Unreliable Umbrella- Not being paid on time- Furious

[XOnline]

I'm furious.

I'm an agency worker and work via a reputable Umbrella Company. But they NEVER pay me on time anymore. Like most agency workers, I am due to be paid on a Friday every week. My agency has confirmed they release the funds on a Wednesday via BACS to the Umbrella Company, which reaches them around Friday. But the money doesn't arrive in my account until the following Tuesday despite receiving a text message from my Umbrella on a Friday (ie Pay Day) saying the funds are being transferred the same day and an e-mail with a copy of my Pay Slip, but no actual funds have come through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their reason? Apparently due to the funds reaching them on a Friday from my agency, it takes a further two working days for it to be cleared into my account. Here's how I know they're lying:

1. A family member of mine works with the same Umbrella Company too! Although they work through a different agency, they submit their Timesheets at the same time as me and the funds are also sent to them via BACS ie it reaches them the same time my agency's do and my family member always gets paid on time!

2. They charge £30 per Timesheet for CHAPS service!!!!!!!!!!

Am I being unreasonable? What is going on? How can I change this? Please help!

[GazCol]

I'm furious.

I'm an agency worker and work via a reputable Umbrella Company. But they NEVER pay me on time anymore. Like most agency workers, I am due to be paid on a Friday every week. My agency has confirmed they release the funds on a Wednesday via BACS to the Umbrella Company, which reaches them around Friday. But the money doesn't arrive in my account until the following Tuesday despite receiving a text message from my Umbrella on a Friday (ie Pay Day) saying the funds are being transferred the same day and an e-mail with a copy of my Pay Slip, but no actual funds have come through!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Their reason? Apparently due to the funds reaching them on a Friday from my agency, it takes a further two working days for it to be cleared into my account. Here's how I know they're lying:

1. A family member of mine works with the same Umbrella Company too! Although they work through a different agency, they submit their Timesheets at the same time as me and the funds are also sent to them via BACS ie it reaches them the same time my agency's do and my family member always gets paid on time!

2. They charge £30 per Timesheet for CHAPS service!!!!!!!!!!

Am I being unreasonable? What is going on? How can I change this? Please help!

Who do you bank with? The delay isn't necessarily the fault of the agency.

[northernladuk]

Have you taken this up with your umbrella seems they are your employer? If Friday is in your contract then point this out to them and see what their response is. I wouldn't personally start comparing my situation with anyone else. Just try sort your issue out first and see if you can come to a quick conclusion. If they seem to be skirting around the issue just ask for it to be escalated, or speak to the next line of management. They are your employer and you have a contract so they should take it seriously.

Make sure you have a detail script of payments over the last period highlighting delays and give them the option to investigate each instance. Just shouting down the phone won't help them resolve your issue.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

If the umbrella company pays you through BACs then I would expect it to arrive in your account on Tuesday morning if it had been processed through their bank on the Friday. The only way it may get to your account more quickly would be if you happened to bank with the same bank as your umbrella company (which may be the case for your relative) or if they were to pay you via Fastpay (which most of the bigger umbrella companies do now) it would then hit your account on Monday or if you paid for a CHAPs transfer which would guarantee that funds arrived in your account on the same day that you were paid. As an aside, £30 for a CHAPs transfer fee does seem excessive.

[XOnline]

Who do you bank with? The delay isn't necessarily the fault of the agency.

Seems highly unlikely to be my bank (Natwest). I know they've had their issues in the past, but I've asked others who bank with Natwest and it's not them. To make sure I even called Natwest and they said nothing had come into my account.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Seems highly unlikely to be my bank (Natwest). I know they've had their issues in the past, but I've asked others who bank with Natwest and it's not them. To make sure I even called Natwest and they said nothing had come into my account.

Please refer to my post above - that's not necessarily why you were being asked the question

[XOnline]

If the umbrella company pays you through BACs then I would expect it to arrive in your account on Tuesday morning if it had been processed through their bank on the Friday. The only way it may get to your account more quickly would be if you happened to bank with the same bank as your umbrella company (which may be the case for your relative) or if they were to pay you via Fastpay (which most of the bigger umbrella companies do now) it would then hit your account on Monday or if you paid for a CHAPs transfer which would guarantee that funds arrived in your account on the same day that you were paid. As an aside, £30 for a CHAPs transfer fee does seem excessive.

My family member and I are with the same bank- Natwest and we're with the same Umbrella Company. She gets paid on time and I don't. Both of ours are processed via BACS. I read a thread on this forum about being charged £12.50 for CHAPS and the other posters regarded this as extortionate. I know the other big, reputable ones do it for free.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

My family member and I are with the same bank- Natwest and we're with the same Umbrella Company. She gets paid on time and I don't. Both of ours are processed via BACS. I read a thread on this forum about being charged £12.50 for CHAPS and the other posters regarded this as extortionate. I know the other big, reputable ones do it for free.

Do your payslips both have the same processing date? Have you addressed this with your umbrella company and what did they say?

[XOnline]

Who do you bank with? The delay isn't necessarily the fault of the agency.

You asked whom I bank with. I replied it's NatWest.

I didn't mention it was the fault of the agency. They process it on a Wednesday via BACS. They're reliable. I think it's the Umbrella Company. Doesn't seem to add up! Should I contact my agency to inform them, will they be able to liaise on my behalf?

[original PM]

I have to add having worked for (e.g. at the offices of) a large brolly it was a very common complaint we got...

Simple fact is BACS takes 3 days - and the contract with your agency says they will pay your invoice value on the wwednesday to be with your employer on Friday - which they are doing.

The agency does not have a contract with you they have a contract with the umbrella to supply you.

You have a contract with the umbrella - who will pay you by BACS on the same day they get paid from the brolly which means it hits your account on Tuesday.

CHAPS being £30 tells me pretty much which brolly you are with - the cost to them is about £3 - and guess what that is a great revenue stream for them so why would they bother with fast pay?

Thing is if you get paid weekly then budget Tuesday to Tuesday - not Friday to Friday - I never could understand people who would pay CHAPS so they got paid on Friday - whatever you do it is 7 days between payments - so save your £30.