Due Diligence on Umbrella Company Selection

 

If you’re an IT contractor considering the services of an umbrella company, as the IR35 Off-Payroll rules in the private sector come into force, then make sure you do your due diligence.

You might want to check out umbrella companies that have been vetted by the FCSA to avoid any unscrupulous ones.

Speaking to Recruiter, Phil Pluck, the CEO of the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA) said the FCSA has recently received “an avalanche of unlawful companies trying to get into our membership” before the new rules take hold. 

The FCSA vets umbrella companies to ensure their solutions are legally compliant before admitting them into membership. Pluck said that the average time from applying for membership in the FCSA to acceptance or rejection is three to five months. “That’s how long it takes us to check,” he said.

In the last weeks before the legislation is implemented, Pluck advised that agencies and contractors “just do one more check on Companies House” to see if the company or companies they are working with has “lots of directors or a huge amount of change in the numbers of directors or if a director comes up on numerous umbrella companies. Again, be very careful”. 

#IR35 #ITcontractor #Umbrellacompanies

 

Posted 16.03.2021

Category: For candidates