First Time Contract Worker

**DimPrawn** · 1 July 2008, 13:27

I have no idea, but I think you are the sort of "contractor" Dawn Primarolo had in mind when she dreamt up the phrases "silly contractors" and "disguised employees".

**milanbenes** · 1 July 2008, 13:29

this is shirley a windup ?

Danny Pearson, is this your real name ?

Milan.

**dannypearson** · 1 July 2008, 13:53

I have no idea, but I think you are the sort of "contractor" Dawn Primarolo had in mind when she dreamt up the phrases "silly contractors" and "disguised employees".

OK, thanks for your useful comment.

this is shirley a windup ?

Danny Pearson, is this your real name ?

Milan.

I don't see how my name is relevant to my question?

Does anyone actually have anything useful to contribute?

**dannypearson** · 1 July 2008, 14:03

I have no idea, but I think you are the sort of "contractor" Dawn Primarolo had in mind when she dreamt up the phrases "silly contractors" and "disguised employees".

Er, ok, thanks for taking the time to post such a constructive and useful comment

this is shirley a windup ?

Danny Pearson, is this your real name ?

Milan.

I don't see how my name has any relevance to my question?

The holiday pay thing was dreamed up by our masters in Euroland...

Does this mean that it is a legal requirement for them to deduct money from me then?

Apologies in advance if this is a stupid question (which from the tone of Dimprawn's response it may be), but I am totally new to contract work and was not told that this was contract work until I had started the job. I've tried searching for this information but to no avail. Is anyone able to help in anyway? Preferably without being patronising or condescending!

**The Lone Gunman** · 1 July 2008, 18:42

Originally posted by dannypearson View Post

Preferably without being patronising or condescending!

That comes with the territory mate, we cant help it. Especialy with newbies posting serious questions in the general thread instead of the serious advice threads.
We also do not lightly give our hard earned knowledge away.
You seem to somehow be taking it out on because because you are too dumb to understand the contract you signed!

As I understand it you are an employee of your brolly and therefore are entitled to holidays holiday pay probably earned at 1.8 days per month or whatever permies get these days. The client only pays when you are on deck so when you take holidays the brolly needs to have funds to pay you as an employee.

Grow some balls, drop the brolly and start your own Ltd.

I am not qualified to give this advice. I have never used a brolly company.

**basshead** · 1 July 2008, 19:27

Originally posted by The Lone Gunman View Post

Grow some balls

Originally posted by The Lone Gunman View Post

I am not qualified to give this advice.

**Integrity** · 1 July 2008, 19:33

Originally posted by dannypearson View Post

Hi,
I've just started a new job through an agency, and have since found out that it is actually contract work rather than agency work.

The umbrella company who arranges my payroll (orangegenie) deduct around £16 per week from my wages which they class as holiday pay. I can then claim this back as and when I chose to take any holiday.

Firstly, this is obviously not "holiday pay", it's just a delayed payment of money that I have already earned. Am I right in thinking that, as a contract worker, I'm not entitled to holiday pay?

Secondly, if I'm not entitled to holiday pay, why is it that companies have to deduct money for holidays? Surely if I know I'm not entitled to holiday pay, it is my responsibility to make adequate provisions for taking time off?

Is it actually a legal requirement for umbrella companies to deduct holiday pay from me? If so, am I able to opt out of this? The company says that I can claim this money back at any time, but I'd rather not have to fill out request forms each week!

The easiest way to think of a brolly, is to think of them as just another agency in the chain taking a cut. It is not quite true, but good enough. They are actually taking more of a cut that normal, so they have money to pay your holiday. This may be a more cynical view than other's posts, but there you have it.

**Gonzo** · 1 July 2008, 21:45

Originally posted by Integrity View Post

The easiest way to think of a brolly, is to think of them as just another agency in the chain taking a cut. It is not quite true, but good enough. They are actually taking more of a cut that normal, so they have money to pay your holiday. This may be a more cynical view than other's posts, but there you have it.

If you were the agency why go to the expense of putting someone on your payroll, being responsible for employers NI, and also for holiday pay?

Much more straight-forward to put the temp through an umbrella company so that they are responsible for employers NI and holiday pay themselves.

Is this an "unintended consequence" of improving the employment rights for temporary employees?

And, more importantly, is it good news for contractors.

**dannypearson** · 2 July 2008, 07:35

Originally posted by zeitghost

As far as I recall, my mate, who also works through Orange Genie has to jump through the same sort of hoops to get his money...

This nonsense was brought in to suit some directive or other from Brussels.

I suspect that you'll probably have to live with it.

P.S. The signal to noise ratio is awful in General, you're much more likely to get sensible answers to questions in Accounting or Business.

Thank you, that's the sort of answer I was looking for!

That comes with the territory mate, we cant help it. Especialy with newbies posting serious questions in the general thread instead of the serious advice threads.
We also do not lightly give our hard earned knowledge away.

Firstly, as somebody totally new to this I looked at the forum headers and they all related to IT contractors, which I'm not, so I went for the general thread.
Secondly, having knowledge (hard-earned or otherwise) doesn't make you better than people who haven't learnt it yet. Get off your high horses!

You seem to somehow be taking it out on because because you are too dumb to understand the contract you signed!

I've been doing various temporary jobs since January. I received a phone call from an agency offering me a job. I went to the interview. I started work. I received the contract a few days later. It wasn't until after the contract was signed that I received a phone call from the umbrella company advising me that I was actually a contract worker, not a temp. Admittedly I should've read the contract properly, but at the same time I wasn't informed at any stage that this was going to be anything other than standard temporary work.

As I understand it you are an employee of your brolly and therefore are entitled to holidays holiday pay probably earned at 1.8 days per month or whatever permies get these days. The client only pays when you are on deck so when you take holidays the brolly needs to have funds to pay you as an employee.

If I'm entitled to holiday pay then surely I should actually get holiday pay? This is just a delayed payment of money I've already earned and am entitled to. If I'm not entitled to any holiday pay, why do they need to take money from me?

The easiest way to think of a brolly, is to think of them as just another agency in the chain taking a cut. It is not quite true, but good enough. They are actually taking more of a cut that normal, so they have money to pay your holiday. This may be a more cynical view than other's posts, but there you have it.

I thought this would be the case. They're obviously earning interest off the money they deduct from me as well as their fees.

First Time Contract Worker