An umbrella company is a company that contracts its employees to other companies, often as freelancers or consultants. Because the umbrella company is the employer, it can offer its workers certain benefits, such as holiday pay and sick pay. Umbrella companies typically charge a margin to the hiring company in exchange for this service.

Most umbrella companies will give their workers paid holiday time based on the number of hours they have worked. This can be a great way for contractors to take some time off without worrying about losing money

According to the UK government website, workers in the UK are entitled to 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. This includes full-time, part-time, and contract workers. Additionally, all UK workers are entitled to 8 national holidays per year.

As per the law…

These 5.6 weeks or 28 days paid leaves known as ‘statutory leave entitlement’ are mentioned in the European Working Time Regulations.

You begin accumulating holidays from the second you start some work - regardless of whether it's full time (similar to the case for contractors), part-time or regardless of whether you're on a zero-hours contract. You can in any case accumulate holiday leave in the event that you're not well, on paternity or maternity leave.

Fortunately, bank holidays can not be given as paid leave - they are a part of your contract's statutory leave. Also, in the contracting business, your boss can also choose to give you more than 28 days of leave each year.

How is holiday pay calculated?

To conclude what amount of holiday pay an umbrella worker is qualified for, your umbrella organisation will multiply your gross taxable pay by 12.07%

This rate is worked out as follows:

• 5.6 weeks ÷ 46.4 weeks = 0.12069 (rounding it up to 12.07%)
• 5.6 weeks = minimum statutory pay
• 46.4 weeks = working weeks

In case you have a non-traditional working pattern - try the Government’s holiday pay calculator.

When will I get holiday pay?

There are two different methods holiday pay is paid to umbrella workers - the first is by means of an accrual method, the other is through a fixed, advanced payment or rolled up pay.

In the accrual method, your umbrella company will deduct and keep your holiday pay to the side until you go on a holiday, or you quit working through that umbrella organisation.

The main issue with this technique is that you can easily neglect to make a claim during the holiday year, then, at that point, you might lose any entitlement you have developed over the long run. Sadly, a few umbrella organisations exploit this - and will stash any holiday leave privilege which stays unclaimed by contractors at year-end.

On the other hand, with a rolled-up pay method, you will get holiday pay each time you are paid - weekly or monthly - so you are aware all of the time with any holiday pay you are entitled to. This ‘advanced payment’ technique is frequently utilised by umbrella organisations.

Before working, ensure your umbrella organisation has a straightforward and simple holiday pay strategy, so you know precisely how and when your statutory leave payments will be made.

Why choose transparent umbrella companies?

There are a number of reasons why you might want to choose a transparent umbrella company that doesn't hide your holiday pay. Here are some of the most important ones:

• Transparency and trust: There is nothing without transparency. You need to choose a company that uses an advanced payment method for statutory pay entitlement. Please read the whole contract carefully to know about your work benefits.
• Ease of use: When you work with an umbrella company that doesn't hide your holiday pay, there is no need to worry about tracking down complex information or trying to figure out how the system works.

To sum up:

As we all know that UK law states that all employees are entitled to paid holiday leave. This means that contractors should be paid their regular rate of pay for the time they take off work to sickness or enjoy some relaxation and rest.

By choosing our umbrella company that is transparent about how it operates, you can be sure that your holiday pay will be handled correctly and that you won't have any surprises when it comes time to receive your payment. This builds trust between the employee and the company, which is essential for a healthy working relationship.

Get in touch with our experts and see how we can help!

Email: info@reliasys.co.uk

Phone: 020 3500 2615