Umbrella confusion!!!!!!!

[lucyclarityumbrella]

We will be at the IR35 Public Sector Round Table on 6th September, so will feedback any info we get, but as you all say it appears to be pretty much a done deal, as with the T&S changes. We attended those too and it remained exactly as expected they had already concluded that around 80% of contractors would be caught!

[TheITguy]

Umbrella Company

Hi,

I also found it confusing when I started out and found that when I contracted through different agencies they would tell me I could only use certain Umbrella Companies and usually they were expensive!

Eventually I settled with Umbrella Fella and they've been great so far, I originally used the PAYE option but they've recently set me up with my own limited company which means they still take care of all my payroll, I no longer have agencies telling me who to use and my take home is better!

It's still a mine field out there though so good luck, this is just my experience and it's up to you who you use but I got fed up with being told who to use by the aqencies and constantly having to swap payroll companies when I changed assignments.

Hello all,

Very new to this and the contractor environment, I work freelance via an agency was approached by a few umbrella companies, one being Extra, and what appears to be a subsidiary, Winchester (?). After researching, and using this forum as a really useful source of info, I understand they base there payment structure around loans in order to avoid paying 100% tax or at least less, which sounds more than a bit dodge. So I sacked that idea and went looking around including the AUCAE consortium.

I looked at their advice and I made a decision to go with a company who are able to offer more money, as they operate in a slightly different way to others umbrella companies as well as providing accounting for limited companies etc. The micro ltd option resolves any issues with working in the public sector, as i dip ion and out of that carrying out IT work, but it doesn't come into effect until April anyway but it's better to get ahead of the game. Ultimately HMRC and never going to rest until we're all forced out of contracts and subjected to the same deductions as everyone else which is unfair and going

I was advised at the time of joining that the AUCAE is a monopoly of umbrella companies that are pretty fixed and rigid in terms of the way they represent their contractors.

Would anyone have any advice? As to be fair, I cant be bothered with the uncertainty and worry that I may be liable for doing something wrong, after what i consider to be a fair amount of due diligence researching etc, and may end up just setting up my own ltd company with an accountant to avoid the nonsense etc.

Also is there ANY objective sites, forums etc that offer impartial reviews of umbrella companies? As each area I've researched is either clearly set up for a group of companies’ advertisement purposes or a collective group of companies with a different set of agendas.

Many thanks.

[cojak]

Hi,

I also found it confusing when I started out and found that when I contracted through different agencies they would tell me I could only use certain Umbrella Companies and usually they were expensive!

Eventually I settled with Umbrella Fella and they've been great so far, I originally used the PAYE option but they've recently set me up with my own limited company which means they still take care of all my payroll, I no longer have agencies telling me who to use and my take home is better!

It's still a mine field out there though so good luck, this is just my experience and it's up to you who you use but I got fed up with being told who to use by the aqencies and constantly having to swap payroll companies when I changed assignments.

Well I'd be careful if I were you - that company only has £100 to its name according to Companies House. Where's the rest of the money gone?

[missinggreenfields]

Well I'd be careful if I were you - that company only has £100 to its name according to Companies House. Where's the rest of the money gone?

There are a few things that ring alarm bells for this one:

• 2015 accounts shows a net worth of -£10281 (total assets £49355, total liabilities £59636)
• No VAT number on the website but they are VAT registered though (GB174021733) so they don't seem to understand the law about things like that
• I'd be wary of using someone who doesn't seem to be an accountant (or at least doesn't mention anything about being certified or anything like that) in the preparation of my accounts.

Each to their own and I hope that they don't disappear with the money - but I'd be running away from an umbrella company that is making that much of a loss, to be honest.

(Interesting fact - one of their directors is a director of the British Olympic Association with Seb Coe et al)

[ASB]

The negative net worth isnt necessarily a problem. It doesn't indicate it is operating at a loss. All it indicates is that historical cap ex has exceeded historical retained profits.

E.g. spend 50k on infrastructure early on.

Of course it can be indicative of issues but the headline figure is no more than a warning.

It may be worth heeding though in the absence of full accounts to ascertain why.