AGENCIES
paye vs umbrella
PAYING YOUR WORKERS PAYE
- The worker is employed and paid directly by the agency
- The agency takes on all employer responsibilities and obligations such as Sick Pay, Maternity Pay, Employment Tribunals etc
- All employers’ costs such as Employers NI, Pensions and Holiday Pay have to be covered in addition to the rate you have agreed
- Payroll questions relating to tax, NI, pensions, rebates, timescales, and deductions will all come to the agency
- Agency manage the pensions auto-enrolment for all workers which includes assessments for eligibility, opt-outs, fund administration and queries
- Agency will be responsible for compliance with employment contracts and rights to work
PAYING YOUR WORKERS UMBRELLA
- Azebra take on all the employer responsibilities taking the financial burden from the agency
- Azebra cover all Employers’ costs
- All payroll queries will be dealt with by our specialist team leaving you time to do what you do.
- Your workers will be given the stability of one fixed employer whilst working at several schools and agencies
- Auto-enrolment managed at Azebra including all administrations, notifications and increases
- Azebra will ensure full compliance with employee right-to-work and employment terms
how we calculate the pay
why outsource to azebra
15 YEARS INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
We have over 16 years’ experience of contracting efficiently and compliantly with no hassle for you. We understand the industry and our customers and have navigated all the legislation changes over the years maintaining complete compliance for our customers.
SPECIALIST SECTOR TEAMS
Knowing your business is our business. We cover all industry sectors, with some having their own dedicated teams such as Teaching, Driving and Construction. This allows our staff to specialise in and understand your specific requirements. We aim to employ people with experience in those sectors and encourage the teams to visit industry events and keep up to date with changes. It also means you have a dedicated team looking after your account giving a prompt response to all questions and queries.
COMPLIANCE IS A PRIORITY
Over the years there have been many legislation changes and new guidelines for Umbrella companies to follow – RTI, SDC, IR35, AWR, Auto-enrolment, We always take the time to understand the new legislation, get advice from specialists and follow the guidelines set out whilst ensuring full compliance for our workers and clients.
MAKING IT SIMPLE
We don’t believe in making payroll complicated. We are fully transparent about how we work and the deductions we make. If you’re not sure – just ask.
DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGER
Your agency will be allocated a dedicated account manager to look after you and your workers. They will be on hand to explain payroll and answer queries leaving you time to concentrate on recruitment.
FLEXIBLE DEADLINES
We work to your deadlines. We do not dictate when you have to have your hours and invoice requests into us. We will run payrolls up until 6pm on a Friday so that if you have missed someone off your standard run we will make allowances and get them paid.
COMPETITIVE RATES
We offer one of the cheapest services on the market without compromising on service. Profits are continually invested back into the business, its people, its clients, and systems.
WORKING WITH SPECIALIST ADVISORS
We have worked with Markel Tax for many years and more recently have become a fully accredited member of the FCSA. We believe them both to be leading specialists in all things relating to the umbrella industry. Their wide range of skills from Tax, employment law, CIS, and Self Employment, enables them to give advice based on knowledge and experience.
We have never believed in joining a scheme that claims to have HMRC approval, to be the ONLY compliant method of working or that gives a shiny stamp of approval with very little to back it up. Going through the very stringent testing of the FCSA and Markel Tax gives us complete confidence that we are working compliantly and protecting our workers and agencies.
PENSION SCHEME
We will administer the statutory requirement of enrolling all workers into a Pension scheme.
WHAT MAKES AZEBRA STAND OUT
SPEEDY SIGN UP
Once you refer your worker to us we guarantee to call them within 1 hour. They will receive a registration call which takes approx. 10-15 minutes. This is to establish the most suitable payroll solution and ensure each worker understands exactly how they will be paid.
FULL EXPLANATION
Our team will spend time explaining how umbrella differs from PAYE, and what deductions they will see on the payslip and reconciliation statement. Employers’ costs such as employers’ NI, apprenticeship levy, Azebra margin, and pension. We believe in full transparency and there are no hidden costs. We then go on to explain the benefits of working through Azebra and the resources available to our employees.
REGISTERING FULL DETAILS
We take personal details such as name, address, contact details, D.O.B, bank details, NI number, and e-mail address. We explain how their details will be used and our privacy policy is sent to all employees once registered.
ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULES
Whilst employed with Azebra, an employee may work on multiple assignments with different agencies. We require details of each one including end client name and address, assignment length, assignment rate, start date, and number of hours per week.
ILLUSTRATION OF EARNINGS
We are able to provide an illustration of what our employees will earn whilst being paid through Azebra. This will vary according to tax codes (if applicable) and assignment rates.
NEXT STEPS
Workers are introduced to their Account Managers at Azebra. This is the person who will be their first point of contact for questions and queries, however, all the team are trained to help in any way. A welcome email is sent containing login details to a secure portal where employees will be asked to sign their contract of employment and view or download their weekly payslips. The welcome e-mail will also contain a new starter checklist to ensure correct tax codes are applied, privacy policy, and pension information.
ALWAYS COMPLIANT
Our number one priority is protecting our clients and employees
SPECIALIST ADVISORS - FCSA AND MARKEL TAX
We are delighted to have achieved FCSA Accreditation and look forward to continuing the high standard of work we have always maintained and that it is essential to becoming an FCSA Member. We have also undertaken an independent audit by Markel Tax who work closely with HMRC and The Treasury and consult with them regarding current legislation. Markel Tax and the FCSA audit our entire business to encompass Umbrella and CIS compliance, tax compliance, AWR, Pensions, RTI, IR35, and MSC. AZebra will ask Markel Tax to review all terms of business between agencies and AZebra to ensure full compliance and protection. In addition, Markel Tax will also review terms with end clients to establish a suitable payroll route for the workers.
TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE
Legislation affecting Travel and Subsistence relief was introduced on the 6th April 2016. The legislation restricts expenses being paid to workers who work under an employment intermediary (Umbrella Company) unless they can prove they are not under SDC (Supervision, Direction & Control) in the manner in which the work is undertaken (how you do your job).
Subject to contract approval, we conduct an SDC test for each assignment worked on to establish whether the manner in which the role is undertaken is under supervision, direction, and control. If the worker is deemed not to fall under SDC then legitimate business expenses may be claimed in line with HMRC benchmark rates.
MANAGED SERVICE COMPANY LEGISLATION (MSC)
Azebra operates a fully compliant Umbrella Payroll Service which falls outside of the MSC legislation. We do have the options for contractors to be paid via self-employed and CIS following contract and self-employment checks prior to payment.
OFF PAYROLL
Contractors can no longer determine their IR35 status when working in the Public Sector and this will now fall to the agency or third party to firstly determine the contractors’ IR35 status; and secondly, if inside of IR35, it is now their responsibility to calculate the Tax, and NICs and pay these across as well as provide RTi information. We work closely with our specialist advisors and can provide you with the advice and guidance needed to help you navigate these changes as well as the best solutions for your workers.
These restrictions were due to be applied to the private sector in April 2020 but have now been put back to April 2021. We will keep you updated on news and updates as and when they happen.
OFFSHORE PAYROLL
Following the introduction of IR35 reforms in the public sector in 2017, HMRC has confirmed that the new rules will now be extended into the private sector, effective 6th April 2021. IR35 has been in place since 2000 with the intention of removing the tax advantages of providing services via a limited company for individuals who are not truly in business. However, this was largely ineffective and resulted in many limited company owners working outside the rules. The changes to be implemented will place responsibility for the assessment of the employment status on the client. This will affect all organisations in the public sector and Medium and Large companies in the private sector. Small Private companies are exempt. As umbrella companies employ all their workers, the off-payroll working rules do not apply. The legislation only covers self-employed contractors.
AGENCY WORKERS REGULATION (AWR)
Azebra operates a strict AWR policy, working with our clients to ensure full compliance with the legislation. We operate Matching Permanent Pay (MPP) for all workers who reach 12 weeks under Regulation 5 of the legislation. Our payroll system monitors the length of contracts and flags any contractor due to reach the 12 week threshold. In addition, if a contract falls within regulation 10 of the legislation, AZebra does have the facility to operate pay between assignments. This would need to be agreed upon with the agency and the contractor prior to the commencement of the assignment.
AUTO ENROLMENT PENSIONS
Azebra works with NOW:Pensions to administer our scheme. A letter explaining what auto-enrolment is, who qualifies, and how it works is included in our contractor welcome pack. We also explain what the process is for opting in early and for opting out after auto-enrolment. Please also see our Pension guide in the download section.
GOING THE EXTRA MILE
Our commitment to you
KNOWING YOUR BUSINESS IS OUR BUSINESS
Azebra covers all industry sectors, with some having their own dedicated teams such as Teaching, Driving, and Construction. This allows our employees to specialise in and understand your industry. We aim to employ people with experience in those sectors and encourage the teams to visit industry events and keep up to date with changes to adapt to your needs. It also means you have a dedicated team looking after your account giving a prompt response to all questions and queries.
SIGN UP GUARANTEE
All new contractors are called within 1 hour of referral. If we aren’t able to contact them immediately, we continue to keep consultants regularly up to date with the process.
NO TELEPHONE QUEUING SYSTEM
We have consciously chosen to not place inbound calls in a queue. We believe that you should be able to talk to a person every time you call. All our staff are trained to answer basic queries, however, our specialist teams are always available to answer more specific questions.
ID VERIFICATION
We will not allow anyone to be employed by AZebra if they are unable to show us their right to work in the UK and the appropriate ID.
We require:
Proof of right to work in the UK. This needs to be a stamp in a current passport or Biometric Residence Permit. We will track expiry dates and request updated copies for our records. Biometric Residence Permit – will state any work the contractor cannot do, an expiry date, or will state there is no limit on time allowed to remain in the UK. It will also state if there is a limit on the hours which can be worked.
Please see the tables below for extra clarification:
EFFICIENT HELPDESK
Our Customer Service team is dedicated to compliance, service, and customer satisfaction. There’s no question they can’t answer or a task they won’t do. It’s what Azebra does best, so this team is central to the way our business is run.
FAST REGISTRATION PROCESS
All contractors receive a welcome pack immediately after their sign-up call. This includes a welcome letter summarising the sign-up call, contract of employment, assignment schedule, and other useful information. A request for a signed returned contract and ID is included.
FIRST PAYSLIP CALLS
We call each contractor after they have received their first weeks payment. We ensure that the contractor is happy with the service and has understood their payslip and the deductions that have been made.
CONTRACTOR SIGN UP PROCESS
Contractors can sign up with AZebra by telephone or by completing our application form. One of our advisors will go through the complete process with the worker. They will establish whether they qualify for the Umbrella Scheme and then proceed to cover the following:
• New referrals are called within 1 hour.
• Umbrella payroll explained in full, including expenses, deductions and procedures.
• Contractor sent welcome pack.
• Agency sent contract for services informing them of contractor registration.
• Consultants informed daily of referrals unable to be contacted.
Our dedicated staff look after your agency and ensure that the service you get is the highest available in the industry. We don’t mind if you pay just one or a thousand people through AZebra, either way you are given the same level of care and the same customer service steps are followed.
REFERRING TO AZEBRA
Getting your workers signed up and ready to be paid couldn’t be easier. Send your referral today and one of our friendly helpful team will get back to you!
REFER TODAY