Umbrella Workers FAQs

When using the Champion employment solution, you become an employee of Champion Contract Services Limited - we act as an intermediary between you and your recruitment agency. This facilitates an overarching contract arrangement, enabling you to provide your services on multiple assignments via multiple agencies, while always remaining a Champion employee.

As your employer, you can be reassured that Champion will manage all of the administration and payroll associated with your assignment, allowing you to just fully concentrate on doing your job.

You will be reassured to know that Champion provide you with the same employment benefits as an agency employee (i.e.  statutory sick pay, holiday pay and workplace pension) and we also provide the required commercial insurances (Professional Indemnity, Public & Employers liability) to enable you to carry out the assignment.

Please click here to see the other great benefits you receive as an employee of Champion Contract Services Limited.

Please contact Champion on 0161 703 2549 and speak to one of our expert advisors.

We will provide you with a personal consultation and if you are then happy to proceed we will take your details over the phone. Alternatively, you can request a call back at a time that is convenient to you.

Once we have provided you with a personal consultation, Champion only need a further 5 minutes of your time to take the personal/assignment/agency details we require from you.

If you prefer, you can complete the application form by clicking here.

Champion need to obtain your personal information as well as relevant details about your agency and the contract assignment you will undertake.

After taking information from you, Champion will contact your agency consultant to let them know that you wish to use our service. We will provide the agency with all of the commercial details they need and will ask them to issue a Contract for Service to the Champion business.

As a courtesy action, Champion suggest that you also directly confirm your intentions to your agency.

As your employer, Champion Contract Services Limited (Champion) must legally prove that you are able to work in the UK. Your personal ID and Right to Work documents will be requested when you sign up with Champion and must be sent to us at your earliest opportunity.

A list of documents that can be used to support your ID and Right to Work in the UK can be found HERE.

As part of the Right to Work process, we will also carry out an online ID check to verify your identity* - we will then contact you to arrange a short video call which will allow Champion to compare all documents that you have provided and then finalise the process.

*This will not leave any imprint on your credit score

Please note that the verification process must be completed before we can issue your contract of employment and formalise our relationship with you

Yes. Your P45 will confirm your current tax code and will provide details of the Income Tax that you have already paid in this financial year. The P45 allows Champion to ensure that all of your future payments are calculated correctly.

If you do not have a P45 please complete a HMRC New Starter Checklist Form and return it to Champion.

This form enables Champion to request a tax code on your behalf from HMRC. Until the tax code is issued, your payments will be processed via a standard tax code using a Week 1 / Month 1 basis or a basic rate tax code if you have another job or receive a state or occupational pension.

Yes. If you are with another provider then you will simply need to inform them that you no longer wish to use their services – you must also ask them to issue your P45 at the earliest opportunity.

Note: Your former provider will not be able to send your P45 to you until they have processed any final payment due. It is important that you send parts 2 & 3 of the P45 to Champion as soon as you receive it.

No. There are no set up costs attached to the Champion service.

If you no longer require our services, Champion will need you to provide confirmation of your intentions in writing.

Please email payroll@championcontractors.co.uk to confirm your Champion reference number, full name, reason for leaving and the final working day on your assignment.

Note 1 - Champion are unable to issue a P45 to you until we have processed your final payment. If your address and contact details are going to change, please confirm all new information within the above referenced email.

Note 2- In circumstances where you have not been paid by Champion for 6 consecutive weeks, we will write to you and request that you confirm your current status. If we do not receive a response from you within 10 working days, we will automatically issue your P45 to you.

No. There are no leaving costs attached to the Champion service.

Once you have registered with Champion, you will be sent a link inviting you to log into your own personal online portal.

When you have logged on for the first time an electronic welcome pack will be available for you to review and accept. The pack will contain the following:

• Assignment Confirmation Note
• Contract of Employment
• Health & Safety Questionnaire

In future, you will use the portal to view your weekly/monthly payslips and, if relevant, to log your expense submissions.

If your agency has self-billing status, you do not need to provide Champion with a copy of your signed timesheet. You will however need to ensure that any hours/days worked have been agreed by your client prior to the agency  weekly/monthly cut off point.  In these circumstances, your agency will provide Champion with a weekly/monthly self-billing remittance ahead of issuing a relevant payment.

If your agency does not have self-billing status, then you will be required to confirm the number of hours/days you have worked AND also upload a copy of your signed  timesheet via your Champion portal. If necessary, you can also email a note of your time worked each week/month along with a copy of your timesheet  to payroll@championcontractors.co.uk

You will ALSO be required to send the signed timesheet (or equivalent) to your agency/client each week/month.

If you are unsure of the self-billing status of your agency, please contact a Champion advisor on 0161 703 2549.

Your payslip will be available for you to view the day before the actual payment is in your personal bank account.

For example, you will receive your payslip every Thursday if you are scheduled to be paid on a Friday.

You will receive a notification from Champion once your payslip is available. You can then subsequently log on to view all payment information.

Champion will pay you in accordance with the schedule outlined on your Assignment Confirmation Note.

In these circumstances please contact the Champion payroll team by phone (0161 703 2549) or email payroll@championcontractors.co.uk so we can investigate on your behalf.

Yes. Holiday pay is included within the pay rate highlighted on your Assignment Confirmation Note.

Champion will provide you with the option whereby we can retain holiday pay on your behalf and pay you these funds when you take annual leave or, alternatively, we can pay you the funds every week to allow you to personally save them aside for your vacations.

This matter will be outlined as part of the set up process however you can find also more details in the holiday pay section of the Champion employee handbook which is available by clicking here.

Employers costs include Employers National Insurance Contributions and the recently introduced (April 2017) Apprenticeship Levy. They are explained as follows:

Employers National Insurance Contributions (ENICS)

When you are in permanent employment your employer has a statutory liability to pay Employers National Insurance Contributions (ENIC).

If you work via the Champion employment solution, the process is exactly the same. ENIC still needs to be paid on your assignment income and it is therefore imperative that Champion and your agency liaise to ensure that the burden has been correctly accounted for within your rate.

If your pay rate does not account for ENIC then you will actually take home less money than you would do if you had alternatively arranged for your agency to pay you via their own internal payroll function.

For information, ENIC is calculated at 13.8% on earnings above £175.00 per week and is uncapped. If, for example, the agency PAYE rate of an assignment was £20.00 per hour, then your rate should be adjusted to £22.76 per hour (£20.00 x 13.8%) when using Champion employment solution. Please bear this in mind before you accept a rate and do not hesitate to call a Champion advisor if further clarity is required.

Apprenticeship Levy (AL)

The AL was introduced on 6th April 2017 for all businesses (including umbrella companies) who have a wage bill in excess of £3 million per annum. As with ENIC, the AL has been calculated within your hourly/daily rate (0.5% of the gross for tax).

The funds collected for the AL are allocated to an apprenticeship training fund (run by the government) and therefore Champion Contractors will not benefit financially from these deductions.

The net amount you are paid is based on a number of different factors. These are your rate of pay, the number of hours worked, your tax code/allowance and, where applicable, the value of expense claims you have submitted. If these factors are constant, then you should receive the same net payment every week/month.

In each financial year HMRC will provide you with an updated tax code - this confirms your tax free allowance. The higher the tax code, the more you can earn before you are liable for Income Tax.

Example: For the 2022/23 financial year the standard tax free allowance is £12,570 and the majority of UK tax payers will be put on an1275L tax code.

If you have another job or if you are in receipt of a pension that already uses your tax allowance then your earnings through Champion will be taxed as secondary income, meaning you will pay more Income Tax. 

If you are not in receipt of any other income and you have provided Champion with a P45 or an HMRC New Starter Checklist Form then this may suggest that HMRC do not have your up to date information on file. If this is the case then you will need to personally contact HMRC and speak to one of their advisors.

You can call HMRC on 0300 200 3300 – you will need to quote your National Insurance number and may also need to confirm the Champion Tax Office reference number which is 080/TA31008.

Once you have spoken to HMRC they will automatically provide Champion with an update of your new tax code/allowance.

Yes. A P60 is a summary of your taxable earnings and tax that has been paid during the financial year – this will be issued automatically to you if you are using the Champion employment solution on 5^th April every year and you should receive it by the end of April

Note: If you leave Champion prior to the 5^th April, you will receive a P45.

If your only income in the tax year is paid through an employment solution then all tax will have been deducted at source and you will not need to complete a self-assessment tax return (SATR).

Note: if you have travel/subsistence expenses to claim and you have not been subject to Supervision, Direction or Control rules then you do need to submit a SATR to HMRC. If the claim is for less than £2,500 your claim can be made via the submission of a P87.

The scheme closed to new applicants on 4^th October 2018; For more information please see the link below:

https://www.gov.uk/help-with-childcare-costs/childcare-vouchers

Yes. Pending eligibility, you will be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme after 12 weeks on your assignment. Deductions are taken at source meaning you obtain appropriate tax relief.

The Champion workplace pension scheme is operated by Now: Pensions Limited and they will contact you ahead of the 12 week stage to provide further information about their service.

If you are categorized as ‘non-eligible’, you will not be automatically enrolled into the scheme. Similarly, if you are categorized as an ‘entitled worker’, you will not be automatically enrolled but you can choose to do so. All ‘eligible workers’ are required to be enrolled after 12 weeks. More information on the different categories can be found at www.nowpensions.com.

If you would prefer to opt out of the Champion workplace pension scheme and use your own pension provider instead then please contact our payroll team.

Background

It used to be the case that if you worked through an employment solution and you intended to undertake multiple assignments then you would be able to claim tax relief on your travel and subsistence (T&S) expenditure.

However, on 6^th April 2016 new legislation was brought in to restrict T&S tax relief. The relief was deemed to be unfair because staff employees who work alongside contractors cannot claim the same tax advantage.

The new rules will prevent a majority of workers who use the Champion employment solution from making T&S claims.

What does this mean for me?

To be able to claim any expenses you will need to be able to demonstrate that you are not considered to be under the Supervision, Direction or Control (SDC) of any person (working for the end client or agency) in the manner in which you undertake the assignment.

To assist you to clarify your SDC status, Champion have developed a robust assessment process that will be issued to you as soon as your assignment has commenced.

Note – your end client organisation must also partake in the SDC assessment process. A Champion advisor will provide more specific detail on this requirement before any process begins.

If you are able to satisfactorily pass the assessment then you will be able to claim all T&S expenses that are deemed ‘wholly, exclusively and necessarily’ to fulfil the terms of your assignment.

How do I know if I can claim?

Once Champion have reviewed your SDC assessment, along with the response received from your end client, we will communicate the result to you via email. This will occur within 48 hours of receiving all relevant information.

If you are able to claim your expenses then we will issue you with a full guidance pack to confirm your entitlements and the process we need you to follow when claiming.

How will my expenses be paid?

If you are incurring mileage then this will be calculated and processed within your pay on a weekly/ monthly basis.

If any other T&S expenses are incurred then these need to be claimed at the end of the financial year via a Self-Assessment Tax Return or P87. Champion will provide support with these claims.

If I can claim will I need to keep receipts?

Yes. It has always been the case that you should be able to provide evidence that a cost has been incurred for each expense.

For further information on expenses you can access our online expense form or read or guidance documents.

SSP is a statutory payment in relation to sick leave from work that you may be entitled to receive.

If you have undergone work on your contract and earn a minimum of £123 per week and have been absent from work due to illness for 4 or more consecutive days, you are entitled to be paid SSP.

This amount paid can change from year to year. For the most up to date levels please click HERE.

SSP is claimable for up to 28 weeks of your illness

For sickness that lasts 7 days or more, a doctor’s note is required. You are able to self-certify if your absence from work is less than 7 days.

SSP is paid on your usual payment date.

No, we do not apply a margin to payments of SSP alone.

You will receive an SSP1 form from us which you can use to apply for Employment and Support Allowance from your local government.

SMP is a statutory payment in relation to maternity pay that you may be entitled to receive.

You must meet the below criteria to be eligible to claim for SMP:

• Be on our payroll in the ‘qualifying week’ - the 15th week before the expected week of childbirth.
• Provide proof you are pregnant (usually via SMP1 form provided by the midwife).
• Have worked for us continuously for at least 26 weeks up to any day in the qualifying week.
• Earn at least £123 a week (gross) in an 8-week ‘relevant period’.

SMP is claimable for up to 39 weeks.

This amount paid can change from year to year. For the most up to date levels please click HERE.

SMP is paid on your usual payment date.

No, we do not apply a margin to payments of SMP alone.

You will receive an SMP1 form from us which you can use to apply for Maternity Allowance from your local government.