Ah, the question of agencies and Preferred Supplier Lists (PSL). It’s a question that crops up from the majority of contractors new to working with an Umbrella company. Do I have to use the Umbrella my agency recommends?
Legally the legislation speaks for itself refer to regulation 5 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/3319/regulation/5/made
Restriction on requiring work-seekers to use additional services
5. Neither an agency nor an employment business may make the provision to a work-seeker of work-finding services conditional upon the work-seeker—
(a)using other services for which the Act does not prohibit the charging of a fee, or
(b)hiring or purchasing goods,
whether provided by the agency or the employment business or by any person with whom the agency or employment business is connected.
The proliferation of industry accreditations and preferred suppliers’ lists seem to fly in the face of the legislation. Having said this taken at face value they do seem to offer security to both contract workers and the agencies who recruit them.
A good recruitment agency will rigorously evaluate and research its supply chain to insulate themselves and their contract worker from any risks however some will rely on Umbrella industry accreditations that are far from official or independent.
These memberships and accreditations are often prohibitively expensive to achieve and maintain which has led to a market place where a handful of the largest Umbrella companies are effectively controlling what contract workers have to pay for Umbrella Employment Services.
Another issue that has arisen with some of the largest Umbrella companies is the withholding of unclaimed holiday pay meaning that money belonging to agency and contract workers is not being passed on.
Quad Management’s Umbrella Employment is audited for compliance by recruitment and employment law specialists www.lawspeed.com and is wholly independent which means we can set an affordable processing fee of just £15 a week and we do not withhold holiday pay.