The future of umbrella companies: it’s absolutely up to contractor recruitment agencies to shape it too

We’ve now heard from contractors about umbrella companies.

And we’re next due to hear from the commercial sector about umbrella companies, at a roundtable on August 9th.

But if you’re a contractor who missed the chance to have your say -- or are an agency which wants a say because the plan to regulate umbrellas appears to impact recruiters as much as brollies themselves, then please come forward to ensure Collective Regulation really is collecting everyone’s regulatory take, writes Keith Rosser, chair of JobsAware.

Workers at the front of the debate

Remember, at the heart of Collective Regulation is the bringing together of three voices: worker, business, and regulator.

While the first contingent (‘worker’) had their main platform on July 12th, the host JobsAware will shortly be uploading an online survey to its website to capture the views of any contractors reading this with views on umbrellas that they wish to share.

Before I address agencies (clearly in the ‘business’ contingent, alongside umbrella companies) I would like to state how very humbling it was to hear directly from contractors about their brolly experiences. The quality of the inputs and the incisiveness of the comments last Wednesday were almost overwhelming for myself and my co-hosts of the event, the Open University’s Professor Jon G Hall and IWORK founder and PayePass CEO Julia Kermode.

For a sector which is often called to be more transparent, it was heartening to see umbrella company contractors talking openly and freely about their past dealings -- good and bad. It’s only a snapshot of course, but from the roundtable, it’s possible to identify:

Five challenges of umbrella company working

In particular, workers raised the following themes or issues when contracting through an umbrella company:

1. Pay transparency;
2. Employment rights -- in that they should be clear, but still aren’t;
3. The government’s stance -- to individual contractors, it has appeared to have hardened;
4. A lack of support when working through an umbrella company things go wrong;
5. Frustrations when forced to move (frequently) between umbrella companies.

These five might not come as massive surprise. Umbrella companies and the umbrella sector have rarely been out of the news lately and, after much deliberation by HM Treasury; HMRC and DBT, the opportunity for change has finally arrived in the shape of the still-open consultation by the trio, Tackling Compliance in the Umbrella Company Market.

What about the role of business?

On Wednesday August 9th we are hosting a virtual roundtable for business to capture the voice of the next key demographic in Collective Regulation, ‘business.’

Originally intended for umbrella companies, this roundtable has been expanded to include all businesses interested in umbrella companies -- or affected by the three proposals in the umbrella company consultation, following suggestions that recruitment agencies should be included. These employment businesses have an important voice in the debate and should be heard.

The online session will capture the views, challenges, and suggestions of the commercial sector, with a view to enriching the answers we intend to give to the consultation’s many searching questions (some 52 in total are posed).

For agencies, umbrellas, and other commercial stakeholders who want to take part on August 9th, here’s five areas we’d challenge them to hit, as all five are Collective Regulation’s objectives.

What are the aims of Collective Regulation?

1. Greater awareness of rights and responsibilities.
2. Higher baseline standards.
3. Levelling the playing field for ‘good business.’ 
4. A cost-effective enforcement system.
5. Simplified legislation.

So in conclusion…

Have your say. Even though the worker roundtable has come and gone, it is not too late to get in touch with us and submit your views and experience. It’s a great opportunity to provide input into the future of umbrella companies and umbrella company policy-making. Following August’s commercial sector roundtable, we will be meeting with the government and its regulators to ensure the third and final voice can speak to the concerns raised by workers and expressed by businesses without those concerns getting lost in translation.