FAQs

Here you’ll find helpful solutions to our most commonly asked questions, from how to register, how to get paid as well as your employee benefits.

What are Agency Worker Regulations?

AWR refers to the Agency Workers Regulations which came into effect in October 2011. The legislation aims to prevent the unfair treatment of people who work through agencies. It aims to achieve this by giving them rights to certain entitlements, including paid annual leave, rest breaks, limits on working times, payment at National Minimum Wage, no unlawful deduction of wages, discrimination rights under the Equality Act 2010 and health and safety protection at work.

Are workers going through an umbrella company employed?

Although umbrella workers are ‘contractors’, they are employees of the umbrella company. iBalance holds an employment contract with each employee and then agrees a contract to supply your services to your agency/client and receives payment for your services at agreed periods (usually weekly or monthly).

Do umbrella workers have employment rights?

Yes, any employee of iBalance has full, continuous employment rights giving you access to statutory entitlements such as sick pay, maternity pay / paternity pay, holiday pay, etc. This isn’t the case should you choose to work directly through a recruitment agency on a PAYE basis, so the umbrella model is a more favourable option for contractors.

Are iBalance staff covered by company insurance?

As an iBalance employee you will be covered by our company insurance package which includes Public Liability, Professional Indemnity and Employers Liability cover. Some contractors might require additional levels of cover depending on the type of work they do and the duties they need to perform, but any additional cover can be arranged through iBalance.

Does iBalance take care of all administration?

Yes, by using our umbrella services we managed all the contractual phase and also raise and send invoices on your behalf. This means the only admin you will need to complete is our application form, contract of employment and timesheets as per your agency’s instruction.

Why on my payslip does it say commission?

In the umbrella industry it is common practice to pay umbrella employees through a combination of a basic pay (based on national minimum/living wage) and a commission or profit related bonus payment. This is largely because the contractor is employed on an overarching contract of employment where the employee could work on various assignments with various rates of pay. From a practical point of view umbrella’s therefore use a single pay rate (NMW/NLW) and process the balance as a commission payment. These is not benefit/hindrance of receiving payments like this, each penny is still treated as income and taxed accordingly.

On an umbrella payslip it says I have paid Employers National Insurance?

The rate you agree with your recruitment agency / end client is known as the charge out or Limited rate and this includes an amount to cover the Employers NI contributions that needs to be made to HMRC. As your employer, it is iBalance who is legally required to make the deduction and pay the Employers NI contributions to HMRC.

When using iBalance can you work with multiple clients?

Yes, you will have continuous employment with iBalance from the time you start to the time you leave. During this time you are able to work through as many different agencies and for as many different clients as you wish.

Do iBalance process expenses?

Yes, if you incur genuine business expenses whilst performing the duties of your contract assignment you will be entitled to be reimbursed for these (as long as your agency / end client have agreed for the expenses to be paid to you and you have provided all of the necessary documents/receipts to support your claim).

How often do iBalance pay employees?

During on-boarding your relationship manager will make you aware of the payment terms/frequency your agency / end client operate on. Each agency/client can be different so for example you could have one agency that pay your weekly timesheet 7 days in arrears and another agency that pay monthly timesheets 14 days in arrears. Either way at iBalance we complete multiple pay runs each day with the majority of employees paid before 10am so you will receive funds the same day your agency pays.

Does iBalance operate a pension scheme?

Yes, we operate a company auto enrolment pension scheme which you are entitled to take part in. Details of the pension scheme will be provided to you during the registration process.

What do iBalance charge for the umbrella service?

iBalance deduct a company margin from each payment we receive/process for you from an agency/client. Our margin is fully inclusive and covers all aspects of our services (including the public liability and professional indemnity insurance you are required to have in place). There are no hidden costs, we won’t charge you for same day payments and we only apply the company margin to the weeks / months when you work.