Frequently Asked Questions
For contractors
What is an umbrella company?
An umbrella company acts as an employer to freelancers and temporary contractors who typically work through recruitment agencies. The umbrella company employs the worker under a contract of employment, offering full employment rights.
What insurance covers do The Wage Shop provide for me?
Employers liability, Public/Products liability and Professional Indemnity.
What day will I receive my pay?
That will depend on your agency – they should advise of that. If your agency is an existing client then we can let you know.
How do I enrol for your services and how long does it take?
For umbrella, we send you a link to an electronic document to register online, this will take no more than 5 minutes, and you’ll be ready to receive your pay within a few hours.
Do you have an out of hours number?
Our office hours are 9-5 Monday to Friday. However, we’re more than happy to talk out of hours by prior arrangement.
What does it cost to be paid by The Wage Shop?
The weekly or monthly charge will have been provided to you at the point of registration and will depend on the agency you are working with and whether you are being paid weekly or monthly. The Wage Shop do not charge registration or leaving fees and we don’t charge for providing copies of your paperwork or payslips. We are a ‘pay as you go’ service, so you only pay us for weeks where we are processing your payments.
Where do I submit timesheets?
This will depend on the agency you are working with, as some agencies collect the timesheets and approve them before passing to us for payment. You will be advised at the point of registration with The Wage Shop whether timesheets need to be sent to us or your agency. If your agency is an existing client of ours, we can advise.
Do I have to pay for periods when I’m not working?
No, The Wage Shop will only charge for weeks where work has been undertaken and is due t be paid. You won’t pay extra for week’s where you weren’t working with your agency.
Do I get holiday pay?
Yes, you are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks (28 days) per year. This is calculated each week from your payslip and deducted from your net pay each pay period. Depending on how you have requested your holiday pay to be repaid, this is either held by The Wage Shop each pay period, ready for you to request when required, or it can be paid back to you each week. This is established at registration, but you can switch between the 2 schemes. Speak to us for more information.
Will I have a work place pension?
Yes, you will be auto-enrolled into The Wage Shop pension scheme. The postponement period is currently 3 months, so you won’t need to pay into the scheme until you have been working with us for this period, however, you can decide to opt in earlier than this if you want. You will receive information about your work place pension once you are due to be paid for the first time.
Will I receive my payslip?
Yes, payslips are e-mailed out on the morning you are due to be paid. Once they have been issued, they are accessible anytime from your portal login.
Can you help me understand my payslip?
Our contractors regularly ask us about their payslips and what the deductions mean. We have written a short guide explaining your payslip and pay summary which we can e-mail to you on request.
Will I receive a P45 and P60?
If you or your agency advise that you are no longer working for them and no longer require the services of The Wage Shop, we can issue you a P45 after your last pay date.
Your P60 is issued at the end of the tax year. It is issued to you before the end of May, as long as you were a current employee at the end of the tax year (5th April).
The Wage Shop isn’t on my agency list of approved companies. Can I still be paid by you?
Yes. You are free to use any Umbrella company you wish, even if we are not listed on your agency approved list. Just give us a call with your agency details and we can contact them to get everything set up. You won’t need to do anything else, other than submit your timesheets.
For agencies
When do we need to submit timesheets and pay the invoice?
Timesheets need to be in payday-2, invoice settled payday-1. We can in certain situations reduce this by negotiation.
What ID and documentation do you need from us to enrol new contractors?
All we need is a name, number and email address. We’ll do the rest (and comply with data regulations).
How quickly can you enrol a contractor ready for payment?
For an umbrella contractor with the correct documentation, within a matter of minutes.
What insurance covers do you provide for our contractors?
Employers liability, Public/Products liability and Professional Indemnity.
Do you have an out of hours number for contractors and agencies?
Our office hours are 9-5 Monday to Friday. However, we’re more than happy to talk out of hours by prior arrangement.
What happens when the contractor has a pay query?
We would always advise the contractor to speak to us in the first instance. The most common queries regarding pay issues is around the number of days they have been paid for, and we can advise them what we have paid and the rate. Where possible, we can also advise of the cut off period for timesheets to be submitted.