Founded in 2017, Umbrella Company UK is a leading payroll service for contractors. The company is FCSA accredited and processes payroll for thousands of workers each week.
In this guide, we look at the service provided by UCUK in depth, including some Q&As. Scroll down for more!
Key Facts about UCUK
Excellent reputation – 4.6/5.0 score on Trustpilot.
Accurate and transparent take home pay calculations.
Streamlined onboarding process.
Access to a wide range of benefits, including: Statutory Sick Pay, Maternity/Paternity Pay, £25 million insurance, Same Day Faster Payments.
Access to an online portal (making it easy to view payslips etc.), and more!
Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) accreditation. To obtain membership, Umbrella Company UK underwent a series of audits. Their internal processes are reviewed annually to ensure they continue to abide by the FCSA’s strict Codes of Compliance.
Special offer for Contract Eye visitors – £12/week margin
Umbrella Company UK is running a special promotion for Contract Eye readers. You can join today and benefit from a special £12 per week margin. Terms and conditions apply.
Summary of Umbrella Company UK’s service and perks
Special £12 per week margin for the readers of Contract Eye.
Salary sacrifice available – contact Umbrella Company UK for more information.
Dedicated onboarding department to ensure the smooth transition from registration to being paid.
Ongoing support from dedicated Employee Support Department.
Same Day Faster Payments.
Statutory employee benefits.
Comprehensive insurance cover – £10 million Employers Liability Insurance, £10 million Public Liability Insurance and £5 million Professional Indemnity Insurance through our highly trusted insurance provider.
Trustworthy service from an accredited FCSA member.
Access to a state of the art portal – making it easy to view payslips.
Payment alerts via SMS.
Multiple payroll runs every day – to ensure you are paid on time.
No hidden fees and a transparent service from the very beginning.
The following questions have been answered by Andrew Trodden, Marketing Manager at Umbrella Company UK.
How do you keep your margin at such a competitive rate?
In such a competitive marketplace, our margin must be attractive while ensuring we generate enough revenue to continue to provide a reliable service, use the very-best payroll software and invest in ongoing improvements. We’re fully aware that some umbrella companies charge what we believe to be extremely high weekly margins. Rather than trying to generate a few extra pounds each time we process a workers’ payroll, we prefer to offer a low, competitive margin – while ensuring our service remains industry-leading.
What is UCUK most proud of as one of the UK’s leading umbrella companies?
Umbrella Company UK is very proud to be an accredited member of the FCSA because we strongly believe it’s the best way for us to showcase our dedication to compliance. Obtaining FCSA membership is a great achievement because there are several complex processes to go through, including audits and assessments from independent professionals. We are also required to undergo annual audits to show that we not only remain compliant with UK tax rules and regulations, but we adapt quickly to any legislative changes within the sector and stay ahead of the competition.
I must add that we are also very pleased with our Trustpilot reviews. Our score of 4.6/5.0 is testament to the high-quality service we provide all of our employees.
Do your umbrella clients have any perks or extras?
Our umbrella company service includes plenty of perks and “extras”. Payroll is run multiple times daily, ensuring our employees are paid on time. We also provide every employee with comprehensive insurance cover and access to an app designed to make their lives easier (when viewing payslips).
Based on employee feedback, we have also transformed the onboarding process to ensure that it runs smoothly and that everyone who joins us is entirely comfortable with how our PAYE service works. The idea is to support every newly registered employee throughout the registration process to the moment they are paid for the first time. However, once they are paid and issued a payslip, the support doesn’t stop. We have a dedicated Customer Support Department who are on hand to provide help and assistance as and when needed – and they can be contacted during usual working hours via email and phone. We truly value feedback from our employees and always look to make improvements where possible.
Regarding extras, we provide a salary sacrifice service for contractors interested in tax-efficiently boosting a personal pension pot. The margin for this service is slightly higher to cover the additional administrative responsibilities, but it still provides unrivalled value for money.
With the umbrella market under renewed scrutiny, how does UCUK demonstrate its compliance with UK tax laws?
Transparency is essential. While our FCSA accreditation shows we are dedicated to compliance, we go the extra mile to reassure our clients we operate in accordance with HMRC’s rules and regulations. For example, we are fully aware there have been a few cases of umbrellas failing to clearly show the deductions they have been making on employee payslips. We provide our employees with a demonstration payslip upon joining us – to reassure them they’ll be paid compliantly and transparently – and that we have absolutely nothing and they have nothing to worry about. We also encourage every contractor and freelancer using an umbrella for payroll (not just those using Umbrella Company UK) to use the FCSA’s free payslip review feature if they suspect any unethical deductions or unusual activity has occurred.
