As discussed in the recent Zeva bulletin ‘The Real Cost Of Employment’, when Employers National Insurance and holiday pay are taken into account, the actual cost of employing a worker on PAYE is much higher than the rate negotiated. A worker for instance, on a minimum wage of £5.80, will actually cost £6.98 per hour.If you currently use an Umbrella Company, it should be impossible for that Umbrella Company to legally accept a worker on a rate of less than £6.98, as they have to pay the same taxes, and give the same holidays as any other employer. Actually once they add their fee, and some allowance for overtime working (as hours rise the percentage of tax due increases), a minimum of £7.75 becomes the lowest practical minimum rate.

*Please note that we only accept umbrella rates of £6.98 to £7.75, and our no fee guarantee by prior arrangement. This service was introduced, because some of our most loyal customers were being forced to deal with companies they really didn’t want to, or run their own PAYE payroll, because our lowest acceptable rate started at £7.75. Now these customers can put their entire payroll through us, and save the cost and complexity of running their own payroll department.

Bodies such as HMRC and GLA are clamping down on rogue umbrellas and employers, who breech National Minimum Wage regulations, wrongly apply dispensations, and force workers into costly schemes from which they do not benefit.

	Temporary workers: The application of Tax, National insurance and National minimum wage legislation
	Travel Schemes and Umbrella Companies
	GLA targets ‘tax free’ allowance schemes

However, due to the current difficult economic trading conditions being experienced across the recruitment industry, we are increasingly receiving requests for ‘exceptions’ from agency customers who struggle to compete with agencies using illegal schemes, but don’t want to send their lower paid workers to a less reputable Umbrella Company.

In response to this situation, Zeva is now pleased to announce that from Monday 7th December 2009, it will lower its minimum acceptable Umbrella rate from £7.75 per hour to £6.98. Click here to view an example wage slip. This means that Zeva can accept any worker you currently pay PAYE, at no extra cost to you, or the worker.

In turn, Zeva will guarantee the following for all workers:

• A minimum wage of £5.80 per hour
• Zero charges on rates lower than £7.50 per hour
• 28 days holidays per year
• Conforms to all current employment legislation
• No offshore payments. Completely within UK
• Access to all contracts and pay advices online
• Full insurance cover

Anything less than this and it simply isn’t legal!