Seeking A Good Umbrella Company

[hitman126]

Hello,

I have been operating my own limited company for nearly 20 years and during that time, worked outside of IR35 on every single contract.

For the first time however, I have recently secured a new contract that is inside IR35 and wish to explore the best Umbrella company options
available to me. I am therefore seeking Umbrella Company recommendations, with particular emphasis on a company that can provide the
best value for money.

I've had some illustrations that are rather frankly far in excess of others and that has rang a few alarm bells. However, having read some of
the threads on this platform and on this same subject, I think it's safe to conclude that there shouldn't be much difference between take home
pay illustrations, provided they're legitimate and not falsified. Will this be a correct assumption on my part?

Thank you.

[GhostofTarbera]

So no need to put any large amounts of money in a sipp or your own pension then?




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[Paralytic]

Can you choose from the whole market or does your agency/client have a preferred supplier list you must choose from?

And, what do you mean "value for money"?

If you mean the cheapest weekly fee, there's only a few £s between them, so chose the one that has the services, options (eg, salary sacrifice, perks etc) that work for you.

If you mean which one will give you the most take-home pay, they should all be the same (or within rounding errors of each other). Any that looks too good to be true is and will likely leave you with HMRC coming after you in few years.

[lucyclarityumbrella]

Every umbrella should be netting you the same take home pay, so if you want to get the best value for money pick up the phone and make sure you get the right feeling from the company you want to engage with, make sure they can explain it all and at it present it seems, see how quickly they respond to you

[malvolio]

Firstly ignore any that don't work on a flat fee basis.

Then the quick test is to ask for an illustrative payslip, based on your actual numbers and tax code.

They should all come out with a few pounds of each other.

More than a few won't oblige, so cancel them. More than a few will offer something unrealistic, so ignore them. One or two will offer something that is both accurate and easily understood.

That's your short list.

[northernladuk]

Best value is Lucy at Clarity. I've been with her and had no problems at all. No idea how the charges compare but looking at the problems people are having with the big sausage factories then it's worth every penny. Can easily make the difference and much more up with the pension offering Clarity has allowing unlimited payments. No brainer IMO.

[hitman126]

Can you choose from the whole market or does your agency/client have a preferred supplier list you must choose from?

And, what do you mean "value for money"?

If you mean the cheapest weekly fee, there's only a few £s between them, so chose the one that has the services, options (eg, salary sacrifice, perks etc) that work for you.

If you mean which one will give you the most take-home pay, they should all be the same (or within rounding errors of each other). Any that looks too good to be true is and will likely leave you with HMRC coming after you in few years.

Thanks for the feedback @Paralytic. Yes, for "value for money", I was actually referring to those two key points, i.e. lowest possible fee, coupled with the most take-home pay.

[hitman126]

Firstly ignore any that don't work on a flat fee basis.

Then the quick test is to ask for an illustrative payslip, based on your actual numbers and tax code.

They should all come out with a few pounds of each other.

More than a few won't oblige, so cancel them. More than a few will offer something unrealistic, so ignore them. One or two will offer something that is both accurate and easily understood.

That's your short list.

Thanks @Malvolio. I think you're very much spot-on. I received an illustrative payslip from one company which frankly looked so inflated. Even more concerning for me was the fact that the illustration was
based on some arbitrary figure and not my actual daily rate which I'd provided.

[ladymuck]

Also worth asking if they do something odd with bonuses (that I have to say I don't understand in the slightest) as these arrangements seem to be causing some problem with CJRS (just thinking ahead in case your contract gets cancelled).

[hitman126]

Also worth asking if they do something odd with bonuses (that I have to say I don't understand in the slightest) as these arrangements seem to be causing some problem with CJRS (just thinking ahead in case your contract gets cancelled).

Hmmm, not sure I'm familiar with any umbrella bonus schemes either @ladymuck.