Umbrella rejected to sign contract with a Swiss agency.

[istvan]

I got a contract through a Swiss agency (I am not moving to Switzerland) and tried to get paid through my favorite umbrella company in UK (name withheld), but they would not sign the contract. The umbrella said that there are three issues that they have with the contract and the agent does not want to budge on them, so they will not sign it.

1) Agent will not pay the cost of foreign wire transfer, so they want to charge it on the umbrella – umbrella will not accept this.

2) Agent has a penalty clause to be paid by the umbrella if the contractor/employee of the umbrella performing the services commits a fraud or intentionally damages the client – umbrella would like this to be removed.

3) Agent wants Swiss law applied to the contract in case of a dispute – umbrella wants UK law.

What do I do? Are there any umbrella companies who would not have a problem with this and would be able to come up with a compromise?

Thanks for your advice, comments.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Re; the first point it is quite typical that the sender will pay the costs of a foreign transfer at their end and the recipient would pay it at the other end so can't see that there is a problem there.

Not sure that the second point would be legally enforceable as, in reality, the umbrella company would have no control over the actions of the contractor

Any company in the UK would probably be uneasy about point 3 as, unless a member of your legal team was conversant in Swiss law, you would be at an immediate disadvantage in the event of a dispute. However, you could have the point qualified dependent on the type of dispute.

To be honest I am not sure that I would take this on without further discussion with the Swiss client about levels of responsibility

[captainham]

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[NotAllThere]

Why is it through a Swiss agency? Is it working remotely for a Swiss company? Or is it a UK job that other agencies might have?

Point 1 - The cost of the transfer will come out of your fee, just like employers NI - so why would the brolly have a problem with this. It's just an expense.
Point 2 - should be covered by you having professional indemnity insurance
Point 3 - TBH, having worked under both systems for many years, I'd be hard pressed to say which has the advantage. If a company won't sign a contract under another country's laws, there's little you can do to change that.

Try a Swiss brolly/payroll company - maybe you could work through them as a UK sole-trader. Or set up your own ltd company, contract through to the agency through that. Or go through another contractors ltd co, as an employee.

[BlasterBates]

If it's through a Swiss agency subject to Swiss Law and you're not in Switzerland sounds unnecessarily complicated. I would be inclined to reject it.

There may well be Swiss tax implications ...even if you never set foot in Switzerland, even if it's to fight with some tax official to prove you aren't there. Effectively this sounds like Swiss sourced income.

I have to pay US tax because I own US shares and I have to fill out a US tax form every year, otherwise I get barred from trading US shares.

Sounds like hassle, expecially if you bill a Swiss company for work in the UK.

You really need some advice from an accountant who is familiar with providing services to Switzerland for businesses that remain fully resident in the UK.

[istvan]

Why is it through a Swiss agency? Is it working remotely for a Swiss company? Or is it a UK job that other agencies might have?

Point 1 - The cost of the transfer will come out of your fee, just like employers NI - so why would the brolly have a problem with this. It's just an expense.
Point 2 - should be covered by you having professional indemnity insurance
Point 3 - TBH, having worked under both systems for many years, I'd be hard pressed to say which has the advantage. If a company won't sign a contract under another country's laws, there's little you can do to change that.

Try a Swiss brolly/payroll company - maybe you could work through them as a UK sole-trader. Or set up your own ltd company, contract through to the agency through that. Or go through another contractors ltd co, as an employee.

The Swiss agency is the sole provider to a Swiss client, at least this is what my insider contact at the client tells me. The assignment is providing project management services accross 7 Central Eastern European countries, primarily working from home, although it requires some travel initially to all countries involved (2 to 3 countries managed at a time). I do not need to travel to Switzerland (only a few days perhaps), and as an EU citizen, I have no problem spending a few days in each of these countries. I would not have to deal with invoicing or contracts, being employed by an umbrella. This was my initial thought.

[istvan]

If it's through a Swiss agency subject to Swiss Law and you're not in Switzerland sounds unnecessarily complicated. I would be inclined to reject it.

There may well be Swiss tax implications ...even if you never set foot in Switzerland, even if it's to fight with some tax official to prove you aren't there. Effectively this sounds like Swiss sourced income.

I have to pay US tax because I own US shares and I have to fill out a US tax form every year, otherwise I get barred from trading US shares.

Sounds like hassle, expecially if you bill a Swiss company for work in the UK.

You really need some advice from an accountant who is familiar with providing services to Switzerland for businesses that remain fully resident in the UK.

Well, working through a brolly, I would be insulated from the complexities between two companies and from the Swiss agent. All business transactions would be between them and I would simply be an employee of a UK company (the umbrella).

[NotAllThere]

...
There may well be Swiss tax implications ...even if you never set foot in Switzerland, even if it's to fight with some tax official to prove you aren't there. Effectively this sounds like Swiss sourced income...

It is Swiss sourced income, but there are no Swiss tax implications. Anymore than my working remotely for a UK company with occasional visits to the UK has any UK tax implications.

If the employer is offshore (like those teachers working through that off-shore brolly), there is no NI to pay, only income tax.

Get some proper tax advice as recommended. You might also find talking to your tax office could be useful. Sometimes they can be quite helpful!

[istvan]

Thanks guys, you are most helpful. Of course, the best solution would have been a limited, but I guess it is too late now.