Switching Your Umbrella Company

Why you might need to switch umbrella company

There are several reasons why someone would want to change umbrella provider.

You may have found yourself dissatisfied with the service they provide. For example, perhaps they’re slow paying you, or not responding to your emails and phone calls; or you may have noticed their umbrella margin is considerably higher than other companies.

Alternatively, you may have been forced to change due to your umbrella company not being on your recruitment agency’s preferred list of suppliers.

In this scenario, an agency may want the contractor to use an umbrella that has already been approved by them and is on their PSL (Preferred Supplier List) in order to manage their risk and ensure all umbrella partners conform to a set standard of compliance.

For more information on this, read our Can my Recruitment Agency make me use a specific Umbrella Company? page.

How to choose a good umbrella company

Whatever your reason for needing to switch umbrellas, it’s vital that you do your research to find a good company that is both professional and trustworthy.

Here’s what to look for:

• Personal service
  Having a personal touch really is important for a hassle-free umbrella experience. You need to know that you have a go-to person if you have any queries or issues that you want to resolve quickly.
• Look at reviews
  Whether it’s word of mouth or doing your own research, it’s important to know what people are saying about a company.
• How long have they been in business for?
  The longer an umbrella company has been in business, the better. This means that they have plenty of experience, which in turn should make them experts in their field, which can only benefit you!
• Do they have any awards?
  Being recognised for their achievements in the sector is most certainly a comforting factor when it comes to choosing an umbrella company.

If you want to read about what we can offer you as an umbrella company, visit our page Why Choose Contractor Umbrella?

How easy is it to switch umbrellas?

Switching umbrella company is a straightforward process, however, in order to make it as easy as possible it’s worth selecting a date that will coincide with the last day of a contract.

It’s also really important that you sort out any holiday pay that you may be owed from your previous umbrella. Because of the way that umbrella holiday pay works, you may have accrued your pay, meaning you could be owed quite a bit.

For more information on this take a look at our Umbrella Holiday Pay page.

We hope this page has answered some of your questions, but if you have any further queries, our team of experts are available to help, so give us a call on 01206 591000 or email sophie.lewis@contractorumbrella.com