New umbrella company required!

[aussiecontractor]

interesting

very interesting discussions in this thread.

i received my payslip today and the total was £1000 pounds LESS than my last one?!!

its going from bad to worse with this mob!

in addition i have requested a breakdown in pay twice verbally and in writing and still nothing.

hmmmmmmm

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

very interesting discussions in this thread.

i received my payslip today and the total was £1000 pounds LESS than my last one?!!

its going from bad to worse with this mob!

in addition i have requested a breakdown in pay twice verbally and in writing and still nothing.

hmmmmmmm

Could you tell what was different from your last payslip? Was it tax paid or deductions???

[The Spartan]

Well Im definitely going to be switching and making sure anyone I know who's contracting or going to be contracting in future avoids parasol

[Wary]

Well Im definitely going to be switching and making sure anyone I know who's contracting or going to be contracting in future avoids parasol

Who are going to change to?

Did Parasol ever provide you with the precise calculation that they use to derive "employer costs"?

[Wary]

Employment costs consist mainly of Employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NIC) but they also include amounts to cover your insurance costs, as well as enough funds in order to pay you should you be on sick leave or maternity leave etc.

The rate of Employer’s NIC is currently 13.8% of earnings above £136 per week.

At Parasol we calculate employment costs to be 13.8% of the invoice value we raise for your work, minus our margin and the NIC free amount of £136 per week. For example, if we raise an invoice for your work of £1,000 a week, the employment cost will be calculated as follows:

£1,000 - £27.50 Parasol margin - £136 NIC free allowance = £836.50

So in the example above the employment cost is £101.44

Now I think I understand how they do it

The difference between their employers costs calculation & the employers NI calculation is that the former does not deduct your expenses from the taxable amount whereas the latter does. Only the latter is paid to HMRC with them pocketing the difference. I'm only speculating but this would be consistent with Steve's calculation example & also Yehudi's claim on the other ongoing thread.

Does it make any kind of sense to levy additional fees against each individual contractor on the basis of 13.8% of their expenses claimed? Does a higher level of expenses increase Parasol's costs when processing their payroll? As this money is supposed to cover the element of sick & maternity pay they can't claim back, maybe they think that the higher your deductable expenses then the more likely you are to get sick or pregnant?!?

Or maybe the reason they do it this way is that to most, it will seem like a bona fide calculation of enployers NI but with a subtle difference that only the most astute & vigilant will detect? Certainly Steve's calculation had me fooled initially; it was only after reading Yehudi's post that the subtle difference dawned on me. Could it be that they take the stance that although it is perhaps not as fair as increasing the upfront fee across the board, the advantage to Parasol is that it is more easily hidden?

The fee could actually be much higher as Steve's calculations also exclude pension contributions. Do they also effectively tax these at 13.8% too?

[The Spartan]

Who are going to change to?

Did Parasol ever provide you with the precise calculation that they use to derive "employer costs"?

I'm going to switch umbrellas to ContractUmbrella, no hidden costs and there's always someone on hand to answer any questions I have.

[The Spartan]

The fee could actually be much higher as Steve's calculations also exclude pension contributions. Do they also effectively tax these at 13.8% too?

Whatever it is it's dishonest and it's definitely hidden, personally I believe a lot of people haven't questioned this Employment Costs issue at all.

[seabro]

WOW!

I have always trusted Parasol. I have been with them about 4-5 years.

I finished a contract in October and started another beginning this month.

I am yet to get my first payslip but if they are taking more than the agreed fee of 27.50 a week, I will 100% be leaving them. I will also be blogging about it and letting all the other contractors I know, know about it.

One thing I don't like is dishonesty and I really didn't expect it from Parasol.

[Wary]

WOW!

I have always trusted Parasol. I have been with them about 4-5 years.

I finished a contract in October and started another beginning this month.

I am yet to get my first payslip but if they are taking more than the agreed fee of 27.50 a week, I will 100% be leaving them. I will also be blogging about it and letting all the other contractors I know, know about it.

One thing I don't like is dishonesty and I really didn't expect it from Parasol.

If you're claiming expenses and/or making pension contributions, then yes, it would appear that they are taking more from you than the agreed fee.

Good idea to let as many people as possible know. Of course you shouldn't have to do this; rather Parasol should be letting all of their contractors know of these additional deductions and should have no qualms about doing so ... unless it is actually their intention to hide what they're doing from their employees.

[The Spartan]

I got paid from parasol recently and there was over a £100 in difference from what I got paid compared to what I would have gotten paid if I had been at ContractorUmbrella earlier than now. This took into account all expenses, fees and other contributions etc