Umbrella pay, explained without the jargon.
If you're new to contracting, "umbrella" gets thrown around like everyone already knows what it means. Here's what it actually is, how you get paid, and what comes out of your money before it lands.
What an umbrella company actually is.
When you contract through an agency, someone has to employ you and pay you properly. That's the umbrella company. You become their employee. They invoice the agency, receive the money for your work, run it through PAYE, and pay you a proper payslip with tax and National Insurance already sorted.
You get the flexibility of contracting with the paperwork of employment handled for you. No limited company to run. No accountant to chase. No tax returns to panic about in January.
submit timesheet
runs PAYE
invoice
every pay run
From timesheet to
your bank account.
You do the work
You complete your assignment and submit your timesheet for the hours or days you've worked.
The umbrella invoices the agency
We invoice your agency or end client for the value of your timesheet. You never touch this part.
The money comes in, PAYE runs
We receive the funds, deduct tax, National Insurance and our margin, and submit RTI to HMRC in real time.
You get paid
A clear payslip and money in your account, same day on our standard pay runs. Every deduction shown and explained.
The deductions,
explained honestly.
This is the part most umbrellas skate over. We won't. Here's exactly what comes out before you're paid, and why.
Anyone promising you 85% or 90% take-home is not running a legitimate umbrella. Compliant umbrellas all land in the same range, because they all follow the same tax rules.
What comes out
On £4,820 grossUmbrella, limited company,
or agency PAYE.
Umbrella suits most contractors on assignments inside IR35, or anyone who wants the freedom of contracting without running a company. If you're not sure which fits you, ask us. We'll tell you straight, even if the answer isn't umbrella.
The things people ask us first.
No. You pay the same PAYE tax you'd pay as an employee. What you see is the true, honest figure with nothing hidden.
Employer National Insurance and the Apprenticeship Levy are legally the employer's cost, funded from your assignment rate. Honest umbrellas show them on your payslip. Ones that hide them aren't doing you a favour.
Yes. We migrate contractors quickly and handle the changeover, so there's no gap in your pay.
Same day on our standard pay runs, with the maths already checked before the money moves.
Want to see your real take-home?
We'll show you.
Tell us your assignment rate and we'll give you a clear, honest breakdown of exactly what you'd take home. No inflated promises. Just the real number.