How do you know which is the best umbrella company for you?
Once you’ve experienced the freedom and flexibility of freelancing, it is important to find the best umbrella company for you.
Of course, first and foremost you’ll need to find out whether you will actually benefit from joining an umbrella company. For example, if your assignments are usually long-term, or you don’t incur many business expenses, an umbrella may not be the best option. To see how we could help you make the most of your money, you can use our take home pay calculator.
Who can give umbrella company recommendations?
Although many umbrella companies will claim to have approval from HMRC, an official approval process does not exist – as our CEO Rob Crossland explains in this blog on HMRC compliant umbrella companies. Furthermore, bear in mind that the majority of umbrella company league tables and top ten lists have ulterior motives in mind – not exactly what you’d call impartial.
It is much more important for the best umbrella companies to be accredited by independent industry bodies such as the Freelancer and Contractor Services Association (FCSA), and of course by its employees – so read plenty of umbrella company reviews before you make your choice.
What makes Parasol different?
Here at Parasol, we pride ourselves on four key aspects:
- Our employee support – our employee loyalty speaks for itself. The expert advice and guidance we offer has made us one of the best umbrella companies for employee support.
- Our ethics – we take a ‘whiter than white’ approach to tax and compliance, so you can rest assured everything is above board. We also give you a Contract of Employment with all the rights you’d expect.
- Our transparency – use our calculators or call us to discuss whether becoming an employee is the right choice for you.
- Our track record – Parasol was founded in 2000 by a contractor for contractors and we have supported over 53,000 employees since then
As an important part of these values, we regularly publish helpful guides and advice that could prove invaluable for contractors and freelancers, whether they’re our employee or not. Check out some of our blogs on the following topics:
Parasol’s Best Advice campaign
Parasol reviews
If you’re looking for the best umbrella company or employment outsourcing specialist, have a look at some of our testimonials:
I have been absolutely 100% satisfied with Parasol, they’re by far the best umbrella company I have come across. website/portal is so easy to use and explains absolutely everything you need (or might want) to know.
They’re always quick to reply to questions or queries and they always pay you as soon as it is possible for them to do so. If I ever end up needing an umbrella company again, I’ll definitely be knocking on Parasol’s door!
Paul Eades – IT/Telecoms Industry – Middlesex
We aim to make your contracting career completely hassle-free, working hard to streamline any admin tasks so that you have more time to concentrate on what you do best.
If working with Parasol seems like the right option, joining us couldn’t be any simpler. All you need to do is complete one of our online enquiry forms. Then, you can begin to benefit from the unrivalled support we provide to every contractor on our books, and also gain access to our My Parasol online portal.
If you want any further information about Parasol and how we work, you can request a call back or phone the new starter team on 0800 840 7212 and they will more than happy to answer your questions.
