uk Articles

How Brexit Will Affect Contractors

Brexit day is fast approaching and there is little certainty over how the negotiations will turn out.

Whatever happens, Brexit is likely to impact contractors in the UK. There may be some benefits in the short and long term, but many contractors are also likely to face some restrictions on their work.

In this blog post, we investigate the most likely Brexit outcomes and how they will affect contractors in the UK.

marketing | 26 June 2015
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If you’ve taken a taxi recently, there’s a high chance it might have been an Uber car. One of the most impactful start-ups in recent years, a hidden fact behind Uber’s inexorable rise has been its total reliance on contractors. There are something like permanent 2,000 employees on the Uber payroll, compared to nearly 160,000 contractors.

So what can the Uber example tell us about contracting in the 21st century economy? Umbrella’s Operations Director Neil Armitage gave us his thoughts: “Uber is a really specific example of an ‘on-demand’ style of business. They can recruit contractors in waves as and when. Drivers, tech experts and back office staff. That suits their business model, so it is a somewhat nuanced example.”

marketing | 5 March 2015
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The umbrella sector is, in many ways, something of an unsung hero for the UK economy. With over 400,000 employees working ‘under the umbrella’, and a yearly contribution of over £11billion to the Treasury coffers, surely this enterprise is substantial – and positive enough – to earn the respect of the Government?

There have been a number of scare mongering stories that the days of Umbrella Companies are numbered following the inclusion on 10th December 2014 of the following statement in the Finance Bill

marketing | 17 August 2015
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Pay growth for IT contractors is outstripping increases in permanent salaries, a specialist technology recruitment firm has found.

Computer People’s latest IT Monitor report reveals that contractor rates increased by 3.9% between June 2014 and June 2015. That’s compared to average year-on-year salary growth in the permanent market of 3.01%. 

marketing | 27 April 2015
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Business confidence amongst the UK’s construction leaders – and many other firms in between – remains tip-top according to the latest research from accountants and business insight providers BDO.

With an employment index rating of above 113.0, the growth indications for UK construction remains a long-term trend and beyond: employers intend to keep on hiring, because there is work to be done and more is on the way.

Umbrella.co.uk's Jessica Evans joined us to chat over the latest good news for UK construction contractors: “The continued recovery – in fact, resurgence – of the UK’s building industry has really fuelled this continuous feelgood factor around the sector.”

At Umbrella we wish to highlight the deep concern felt with the points raised and possible proposals outlined in the recently published HMRC document titled ‘Employment Intermediaries: Temporary workers – relief for travel and subsistence expenses’