Complete Newbie In Need Of Umbrella Help!!!

**ChimpMaster** · 8 August 2006, 15:02

Originally posted by Whitey31

Hi there people,

I am in a bit of a sticky situation at the moment with a job that i've just been offered and am in need of some no nonsense, straight forward, simple to understand, pro's and con's type advice which includes what to look out for type advice on what best to do please!!

To cut a long story short I have always been employed as a long term contractor via both Manpower and more recently Adecco, paid monthly, holiday and sick pay, just like a perm job really, and they sort out all tax and nic etc etc, but I recently got made redundant from that.

This other position has come up somewhere else which has been offered to me as a contractor role being paid a certain amount of money per day - not what i'm used to but hey its all looks the same in the bank so I didn't really care about that although I found a daily rate an odd way of doing it!

Anyway, I phoned 'Ajilon' to register as requested by the company concerned and this is where the problem has started - the guy expected me to either have my own company set up, or if I didn't, said that I would need to use something called an 'Umbrella' company who would supply that service for me.

Now to put it in plain terms, I know absolutely nothing about any of this, in fact up until about 24 hours ago I had never even heard of Umbrella companies, and frankly this isn't a route that I have ever wanted to take (being a one-man-band type approach) - basically I want to go to work, get paid, and whoever it is that pays me takes care of the rest and I dont have to worry about anything like tax or nics or anything that seems to go along with all of this - which maybe seems odd to all you seasoned pro's out there, but I like a hassle free life and thats just what I prefer!

Now this job may last me 1 month, it may last me 12 months, I don't know at the moment because as I am on the lookout for a permanent role, and when the right one comes up i'll be off. The salary for this contractor role isn't exactly anything special either (works out to about £31k a year before you deduct holidays and sick etc if you add it all up) so there is nothing special there to make the potential hassle worthwhile in my eyes.

So basically, for the position that i'm in, bearing in mind that what I know about tax, the law, liability etc etc, what i can and cant do etc, what i do or dont need to know to do enter into this etc, could quite easily be written on a small post-it note, should I just walk away and say thanks but no thanks?

If I went for it via an Umbrella, what are the potential pitfalls and down sides to Umbrella companies? And if i did it this way, are there any implications to anything else in the future that I need to be aware of?

I guess what I need to know is....is it simply a case of you join one, they pay you, they sort out absolutely everything else to do with tax and that lot without me ever needing to know anything about it, and then when I want to leave and go to a permanent job, you just tell them and thats that, thankyou and goodbye?

If i've missed off any specific info that that will make a difference to advice as to what I should or shouldn't do then just let me know and I will answer as best I can, but other than that any advice that anyone wants to offer will be very gratefully received!!

wow that's a log message.

**DaveB** · 8 August 2006, 15:07

Look to your right on the screen. See the box marked CUK Navigation. See the link in there "First Timers". Click on it.

COme back when you've done that and we might be able to help.

**VectraMan** · 8 August 2006, 15:16

When you start with an umbrella, always face into the wind. Facing away from the wind will just cause you more problems.

Hope that helps.

**Whitey31** · 8 August 2006, 15:26

Yes thanks for that but I have already looked at many and varied different pages to do with being a 'First Timer' both here and elsewhere and this is the reason that I now want some 'HELP' from people who are in the know - what I wanted was some actual advice from people who have been there and done it rather than just reading off pages and pages of stuff to do with it which has little real life meaning to me right now and which doesn't help me decide whether for the position i'm in if this is the right move to make or not.

The reason that I am on here asking is that I have already done the looking, and still don't know what to do.

**malvolio** · 8 August 2006, 15:33

Ermm... The First Timer guides were written by the people in the know. The PCG one was written by a small group of very knowledgable contractors for example (naming no names...). Has it not occurred that the reason there are "pages and pages" is becuase it is a big subject?

Now stop panicking, have a cup of tea and start to listen. We will help if you ask a sensible question. "Tell me everything" is not a sensible question...

And in the short term, go sign up with Parasol, just to get you working and to give you time to understand what it is you're now doing for a living.

**Pondlife** · 8 August 2006, 15:37

First read this;
http://forums.contractoruk.com/thread7487.html

Which explains what an umbrella co does and the difference between that and the more common route of having your own Ltd Co.

Next search this site for umbrella recommendations - avoiding anything with a 4 in its name or one that promises you can pay no tax because they've discussed it with HMRC and they said it was ok (they didn't and it's not)

Also read;
http://www.pcg.org.uk/cms/index.php?...ownload&gid=27

And
http://www.contractoruk.com/first_timers/index.html

Both have a wealth of information that should give you a better understanding of what you're getting yourself into and some of the pitfalls.

Also remember that google is your friend for most things.

If you're still struggling try http://www.contractorumbrella.com/

Never used them myself but they seem the most reputable based on other threads.

Remember IT'S YOUR MONEY! Don't give it away if you don't have to.

p.s. Welcome to contracting.

**Newby** · 8 August 2006, 15:39

You get rough time in here if you dont read threads and guides before posting.

Check out the sticky thread to find out the explanation of an umbrella company.

The main/only advantage is that you get to offset your expenses against your income to realise some tax savings.

If the umbrella is any good then all you should have to do is send in your timesheet and wait for the money.(usually two days after the umbrella gets the money from the agent). When you want to leave, you just leave.

So it should be pain free and as simple as that.

However this isnt the case. It would seem that it is a complete pain in the arse and if you read anything on here about Giant, Prosperity4 and even some contractors have had bad experiences with Parasol.

Contractor Umbrella get as much praise as any on here, I worked with Giant(regretable) and I worked with Filetravel before and they were pretty good, and paid on time and accurately.

Await the barrage of - set up your own company its not that hard! comments.

I did that and it works fine, but it isnt as simple as working through an umbrella.

**VectraMan** · 8 August 2006, 15:45

Setup your own company, it's not that hard.

But if you really don't want to, and you don't think you'll be sticking at this for very long, I had very good experiences with Parasol, although I did leave just before the trouble started (I think they've sorted things out now).

http://www.parasolit.co.uk/it/

**Newby** · 8 August 2006, 15:47

Await the barrage of - set up your own company its not that hard! comments.

The trap was set....
Vectraman stepped right into it.

Complete Newbie In Need Of Umbrella Help!!!