Agency advice please

Gazza233

I signed on with an agency this week, filled in all the paperwork and had an induction, basic stuff really. Anyway, then started the next day.

End of first shift get a call from a third party pay roll company, who will be sorting out my pay. So I check with agency, they confirm its correct. I call third party pay roll back, they inform me they will be processing my pay slip and charging me 8 percent of my gross weekly wage I ask about holiday pay, they tell me I will not get any, nor ever accrue any.At no time did agency inform me I would be dealt with by a third party, despite taking all my details

My questions:

Is this legal
And has anyone else experienced it

Babbawah

It's called an umbrella scheme.

Roughly, you are 30 percent worse off than PAYE.

If the temp job pays £6.50ph on umbrella, then its equivalent on PAYE would be approx £4.55ph.

Umbrella schemes are good for a very small minority of the workforce and I can assure you that if you were one of them you would have been on one for years.

They are also a very good way for employment business's to increase their profits through the exploitation of an unsophisticated workforce.

First, do a Google on the difference between an employment business and an employment agency. You are most certainly working for an employment business.

Then do a Google on umbrella scheme. To cut through the hype that infests Google by those with a vested interest, you might want to inclue keywords like 'scam', 'unfair', 'exploited' etc etc.

makeyourdaddyproud

Babbawah wrote: »

It's called an umbrella scheme.

Roughly, you are 30 percent worse off than PAYE.

If the temp job pays £6.50ph on umbrella, then its equivalent on PAYE would be approx £4.55ph.

Umbrella schemes are good for a very small minority of the workforce and I can assure you that if you were one of them you would have been on one for years.

They are also a very good way for employment business's to increase their profits through the exploitation of an unsophisticated workforce.

First, do a Google on the difference between an employment business and an employment agency. You are most certainly working for an employment business.

Then do a Google on umbrella scheme. To cut through the hype that infests Google by those with a vested interest, you might want to inclue keywords like 'scam', 'unfair', 'exploited' etc etc.

I used an umbrella scheme and the fees were nothing like you stated. More like a set fee per week of around £20 for a good one. However the costs might be more profound on low pay rates but the £2 ph odd difference would make that a very expensive umbrella company.

But in this strange scenario there could be collusion between the agency and the umbrella, or could very well be the same entity just keep the pay rate low maybe?

It definitely sound "scammy", but in the grand scheme of things, a respected and properly run umbrella as the paye admin for your job is a good idea. Failing that, choose and agency and job where the agency does the payroll.

Babbawah

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

I used an umbrella scheme and the fees were nothing like you stated. More like a set fee per week of around £20 for a good one. However the costs might be more profound on low pay rates but the £2 ph odd difference would make that a very expensive umbrella company.

But in this strange scenario there could be collusion between the agency and the umbrella, or could very well be the same entity just keep the pay rate low maybe?

It definitely sound "scammy", but in the grand scheme of things, a respected and properly run umbrella as the paye admin for your job is a good idea. Failing that, choose and agency and job where the agency does the payroll.

Odd that you say . . . "I used an umbrella scheme and the fees were nothing like you stated."

I didn't state any fee's.

I said . . . "Roughly, you are 30 percent worse off than PAYE".

makeyourdaddyproud

Babbawah wrote: »

Odd that you say . . . "I used an umbrella scheme and the fees were nothing like you stated."

I didn't state any fee's.

I said . . . "Roughly, you are 30 percent worse off than PAYE".

Not only did you say 30%, you implied £1.95ph...

Stop now

Gazza233

Thanks for the replies:

I don't mind companies making money, but charging £22 per week to process my wages and never allowing me to accrue holiday pay and not informing me of this at interview/induction, just scream exploitation and dishonesty to me.

Its a poor show and not the way to have a happy and dedicated work force

Babbawah

Gazza233 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies:

I don't mind companies making money, but charging £22 per week to process my wages and never allowing me to accrue holiday pay and not informing me of this at interview/induction, just scream exploitation and dishonesty to me.

Its a poor show and not the way to have a happy and dedicated work force

You are also paying their 'employers' NI contribution. Surely they explained that bit to you?

Gazza233

Babbawah wrote: »

You are also paying their 'employers' NI contribution. Surely they explained that bit to you?

They explained next to nothing other than I would not be getting any holiday pay and they would be helping themselves to £22 per week out of my pay packet

Babbawah

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

Not only did you say 30%, you implied £1.95ph...

Stop now

I implied nothing of the sort.

Incidentally, if you are paid £6.50ph on PAYE yet you accrue holiday pay, how much do you need to be paid to match £6.50ph when you don't accrue holiday pay?

If the math makes your head explode then I will understand your non-answer.

Gazza233

I am not a greedy chap at all, as I say I don't mind companies making money, but outsourcing wages and charging a hefty fee on a "service" you have to use, seems very shady and not conductive to engaging staff to stay very long term

Babbawah

Gazza233 wrote: »

They explained next to nothing other than I would not be getting any holiday pay and they would be helping themselves to £22 per week out of my pay packet

A scan copy of that payslip would speak more than a thousand words.