Umbrella Terms and Conditions

[jungleboogy]

I've just been offered my first contract and have decided to use an Umbrella Company. However, I was surprised by some of the terms and conditions. e.g. it states I'm required to work when required by the umbrella company and I must seek to locate and negotiate a new assignment to start immediately following the expiry of an accrued holiday entitlement. It also states I can be transferred to another assignment without restriction to location or client as directed by the Umbrella company. There's also a clause that says they will pay me a basic salary equivalent to the national minimum wage. What stops them paying me this and pocketing the rest ?

This doesn't seem right, surely I'm in control of the contracts I take on and the Umbrella is just there to provide a service despite the fact they're classed as my employer. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Thanks

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

I've just been offered my first contract and have decided to use an Umbrella Company. However, I was surprised by some of the terms and conditions. e.g. it states I'm required to work when required by the umbrella company and I must seek to locate and negotiate a new assignment to start immediately following the expiry of an accrued holiday entitlement. It also states I can be transferred to another assignment without restriction to location or client as directed by the Umbrella company. There's also a clause that says they will pay me a basic salary equivalent to the national minimum wage. What stops them paying me this and pocketing the rest ?

This doesn't seem right, surely I'm in control of the contracts I take on and the Umbrella is just there to provide a service despite the fact they're classed as my employer. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Jungleboogy

This is pretty standard; your umbrella company acts as your employer and is therefore required to have a contract of employment. The various terms that you have cited are common and have been included to ensure that your umbrella company is operating an overarching contract of employment; not the most straightforward thing in the world to explain but, basically, it means that the assignments you work under whilst being employed by the umbrella company are deemed to be temporary locations and you are therefore entitled to claim travel expenses.

With regard to your concerns about the umbrella company pocketing your cash I can only suggest that you look how long the company has been about, whether or not they are part of a larger group, ask for recommendations from colleagues etc. etc

HTH

[dbviolet]

What umbrella company are you with? A good umbrella company should not be 'pocketing' the rest of your wage.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

What umbrella company are you with? A good umbrella company should not be 'pocketing' the rest of your wage.

I don't think the OP was saying that the umbrella company was pocketing his cash; I think he was questioning how he could be sure that the company was financially stable and reputable