Umbrella FAQ's

This article is intended to assist you in understanding your payslip and how each item is calculated.

A P87 form is the document for an Umbrella Employee to use to claim tax relief for expenses of employment.

Because you are essentially an employee, the rules for claiming expenses against your employment income are very strict.

On the whole, no. If you work under an umbrella company, HMRC will deem you to be a permanent employee and therefore can’t claim back costs such as travel and subsistence which are part of your regular commute to a permanent place of work.

A salary sacrifice will lower your National Insurance Contributions whilst boosting your pension, but the amount you could borrow for a mortgage and your entitlement to statutory benefits will both decrease.

No. Generally your umbrella provider will set up professional liability, employer’s liability and public liability cover on your behalf.

A notice period is the amount of time an employee has to continue working after handing in their letter of resignation.

You are entitled to 5.6 weeks paid holiday a year. This is your statutory leave entitlement. Sometimes bank holidays are included as part of your statutory annual leave. However, as a result of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee bank holiday in June 2022, you are entitled to an additional day’s holiday- therefore, for the 2022/23 holiday year only you are entitled to take 29 working days ( or 5.8 weeks paid holiday).

Possibly. Some agencies will require you to sign an opt-out form to enable you to work more than 48-hours per week and deliver on certain assignments.

Yes. It is a legal requirement that your contract of employment states when you can expect to receive payment from your employer.