A report in Recruiter yesterday on the future use of umbrella companies in health service staffing indicates that NHS Improvement (NHSI) is taking into consideration what we and the FCSA have been saying all along: firstly, umbrella companies provide an essential service for many NHS workers, and secondly, there’s a key difference between the numerous non-compliant umbrellas that have piled into the sector and reputable, fully-compliant companies such as ePayMe.
“Like agencies, umbrellas have an important role to play as we go forward,” Martin Innes, NHSI’s senor operational agency data and intelligence lead, told Recruiter. He continued: “Our stated policy is that we don’t encourage the use of umbrella organisations … But we do understand that some agency workers work for multiple agencies, and this is the best, most consistent way for them to be paid. So we want to do whatever we can to make sure that only compliant PAYE umbrellas are operating in the sector.”
Innes has already met with representatives of the FCSA, Recruiter reports. According to Julia Kermode, FCSA Chief Executive, “NHSI is receptive to hearing about the positive role that compliant umbrella firms have to play in the supply chain.” In light of the proliferation of “dubious umbrella firms with no track record”, Julia Kermode added “I was keen to stress how important due diligence is to minimise any risk, and how important it is that agencies and hirers know who they are working with throughout the supply chain.”
For more information on what compliance entails, and why it matters to your business, please send an email to info@epayme.co.uk or call us on 01252 863 700.
We also publish a handy Compliance Health Check, with guidance on how to carry out due diligence correctly.
Look out for our new series of webinars in 2018, which will include sessions on compliance as well as other topics of specific interest to recruitment agencies.
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