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Umbrella company checklist: 12 checks before you sign

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Switching umbrellas is easy; leaving a bad one is not. Run this list before your first timesheet, not after.

The 12 checks

  1. Accreditation: FCSA or LIUKA membership — audited for compliance basics.
  2. Margin in writing: one flat weekly/monthly margin, before your first run.
  3. No per-item charges: watch for welcome fees, same-day-payment fees, EOFY fees.
  4. Employment contract issued before pay — you are an employee; insist on the paper.
  5. Statutory pay: SSP, SMP, holiday accrual stated in the contract.
  6. Pension: auto-enrolment scheme with a real provider, opt-out possible.
  7. Expenses: current policy — broad hypothetical-expense claims are a red flag.
  8. Payment speed: same-day Faster Payments standard; BACS-only adds risk.
  9. Who chases the agency: credit-control responsibility named.
  10. Insurances included: employer's liability minimum; PI sometimes bundled.
  11. VAT status: they handle VAT on their margin, not your whole rate (post-2017 rules).
  12. Exit terms: no notice period, no final-pay admin fee.

Compare net outcomes across candidates with the take-home calculator — margins of £15 vs £30/week sound small until annualised. If you end up choosing between umbrellas, the tax maths is identical; the margin and service are what differ.

The margin maths most first-timers miss

Umbrella quotes usually state the margin weekly (£15–£35 typical). On a 5-day week that's £3–£7/day — small, until you also price the employer NI (15% above £5,000 in 2026/27) and compare nets across two umbrellas offering the same assignment. Same rate, same tax, different margin and fees = genuinely different take-home. The calculator exposes the difference.

Accreditation, audited

FCSA and LIUKA both audit members annually: trust accounts segregated, PAYE discipline, expenses policy sanity. Non-accredited umbrellas aren't automatically bad — but the check is free and the failures it catches (commingled funds, "loan" remuneration) are catastrophic to the worker when they surface. If an umbrella dismisses accreditation questions, that's the answer.

Switching umbrellas mid-assignment

You can — continuity of employment transfers (you were always employed; the new umbrella issues a new employment contract). Watch: P45/P46 timing, one duplicated margin week, and any "exit admin" charge — check item 12 before you sign the first one.

Same-day pay, credit control and the failure scenario

The nightmare case is not high fees — it's an umbrella that collects your agency invoice, then delays your salary (or folds). Mitigations: segregated client-money accounts (FCSA audits this), Faster Payments as standard, and a named credit-control contact. Check Companies House for filing history and director churn before signing; five resignations in a year tells you what the website won't.

The compliance line no recruiter can cross

No umbrella can lawfully inflate your net via "expenses efficiencies", "invoicing structures" or loans. Anything that nets you visibly more than the 2026/27 tables say is a disguised-remuneration scheme with your name on the liability. The calculator is your lie detector: same rate, same tax rules, only margin legitimately moves the net.

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