an introduction to azebra
DESCRIPTION
A whole different animalTRANSCRIPT
A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL
AZebra Umbrella
P AY R O L L S E R V I C E S
TO BE FAIR, HONEST AND COMMITTED TO OUR EMPLOYEES, PRODUCTS AND CUSTOMERS. TO BE AN ORGANISATION THAT PEOPLE WANT TO WORK
FOR, USE THE SERVICES OF AND RECOMMEND.
MISSION STATEMENT
P AY R O L L S E R V I C E S
WHO ARE AZEBRA .......................................................... PAGE 3
WHY WORK WITH AN UMBRELLA COMPANY ............PAGE 4
WHY WORK WITH AZEBRA? ......................................... PAGE 5
HOW DOES IT WORK? ....................................................PAGE 6
DOING IT RIGHT ............................................................... PAGE 7
AZEBRA SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT ........................ PAGE 8
AZEBRA EXPENSE AND HOLIDAY POLICY ...................PAGE 9
PAYE VS UMBRELLA .......................................................PAGE 10
OUR OTHER SERVICES ...............................................PAGE 11-12
TESTIMONIALS ................................................................ PAGE 13
CONTACT INFORMATION ..............................................PAGE 14
CONTENTS
MORE THAN JUST BLACK AND WHITE PAYROLL
www.azebra.co.ukPAGE 3
NO MONKEY BUSINESS
AZEBRA was formed in 2005 to offer contractors
an employed PAYE payroll solution with the benefit
of offsetting expenses. Since then the company has
steadily grown into an established payroll provider,
covering all sectors throughout the UK.
WE HAVE BUILT our reputation
based on outstanding service
to customers and clients alike.
We know it is the work that
we do behind the scenes that
makes all the difference to
our clients and ensures that
our customer service levels
remain high.
WE GROW through recommendations from our
existing clients based on the reliable, flexible
service we offer. Nine years on, we have many of the
same clients we started out with and continue to
grow and build relationships with new customers.
SOLELY OWNED and run by the original Director, Since formation, the Management Team has been stable with virtually no changes. The company has experienced steady growth year on year and profits continue to be invested back into the business, its
people, clients and systems.
THE UMBRELLA INDUSTRY has been subject to many legislation changes and government initiatives over the years which have required adapting and changing the way that we operate. We have always chosen the most compliant route and acted
on the side of caution to ensure that we protect our clients at all times.
OUR PLANS for the future are to continue to provide the reliable, friendly service we have become known for, whilst offering competitive rates, and ensuring everyone is paid on time.
“NINE YEARS ON, WE HAVE MANY OF THE SAME CLIENTS WE
STARTED OUT WITH”
WHO ARE AZEBRA UMBRELLA?
www.azebra.co.uk PAGE 4
WE KNOW IT CAN BE A JUNGLE OUT
THERE
PAYROLL is often one of the biggest burdens of a recruitment agency, not only the financial cost of administering it, but also the time it takes to deal with pay queries.
BY USING an Umbrella Company, these issues can be a thing of the past, allowing you time to concentrate on the jobs you are supposed to be doing.
THE FINANCIAL savings to an agency can be very rewarding as the employment liability transfers to the Umbrella Company, meaning that they no longer have to make payments for the contractor’s Employer’s National Insurance Contributions, Statutory Holiday Payments and Pension contributions.
SOME RECRUITMENT AGENCIES like to pass a percentage of their savings back to the contractor and offer them a higher rate of pay to work through
an Umbrella Company. This attracts a higher calibre of worker, allowing you to provide your end client with the best candidates for the position.
WITH THE many legislation changes that the government put on the temporary workplace market, it is hard to keep up and ensure that you are
always working compliantly. An Umbrella Company will help to administer AWR and ensure RTI and Pensions are administered correctly.
IT IS IMPORTANT to make sure that you have the right umbrella companies on your preferred or approved supplier lists. They must
be UK based and operate a completely compliant service. All Umbrella Companies have to follow the same strict guidelines, so if any tell you that they will ensure your contractors take home more money than other Umbrella Companies, chances are they are breaking the rules.
WHY WORK WITH AN UMBRELLA COMPANY?
“THE FINANCIAL SAVINGS TO AN AGENCY CAN BE VERY
REWARDING.”
www.azebra.co.ukPAGE 5
WE BEND OVER
BACKWARDS FOR YOU
WE BELIEVE that working with a recruitment agency is a partnership. We understand the needs of each of our clients and tailor our service accordingly.
IF you want to use us to pay 1 or 1000 contractors, we will look after you and them every step of the way. Our job is to make your life easier, so whatever it takes, we’ll endeavour to do it.
DECIDING on an umbrella company to use can be a mine field. By choosing to include AZebra Umbrella on your Preferred Supplier List (PSL) or Approved Supplier List (ASL), you will know that your contractors will be employed by a company that only offer a fully compliant service, approved and reviewed by external auditors. As an established payroll provider, we understand the industry and have seen many competitors come and go looking for the short term gain. We are looking to build relationships with like-minded Agencies.
ONE OF OUR Business Development Managers (BDM’s) would be happy to come and meet you to discuss the benefits of working through AZebra.
WHY WORK WITH AZEBRA?
KEY BENEFITS OF WORKING WITH AZEBRA:
• A FULLY COMPLIANT, UK BASED BUSINESS.
• QUICK CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION AND
DOCUMENT TURNAROUND.
• DAILY PAYROLLS ENSURING PROMPT,
ACCURATE AND TIMELY CONTRACTOR
PAYMENTS.
• COMPETITIVE FEE STRUCTURE.
• DEDICATED ACCOUNT MANAGER.
• GENEROUS REFERRAL SCHEME.
WE BELIEVE that working with our customers is a
partnership. We understand the needs of each of
our clients and tailor our service accordingly.
CUSTOMER SERVICE is the driving
force of our business and has
helped us build and retain long term
relationships with many clients.
www.azebra.co.uk PAGE 6
THE CONTRACTOR becomes an employee of
AZebra Umbrella Ltd and as such retains employed
benefits such as Holiday Pay, Sick Pay, Maternity &
Paternity pay. As an employee,
the Intermediaries legislation
(IR35) or Managed Service
Companies Legislation (MSC)
risks are nothing to worry
about. They will be employed
on an overarching contract
allowing them to enjoying the
benefits of offsetting legitimate
business expenses.
THE CONTRACTORS are placed onto assignments
through the recruitment agency and employed by
AZebra for payroll purposes.
TIMESHEETS are submitted to the agency who
then notifies AZebra of the hours and rates that
have been worked.
EXPENSES are submitted by the contractor for
genuine business expenses incurred whilst at work.
They can claim tax relief on legitimate contract
related expenses, such as travel to and from work,
food whilst at work, parking and subscriptions. Please see our expense guidance for more details. By offsetting these expenses they reduce the
amount of tax they would pay as a normal employee.
AS AN EMPLOYEE of AZebra we charge the agency an agreed amount for the assignment services provided. This amount would normally be higher than the rate that would be received if the contractor were paid PAYE by the agency.
AZEBRA ISSUES an invoice to the Agency. The Agency then pays us, the Employer, for the work that has been carried out. From this, AZebra deduct employer’s national insurance, holiday pay, company overhead, the expenses submitted and employers pension contribution. The expenses, when deducted, cannot take the pay below the hours worked at minimum wage). The remaining amount is the basic pay that is subject to Tax and employees National Insurance.
“AZEBRA HELPS YOU TO OFFSET YOUR EXPENSES TO PAY
LESS TAX”
HOW DOES IT WORK?
IT’S ALL ABOUT
OFFSETTING
www.azebra.co.ukPAGE 7
WE PLAY BY THE RULES
THROUGHOUT the many changes within the
umbrella and recruitment industry over the years,
our main objective has been to play by the rules
and protect our clients and employees.
UMBRELLA PAYROLL is very
simple and we all have to
follow the same process, so
if any company tells you they
can pay your contractors
more, they are NOT working
compliantly.
WE WORK very closely with
our External Compliance
Advisors Francis Clark who
have approved our contracts,
procedures and process.
WE WILL NOT allow anyone to be employed by
AZebra if they are unable to show us their right to
work in the UK, and the appropriate ID.
WE ALSO FOLLOW strict guidelines from our legal advisors on contractual obligations with both employees and clients. Expenses are audited and monitored before being processed.
THERE IS a lot of negative press associated with our industry, and unfortunately, we seem to get dragged into associations with offshore payroll companies. AZebra have never, and would never, operate an offshore payroll service, and we welcome government plans to investigate offshore tax evasion schemes.
WE REVIEW the contracts of each employee following registration. Our Contract review process ensures that we reduce any potential tax liabilities for the agency, particularly in respect of employment status.
DOING IT RIGHT
DON’T BREAK THE RULES
“IF ANY COMPANY TELLS YOU THEY CAN PAY YOUR
CONTRACTORS MORE, THEY ARE NOT WORKING
COMPLIANTLY.”
www.azebra.co.uk PAGE 8
EXCELLENCE IN BLACK & WHITE
NO GREY AREAS...
Our Customer Service team is dedicated to compliance, service and customer satisfaction. There isn’t a question they will not answer, or a task they won’t do. It’s what AZebra do best, so this team is central to the way our business is run.
1) SIGN UP GUARANTEE – All new contractors called within 1 hour of referral
2) 24 HOUR RESPONSE TIME - All contractors receive their welcome pack within 24 hours of being signed up to the service. All contracts returned are logged and checked before payroll is processed.
3) NO TELEPHONE QUEUING SYSTEM – We have consciously chosen to not place inbound calls in a queue. We believe that you should be able to talk to a person every time you call.
4) FIRST PAYSLIP CALLS - We call each contractor after they have received their first weeks payment. We ensure that the contractor is happy with the service, has benefited from expenses and has understood the deductions that have been made.
5) ID VERIFICATION - We will not allow anyone to be employed by AZebra if they are unable to
show us their right to work in the UK, and the appropriate ID.
6) OVERARCHING CONTRACT - We follow strict guidelines from our legal advisors on contractual obligations with both employees and clients. Expenses are audited and monitored before being processed.
CONTRACTOR SIGN UP PROCESS
Contractors can sign up with AZebra by telephone or by completing our application form. One of our advisors will go through the complete process with the worker. They will establish whether they qualify for the Umbrella Scheme and then proceed to cover the following:
1. New referrals are called within 1 hour.
2. Umbrella payroll explained in full, including expenses, deductions and procedures.
3. Contractor sent welcome pack.
4. Agency sent contract for services informing them of contractor registration.
5. Consultants informed daily of referrals unable to be contacted.
AZEBRA SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT
www.azebra.co.ukPAGE 9
RELAX, WE’VE GOT IT
COVERED
EXPENSESAZEBRA IS required by HMRC to validate (as far as possible) that only legitimate expenses are processed. To ensure this, each expense is checked and verified prior to being processed through our system. We also audit a random 10% selection each week . Rejected expense claims will be discussed with the contractor to ensure a full understanding of what can and can’t be claimed.
BEING ABLE to claim expenses for going to work is often something many people have never done before and can seem a bit daunting. Here at AZebra, we want to make it as easy and as clear cut as possible to let the contractor know exactly what can and can’t be claimed. The main point to remember is that the expense needs to have been incurred wholly & exclusively for work related purposes and nothing else.
TO CLAIM EXPENSES the contractor will need to have a reasonable expectation that they will be working more than one assignment through AZebra Umbrella and they have not been, or do not expect to be, at the same workplace for more than 24 months.
THE EXPENSES that are claimed cannot exceed
an amount to take the contractor below National
Minimum Wage (NMW). This means that they will
always pay Tax and NI on the hours worked at
NMW and the remaining amount can be used to
offset expenses against.
Please see our expense guide for a full list of
allowable expenses.
HOLIDAY PAY
HOLIDAY PAY IS based on 12.07% of the contractor’s
basic pay.
THE CONTRACTOR can choose to have the holiday
pay paid out to them on a weekly basis, or retained
by AZebra to be paid on request.
If Holiday Pay has been retained, the contractor
will need to e-mail [email protected] to
request for it to be paid out.
WHEN a contractor leaves AZebra, the Holiday
Pay will automatically be paid out.
THE HOLIDAY PAY can be taken at any
time, the contractor would never lose
it if they did not request it within a
specific period of time.
AZEBRA EXPENSE AND HOLIDAY POLICY
www.azebra.co.uk PAGE 10
ALWAYS IN YOUR CORNER
THE MAIN ADVANTAGE of working through
AZebra is that the contractor can offset their
expenses to reduce the amount of tax they pay.
• ONLY working through an Umbrella company
can they offset expenses due to an overarching
contract between AZebra and the contractor. This
contract achieves a temporary work place status.
• AGENCIES would normally give the contractor
a higher rate of pay to go through an Umbrella
company. They would then no longer have the
payroll administration, statutory requirements
and employers National Insurance to deal with.
• THE CONTRACTOR can remain employed by
AZebra if they work for different agencies,
enabling them to keep better records, and keep
their tax free allowance in one place.
• AZEBRA HAS a dedicated customer services
department to deal with compliance, queries and
administration. This can take away the burden
from Consultants of any pay related questions.
ILLUSTRATIONAZebra can calculate illustrations for contractors
to let them know what they may potentially be
taking home if they are paid through Umbrella. The
illustration below is based on a standard tax code,
with the agency uplifting the PAYE rate by 8%.
PAYE VS UMBRELLA
PAYE UMBRELLAHOURS @ RATE £12.00 @ 40 HOURS @ RATE
TOTAL INCOME TO COMPANY£12.96 @ 40£518.40
GROSS PAY £480.00 GROSS SALARY INCLUDING HOLIDAY PAYEXPENSES
£386.22£75.00
TAX AND NI £96.64 HMRC EMPLOYEE TAX & NI DEDUCTIONSHMRC EMPLOYER’S NI DEDUCTIONSCOMPANY MARGIN
£66.59 £32.18£25.00
PAYE NET PAY £383.36 UMBRELLA NET PAY £394.63
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CIS AZEBRA WORK with a number of clients within the construction industry and offer a fully compliant CIS payroll service. We follow strict guidelines in our approach to administering the CIS payroll, and have a compliance team on hand to assist both contractors and agencies.
WE WILL ESTABLISH the workers self employed status and administer the CIS deductions on a weekly basis. We will ensure that you met all HMRC requirements eliminating the many risks an agency faces when administering CIS workers.
SELF EMPLOYEDSOME CONTRACTORS like to work under the self employed method and administer their own deductions through an annual self assessment. This method of payment comes with large risks to an agency if the worker is not assessed properly as a being genuinely self employed.
AZEBRA CAN take away all the risk from you and complete full compliance checks prior to payments. We can assist the contractor with self assessments and ensure they adhere to HMRC requirements and recieve an efficient, personal and friendly service when working with our experienced payroll team.
THE ONSHORE Intermediaries & False Self-
employment legislation came into effect on 6th
April 2014. The legislation affects all sectors of
self-employed workers including CIS. “An agency must be able to prove that there is no supervision, control or direction in the work that is carried out by the contractor.”
DEFINITION: DIRECTION IS someone making a person do his/
her work in a certain way by providing them with
instructions, guidance or advice as to how the
work must be done.
SUPERVISION IS someone overseeing a person
doing work, to ensure that person is doing the
work in a certain way. Supervision can also involve
helping the person where appropriate in order to
develop their skills and knowledge.
CONTROL IS someone dictating how a person
does the work detailing methods. Control also
includes someone having the power to move the
person from one job to another.
IF THERE IS A POSSIBILITY that your worker may
not now qualify as a self employed worker they
can easily be transferred to our Umbrella payroll.
We will make this as simple as possible for your
contractors. This will eliminate any risk to you.
The transition of moving your contractors to the
umbrella route will be quick/simple and hassle free.
WE CAN STILL pay contractors through the CIS/
Self-Employed route as long as it is compliant
with the Legislation. One of our advisors would be
happy to would be to discuss this in more detail.
THE ONSHORE INTERMEDIARIES & FALSE SELF-EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION
MORE THAN JUST UMBRELLA...
PAGE 12
LIMITED COMPANYFOR A CONTRACTOR working through their own limited company, it can be the most tax efficient way of getting paid. Managing how they take money from their company, in terms of salary versus dividend, and ensuring that expenses incurred in fulfilling their contracts are used to reduce the corporation tax the company pays, will ensure that they benefit from the maximum take-home pay. There may also be the opportunity to register for Flat Rate VAT – and keep even more of the money their contract pays.
LIMITED COMPANIES enjoy the benefits of allowing a contractor to have “limited liability” whilst taking advantage of a more tax-efficient way of operating. Directors of limited companies must ensure that numerous, often specialist, tasks are completed and responsibilities fulfilled, including real-time PAYE submission, VAT returns, annual accounts and corporation tax returns. These are statutory requirements that will incur penalties if not complete within the deadlines set.
AZEBRA WILL forward the contractors details to our affiliate, who will contact them to discuss the requirements and guide them through the services offered.This will include agreeing with them how to operate the company, and what they wish to do themselves (if anything!). They will be dealt with by a small, dedicated team, who are part of a nationwide network providing accounting and other related services. This will ensure that they always have access to a specialist in the field of Limited Company accounting.
FOR MORE DETAILS contact our sales team.
PAYEAZEBRA CAN ALSO OFFER A standard PAYE payroll service for large or small companies. Many agencies ask us to administer their own staff payroll in addition to their contractors payroll. Managing your payroll can be time consuming and costly, so the option to outsource to a specialist payroll provider is often a welcome relief for business owners.
AZEBRA PAYROLL IS AN EFFICIENT, forward thinking and approachable organisation which has been payrolling thousands of employees successfully for 9 years with an excellent track record. We have always maintained close relationships with all our clients, so you can be assured of a highly personal and friendly service when working with our experienced payroll team.
THERE HAVE BEEN a number of major changes in recent years to the way an organisation has to run the payroll such as RTI and Auto-enrolment. Our job is to make sure your business is kept up to date with these changes and apply them to your payroll when required.
ONE OF OUR BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERS can visit your office and talk you through the PAYE service and how we can help your company.
PAGE 13
“I just wanted to say Thank You for getting people
signed up so quickly, you’re doing a fab job.. Thank
you for all your help.” Consultant
“I have worked along side Azebra for the past 4
years I have found the team extremely professional
in both customer service between contractors
and AZebra, and also any requests we have asked
especially last minute tasks from the payroll
team. The communication is great and there is
always a quick response which is critical when
dealing with someone’s pay. I would certainly
recommend the company to all our contractors.”
Payroll Manager
“Hi AZebra Umbrella, I have a new permanent
job. Please can you arrange to send me
my p45 to my home address. Thank you
for all your help over the last two years.”
Contractor
P AY R O L L S E R V I C E S
Tel: 0845 838 0604 Fax: 0845 838 0605
Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
www.azebra.co.uk
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY...
MORE THAN JUST BLACK AND WHITE PAYROLL
Tel: 0845 838 0604 Fax: 0845 838 0605
Email: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
www.azebra.co.uk
PAGE 14