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List of the best umbrella companies in the UK

Before you sign up with a contractor umbrella provider, make sure you read some of these useful guides first.

Here is a select list of some of the UK’s top umbrella companies. They are all FCSA Accredited.

Partner Umbrella Companies

Umbrella Company UK

  • Only £12.00 per week – amazing value!
  • FCSA Accredited Member.
  • Founded by experts with over 20 years of industry experience.
  • Upload your hours and expenses in minutes via an innovative app.
  • £25 million insurance cover included.
  • Refer your friends and earn rewards.
  • Perfect for public and private sector contractors
  • No joining and leaving costs, or other hidden fees.
  • Sign up in minutes.
  • umbrellacompanyuk.co.uk
  • 01707 669 023

Churchill Knight Umbrella

churchill knight

  • £12 per week 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)
  • No tie in period or hidden costs whatsoever.
  • Payments are made same day (Faster Payments).
  • 01707 871622
  • churchill-knight.co.uk

SG Umbrella

SG umbrella

  • Fully FCSA Accredited.
  • Fixed fee – £23/week or £85/month.
  • Half price offer available during month one/
  • Switch between umbrella and limited company accounting.
  • IR35 and tax-planning advice included.
  • No hidden fees, plus fixed-margin fees.
  • Contribute as much as you want into your pension – save tax and NICs.
  • sg-umbrella.co.uk
  • 01962 896954

More Umbrella Companies

Clarity Umbrella

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

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.
  • parasolgroup.co.uk
  • 01925 645 265

Paystream

  • FCSA Accredited and an APSCo partner.
  • Voted ‘Best Umbrella’ at the Contracting Awards 2023.
  • Supports salary sacrifice pension contributions.
  • 4.8/5 Trustpilot rating.
  • paystream.co.uk/
  • 0161 516 2128

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.
  • umbrella.workwellsolutions.com
  • 01923 257 257

Would you like us to include your umbrella company here?

If you’d like to add your umbrella company to this directory, simply email us for further details.

Some golden umbrella company rules

  • Only use a PAYE umbrella based in the UK.
  • Don’t be tempted to use an ‘offshore’ tax avoidance vehicle, or schemes which promise to save you tax.
  • The only difference in your take-home pay between providers should only be the umbrella company’s fee.
  • If an umbrella does not meet your expectations, you can easily switch providers at a later date.

Some questions to ask when choosing an umbrella company

Before you sign u with a new 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?
  • Has the company been audited by FCSA and/or Professional Passport?
  • 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 that have been tested for compliance with the FCSA Codes. We last updated this list in March 2024.

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

Professional Passport also carries out audits of contractor service providers.

You can view its list of approved umbrella providers here.

For some more reading, try how an umbrella company works, and what to look out for.

Last updated: 4th March 2024