest providers of
employee benefits. From your weekly shop to
your annual summer holiday, you’ll be able to
make significant savings with some of the biggest
names on the high street.

Parasol Standard
£28.50 per week
(net impact of £14.46)
Parasol Platinum
£35.00 per week
(net impact of £17.76)
W

[Paralytic]

The tax return was included in the weekly payments to parasol. The tax return was part of the service they offered to paying customers to handle the tax side of things at the end of the year as well as doing payroll. So you haven’t quite got the tax situation correct.

Are you sure self-assessment is part of Parasol's Umbrella service? I can't see that mentioned on their website, but perhaps it was some special service they only offered you.

What specifically did you sign that said they'd do your self-assessment? How much were you paying for this? Was it via Parasol, or their accountancy arm (ClearkSky)?

[eek]

The tax return was included in the weekly payments to parasol. The tax return was part of the service they offered to paying customers to handle the tax side of things at the end of the year as well as doing payroll. So you haven’t quite got the tax situation correct.

So your complaint is that they advertised a service and didn't actually do what they promised to do.

Fair enough - but to me any umbrella offering to do your self assessment is a massive red flag - what are they trying to hide and why?

[Beiberbuffet]

Parasol are merely your employer unless it's explicitly stated that they will do you tax return they won't (and really, really shouldn't) be going anywhere near your own personal tax return. In fact there should be zero need as RTI submissions should have sent the information to HMRC and you just need to confirm those figures and your P60 match.

Heck I would actually say that any umbrella willing to complete your personal tax return isn't an umbrella but a tax avoidance scheme.

The tax return was included in the weekly payments to parasol. The tax return was part of the service they offered to paying customers to handle the tax side of things at the end of the year as well as doing payroll. So you haven’t quite got the tax situation correct.

[eek]

I paid parasol and found out that they hadn’t submitted my tax return because that wasn’t there problem to do that. I asked them what they thought people paid for and still wouldn’t do what they were paid to do. I found this out two weeks before the deadline to submit tax returns to HMRC.
They were absolutely rubbish. The staff were more interested in making comments about you no longer being in a team which just showed them to be some of the strangest people. I switched companies because they were so complacent over the tax situation. Never again will I use parasol.

Parasol are merely your employer unless it's explicitly stated that they will do you tax return they won't (and really, really shouldn't) be going anywhere near your own personal tax return. In fact there should be zero need as RTI submissions should have sent the information to HMRC and you just need to confirm those figures and your P60 match.

Heck I would actually say that any umbrella willing to complete your personal tax return isn't an umbrella but a tax avoidance scheme.

[Beiberbuffet]

Terrible company to work with. They screwed me out of lots of money over the years. As a contractor I've used them for both LTD Liability as well as Umbrella and I should have ditched them years ago. Please don't use them. There's much better and more ethical companies to trust with your contracts. Before you even think about emailing or ringing them and a bit of time scrolling through the Google reviews.

I paid parasol and found out that they hadn’t submitted my tax return because that wasn’t there problem to do that. I asked them what they thought people paid for and still wouldn’t do what they were paid to do. I found this out two weeks before the deadline to submit tax returns to HMRC.
They were absolutely rubbish. The staff were more interested in making comments about you no longer being in a team which just showed them to be some of the strangest people. I switched companies because they were so complacent over the tax situation. Never again will I use parasol.

[cojak]

The OP hasn't come back to this thread so I'll give you a bit of time to read my reply then I'll delete the thread.

[lambris]

Parasol

I'd like to know why also as i am currently contracting with them and havent (yet) had any issues

[northernladuk]

Mods? I might suggest that this thread is just here to tulip-kick toward Parasol. I make no judgement regarding their service having never used them, but might it be an idea to delete in the absence of any substantiating evidence?

To be fair he isn't the first to moan about them.. I seem to remember in the past people did a better job of it by quantifying why though.

[wattaj]

Mods? I might suggest that this thread is just here to tulip-kick toward Parasol. I make no judgement regarding their service having never used them, but might it be an idea to delete in the absence of any substantiating evidence?