This is a warning for any contractor considering joining "No Worries" Umbrella.
This is a long saga, so the basic issue is as follows;
1) They provided incorrect information, could not justify that, and when questioned about these incorrect figures, they simply refused to deal with me! I was told I had upset their staff, simply by questioning their figures!
2) It transpires that the owner and director of the company, Greg Hanton, lives in New Zealand, does not operate on UK hours, and is not subject to UK financial jurisdiction. The staff have to ask Greg for guidance, which will always take at least 24 hours.
I am starting a new contract, and wanted to use NW, as they provided the options of the cycle to work scheme and salary sacrifice pension.
I called their offices and asked for details. I was told that they would provide a sample payslip. When this arrived, the figures looked wrong and so I called the office to query the figures and ask for an explanation. When questioned, the person on the phone told me that she had used a figure from someone else's payslip, with a much lower daily rate. I said this did not seems correct, and was then told that the figure was '90%' to which I replied 90% of what? They had no answer for that!
I said that the figure quoted equated to a pension contribution of just over £36k, which looked like 90% of the UK maximum figure of £40k. I asked this, and was told that it was a requirement of their pension provider, Smart pension, so I called them and was told they had no problem with pension contributions up to the UK maximum of £40k.
So, I called no worries back again and explained that the figures look wrong, and that I should be able to pay the maximum of £40k. They still had no answer, so I was told they would contact Greg Hanton, the director, but that he was 'out of office'.
I received a couple of emails from Greg Hanton, who it transpired, lived and worked in New Zealand! Well outside the jurisdiction of the UK tax authorities!
The upshot of this exchange was that my figures and views on allowable pension contributions WAS CORRECT. However, because his staff were upset by my querying their incorrect figures, they would REFUSE to deal with me!
So, it seems that no one is ever allowed to question any figures from their staff and anyone that does will simply be removed. What a strange way to do business!
Secondly, how can someone in charge of a UK based payroll company be allowed to reside outside UK Jurisdiction? No doubt there are tax advantages that he can exploit by living in NZ, but none of these are accessible to UK contractors! Also, if there were ever any financial problems, the director would be completely inaccessible by the UK tax authorities. I am not saying that anything of that sort has happened, but it does seem strange that the FCSA, to whom they are a member, allow directors to reside outside the UK.
In conclusion, I simply say, be careful when dealing with "No Worries" and be aware that their staff will not accept any questions.
This is a long saga, so the basic issue is as follows;
1) They provided incorrect information, could not justify that, and when questioned about these incorrect figures, they simply refused to deal with me! I was told I had upset their staff, simply by questioning their figures!
2) It transpires that the owner and director of the company, Greg Hanton, lives in New Zealand, does not operate on UK hours, and is not subject to UK financial jurisdiction. The staff have to ask Greg for guidance, which will always take at least 24 hours.
I am starting a new contract, and wanted to use NW, as they provided the options of the cycle to work scheme and salary sacrifice pension.
I called their offices and asked for details. I was told that they would provide a sample payslip. When this arrived, the figures looked wrong and so I called the office to query the figures and ask for an explanation. When questioned, the person on the phone told me that she had used a figure from someone else's payslip, with a much lower daily rate. I said this did not seems correct, and was then told that the figure was '90%' to which I replied 90% of what? They had no answer for that!
I said that the figure quoted equated to a pension contribution of just over £36k, which looked like 90% of the UK maximum figure of £40k. I asked this, and was told that it was a requirement of their pension provider, Smart pension, so I called them and was told they had no problem with pension contributions up to the UK maximum of £40k.
So, I called no worries back again and explained that the figures look wrong, and that I should be able to pay the maximum of £40k. They still had no answer, so I was told they would contact Greg Hanton, the director, but that he was 'out of office'.
I received a couple of emails from Greg Hanton, who it transpired, lived and worked in New Zealand! Well outside the jurisdiction of the UK tax authorities!
The upshot of this exchange was that my figures and views on allowable pension contributions WAS CORRECT. However, because his staff were upset by my querying their incorrect figures, they would REFUSE to deal with me!
So, it seems that no one is ever allowed to question any figures from their staff and anyone that does will simply be removed. What a strange way to do business!
Secondly, how can someone in charge of a UK based payroll company be allowed to reside outside UK Jurisdiction? No doubt there are tax advantages that he can exploit by living in NZ, but none of these are accessible to UK contractors! Also, if there were ever any financial problems, the director would be completely inaccessible by the UK tax authorities. I am not saying that anything of that sort has happened, but it does seem strange that the FCSA, to whom they are a member, allow directors to reside outside the UK.
In conclusion, I simply say, be careful when dealing with "No Worries" and be aware that their staff will not accept any questions.
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