Top 10 best UK umbrella companies [2025 list]

Before you sign up with a contractor umbrella provider, please read some of our helpful guides first:

Here is a list of 10 of the UK’s top umbrella companies. They are all FCSA Accredited for compliance.

Trustpilot reviews mentioned below are correct as of January 2025.

Scroll down for a list of all FCSA and SafeRec-accredited umbrella companies.

Top 10 Umbrella Companies

1. Umbrella Company UK (Partner)

£10 per week – special offer for Contract Eye visitors!
FCSA Accredited Member.
SafeRec certified – all payslips are independently audited.
Founded by experts with over 20 years of industry experience.
Same-day faster payments.
£25 million insurance cover included.
Salary sacrifice is available to boost your pension.
No joining and leaving costs or other hidden fees.
Sign up in minutes.
Rated 4.8/5.0 on Trustpilot.
umbrellacompanyuk.co.uk
01707 669 023

2. Churchill Knight Umbrella (Partner)

Fantastic value – Contact the team for their best margin!
SafeRec Certified – Realtime payslip audits in place
Accredited by the FCSA.
The team behind CK Umbrella has 50+ years of contractor payroll expertise.
Employee Benefits – Continuity of employment, Sick Pay, Maternity/Paternity Pay.
Free Insurance (business liability and professional indemnity)
There is no tie-in period or hidden costs whatsoever.
Payments are made the same day (Faster Payments).
Exclusive employee reward scheme.
Rated 4.8/5.0 on Trustpilot.
churchill-knight.co.uk
01707 871622

3. SG Umbrella

From £12/week margin, no minimum contract.
Direct line to named contractor accountants – no call centres.
Reliable, accurate daily payments.
5* review ratings.
Rated 4.9/5.0 on Trustpilot.
sg-umbrella.co.uk
01962 896954

4. Clarity Umbrella

Simple, fast registration process.
First-class customer service, dedicated account manager.
Flexible pension scheme.
Competitive margin: £25/week, £95/month.
Rated 4.7/5.0 on Trustpilot.
clarityumbrella.co.uk
01473 845 835

5. Parasol

Leading umbrella with 20+ years of experience.
Same-day payments at no extra cost.
£20m comprehensive insurance package, as standard.
Switch to and from your limited company with a dual umbrella solution.
Rated 4.8/5.0 on Trustpilot.
parasolgroup.co.uk
01925 645 265

6. Workwell Umbrella

Simple set-up process. You can be up and running in minutes.
30+ years of experience supporting contractors.
Over 30,000 workers use Workwell solutions.
FCSA Accredited firm.
Rated 4.7/5.0 on Trustpilot.
umbrella.workwellsolutions.com
01923 257 257

7. Paystream

FCSA accredited and an APSCo trusted partner.
Established over 20 years ago.
Salary sacrifice option to pay into your personal pension.
Past winner of Contracting Awards
Rated 4.8/5.0 on Trustpilot.
paystream.co.uk/umbrella/
0161 516 2128

8. Brookson One

Over 20 years of experience.
APSco, REC partner + FCSA accredited.
Move between umbrella and limited with Brookson Flex.
Set up in as little as 24 hours.
Rated 4.5/5.0 on Trustpilot.
brooksonone.co.uk/services/umbrella-company/
0800 230 0213

9. Danbro Umbrella

Over 25 years of experience.
Accredited with IIP, ISO, and the FCSA.
£28/week margin.
Host of rewards and exclusive benefits.
Rated 4.5/5.0 on Trustpilot.
https://umbrellacompany.co.uk/
01253 600140

10. Umbrella.co.uk

FCSA accredited and an APSCo partner.
Fast set-up, same-day payments.
Flexible pension arrangements.
No hidden fees.
Rated 4.7/5.0 on Trustpilot.
https://www.umbrella.co.uk
01625 546 610

Would you like us to include your umbrella company here?

Email us for further details if you’d like to add your umbrella company to this directory.

Some golden umbrella company rules

Only use UK-based PAYE umbrella companies.
Make sure the umbrella has been audited by FCSA and/or Professional Passport (see below).
SafeRec (and others) provide paycheck validation to prove that no unlawful deductions have been made from your payslips.
Don’t be tempted to use an ‘offshore’ tax avoidance vehicle or schemes that promise to save you tax.
The only difference in your take-home pay between providers should be the umbrella company’s fee.
You can switch providers later if an umbrella does not meet your expectations.

Some questions to ask when choosing an umbrella company

Before you join an umbrella company, there are several important factors to consider, including:

How much does the umbrella cost?
Is it a UK-based PAYE umbrella? (if it isn’t, don’t go near it!)
Does the umbrella have a good reputation?
Are there any hidden extras, e.g. joining or leaving fees?
Are the umbrella’s payslips audited each time the payroll is run, e.g. by SafeRec?

Read more tips here – 15 tips to compare umbrella companies.

List of FCSA Accredited umbrella companies

Here is a list of umbrella companies tested for compliance with the FCSA Codes.

You can browse all FCSA-accredited firms (both umbrella and accountancy) here.

Advance
Azebra Group
Bishopsgate
Bright Sky Contracting
Brookson One
Carrington
Champion Contractors
Clipper
Contractor Umbrella
Cool Company
Crest Plus
Danbro
Dasa Umbrella
Exchequer Solutions
Fair Pay Services
Focused
ForeTwo Group
Generate
Giant Pay
Global Challenge
Husp
i4 Pay
iConsult
ICS
Indigo Group
JMK Group UK
Key
Liquid Friday
Mortimer Childe
MyPay
Nasa Group
New Red Planet
No Worries Umbrella
Numbermill
NWM
Oasis
Omnia
Orbital
Parasol
Payme
Payments Pro
Paystream
Pendragon
Quest Pay Solutions
Rebus
Riddingtons Payroll
Sapphire Contracting
Ship Shape
Smartwork
Sterling
Stonebridge
Trafalgar
Umbrella.co.uk
Umbrellaphant
We Contract
Your Sprightly

List of SafeRec certified umbrellas

SafeRec is an excellent payroll auditing software company. It proves that all payments made to umbrella employees have been processed compliantly and ethically and that taxes have been paid to HMRC.

Here is a list of SafeRec-certified umbrellas. You can view the latest list here.