Use an Umbrella Company and concentrate on what you do best...
Take some of the admin work required to run your own business off your plate, less stress and more time for you!
What are the benefits of an Umbrella Company?
Think of an umbrella company as an intermediary between you and your client. No worrying about filling out tax returns. No hassles deducting tax and national insurance payments. They’re all done for you.
You don’t even need to raise invoices for each of your clients!
All you need to do is fill out a timesheet, send it to your contact at the umbrella company and they’ll sort out getting paid. Your client will pay your umbrella company. Your umbrella company will deduct tax, national insurance, and their fee, and you get the rest in your pay packet.
Phew! Does that mean no more tax returns?
One of the biggest downsides of running your own business is having to do tax returns. With an umbrella company, you don’t have to.
Nor do you have to handle all the admin of invoicing, gathering receipts, and ensuring you make the right tax and national insurance deductions. The umbrella company has people to do that for you.
That means less stress and more time for you!
Working for yourself has never been easier
For fast payments and great customer service speak to a member of our friendly team:
Will I qualify for all statutory employment benefits?
Another of the big perks of being part of an umbrella company is the access you get to statutory sick pay, holiday pay, and paternity/maternity leave pay. Many limited companies and sole trader contractors won’t get these.
Of course, the umbrella firm will expect a fee for all these benefits you are getting. And you will be paying more tax than if you are employed as a limited company.
You just need to ask yourself, is it worth sacrificing some income to get more time to work (and play) and less hassle when it comes to the admin side of being self-employed?
Calculate your take home pay
Makes working for yourself easy.
Based on standard assumptions.
This calculator works out the take-home earnings for you based on working a 40 hour week. Please note these numbers are a guide and it is best to get an individual quote based on your exact working circumstances.
Just starting out and not quite sure?
If you are just starting out as a freelancer or contractor or planning on working on short-term assignments, operating through an umbrella company is a great option.
You will become an employee of the umbrella company, giving you a taste of the best of both worlds:
The flexibility of being self-employed and picking and choosing your assignments, coupled with the same benefits and security enjoyed by permanent workers.
We make working for yourself easy!
1
Get started in around 24 hours
Be in a position to maximise your earnings from day one with us.
2
A flexible solution for the self-employed
Our umbrella company gives you a payroll solution that just works.
3
Know when you are getting paid
Friday is payday. Every week. No worrying when the money’s coming.
4
The peace of mind of knowing you are insured
With our solution, you get protected at no extra cost with contractor insurance.
5
Support from a professional team
Our friendly and expert team are there to help you Monday to Friday.
6
Always-on access to your account online
All the information about your account is available for you to view online 24/7.
Umbrella Company Myth Busting
Here we tackle some of the main misconceptions about umbrella companies:
Do umbrella companies deduct their employer’s national insurance from their workers’ pay?
This is not the case. Employer’s National Insurance is a sum that is factored into the contract sum (assignment rate) that is agreed between Spectrum Payroll Solutions and our clients, ON TOP of the worker’s pay.
We are always transparent about how we calculate our employees’ gross pay. The various company costs we incur, plus our employer’s national insurance are all included in the reconciliation statements that we send out with payslips. If workers are paid direct via a client or recruitment agency, the employer’s National Insurance and other costs still have to be factored in somewhere along the line.
Are umbrella companies dodgy?
Umbrella companies provide workers engaged in multiple different assignments with legitimate and continuous employment. Like any other sector of business, there are some umbrella companies who like to bend the rules, and these seem to tarnish the good reputation of the rest.
Spectrum Payroll Solutions operates strictly within the rules and regulations and in a totally transparent manner. We give all of our employees a clear employment contract, full statutory rights, and straightforward illustrations of how their pay will be calculated.
Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) also ensure that employees of umbrella companies receive at least the same rate of pay and employee rights as colleagues employed on a full-time basis.
Have the benefits of working for an umbrella company all gone now?
Not so. Spectrum Payroll Solutions provides continuous employment for its freelance and contract workers, and that is important when it comes to applying for things like mortgages and loans.
Also, our employees get full statutory rights for sick pay, holiday pay, and maternity/paternity payments. And some of our workers are also able to claim on travel and subsistence expenses that they might not be able to do if not employed by our umbrella company.
Why do some umbrella companies pay higher net rates than others?
If an umbrella company is complying with all rules and regulations, there should be little difference between the pay rate the worker receives. Some companies can call themselves umbrella companies but actually only pay temporary workers.
Others do not give their employees over-arching employment contracts, so their workers do not get the same employment rights as we offer. And they offer no guarantees that the correct tax and national insurance contributions are being paid. We do.
Working for yourself has never been easier
For fast payments and a great customer service speak to a member of our friendly team: