Methods Umbrella Preferred Supplier List (PSL)
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Why does Methods have a PSL in place for Umbrella Providers?
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We are proud of the close working relationship that we have had with our contractor partners for the last 30 years. During this time, we have seen how vital it is to ensure our contractor partners are treated in as professional, considerate and compliant manner possible.
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We believe that one of the knock-on effects of the changes being brought about by the amended IR35 rules, is that the use of umbrella companies is likely to become more prevalent. These businesses have a rare intermediary role. They need to provide assurance to both contractors and companies such as ourselves that they are operating in a compliant manner, under HMRC rules.
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It is therefore important to us that we ensure we have carried out the required increased level of due diligence on the umbrella companies we use and recommend, to ensure they deal with our contractor partners correctly. This is why we have created a Preferred Supplier List of them.
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There are a vast range of Umbrella service providers in the UK. Some of them may not provide a fully compliant service, or may be operating arrangements that HMRC are not happy with. Both of these situations would cause issues for both our contractor partners and ourselves under the amended rules.
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It would clearly be an excessively onerous task to perform regular due diligence on a large number of companies, but due diligence is required to verify that those we recommend follow the rules! By selecting a small number of leading UK Umbrella organisations for our PSL, we aim to create a manageable, trusted group that we can continually work with, audit and monitor, to ensure that they provide a robust and compliant service.
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How does this affect me?
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The PSL of umbrella companies has been established based on our due diligence work. We will therefore ask that, if you are deemed to need to offer your company’s service through an umbrella company, for any assignment that we contract with you, that you use one from our preferred supplier list.
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My current umbrella company is not on the list – what happens now?
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We ask that you begin to plan to move to one of the umbrella companies on the list. If you are assessed as being ‘inside IR35’ you will need to have an umbrella company in place for Methods to release your timecards and make payments. You may need to give notice to your existing umbrella company and move to one on the list.
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If you are starting a new assignment with Methods unfortunately, we cannot accept contract partners who operate through an umbrella provider that is not on our approved PSL. Prior to you starting your assignment through Methods you will be asked to change your umbrella provider and use one of our selected PSL organisations. There is typically no charge for setting up with a new provider.
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I am not happy with the services provided by my current Umbrella provider, who should I speak to?
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In the first instance please speak with the Account Manager of your Umbrella provider. If your complaint is not dealt with to your satisfaction you can provide comments to our IR35 team at ir35@methods.co.uk.
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Why can Methods not add the provider I use to your PSL?
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The PSL is reviewed on a bi-annual basis with the next review period in October 2021. We will review the list every six months from when the Off-Payroll legislation changes in April 2021.
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We reserve the right to change the PSL, and this will either follow review or in order to address when a supplier no longer meet FCSA standards or our compliance requirements.
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Are there any risks with this practice to me?
It should be noted that take-home pay (Net Earnings) should be the same whichever provider you use. The umbrella company does not dictate the calculation by which you are taxed. This is governed by HMRC rules.
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Our preferred suppliers
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Paystream
https://www.paystream.co.uk/umbrella/
0161 516 8021 (option 1)
Parasol
https://www.parasolgroup.co.uk/
0800 458 0818
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OrangeGenie
01296468483
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Nasa Umbrella
0117 929 7683​​​
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