Managing Agency Workers 2014

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July 2014

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MANAGING RISK IN THE TEMPORARY SOCIAL WORKFORCE HEALTHCARE: CRISIS OR ROAD TO RECOVERY? 01_Recruit_MAR_Cover.indd Sec2:1

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SPONSOR’S STATEMENT

Legislation brings taxing issues in healthcare Recent legislative change has brought yet more confusion for companies supplying temporary workers to the healthcare sector. Barry Roback, director at Anderson Group, outlines some of the challenges now facing agencies staff, do the VAT concessions that apply to the supply of services, rather than employed staff, still apply?

Whilst grappling with the test changes and definition of control, agencies who haven’t already done so need to carry out a thorough audit of their supply chains, reviewing and amending contracts with hirers where appropriate and ensuring PAYE and VAT is paid where due.

Alternatives to self-employed workers, such as limited companies, need to be checked by agencies to make sure they are legitimately constituted and also have the correct remuneration methods in place. Umbrella companies also need to be thoroughly examined, to ensure they are compliant and have the essential experience and expertise to help navigate the changes.

The new Onshore Intermediaries Legislation may be the most significant change to the industry for many years and has caused a great deal of misunderstanding and confusion. However, new regulations that prevent erroneous operators and bad practices contribute to professionalising the market and can only be good for the long term.

Anderson Group is well prepared for change; having strengthened and invested in teams that can help recruiters examine existing arrangements and if needed, implement new compliant solutions. Working with over 200 recruitment businesses on tailored employment solutions in a variety of sectors, the Group has built the necessary experience and expertise to help agencies find the best path to meet their obligations, while remaining competitive and compliant.

RAFA BASTOS

The recent introduction of the Onshore Intermediaries Legislation has left many recruiters reeling and confused. Not only do agencies have to contend with existing unresolved issues of VAT in the supply chain and uncertainty over direct engagement models, but they must also now consider how the new law affects their business; in particular, their treatment of VAT. This new area of confusion is a direct result of HMRC’s new self-employment test. Under the new legislation, the right of supervision, direction and control is now the sole test applied to determine if a worker is self-employed, for the treatment of tax, even though for employment law purposes, substitution and mutuality of obligation still play a part.

Now that substitution and mutuality of obligation are no longer applicable tests for the correct treatment of tax, the issue of control now comes under much closer scrutiny – and it is worth noting that control not only applies to an employer who manifestly maintains ‘control’ over its workers, but also to those that still retain the ‘right’ of direction, supervision and control.

It is this right of control that is causing the healthcare sector a great deal of uncertainty, particularly given the various degrees by which a worker can be told what to do, coupled with the levels at which control is perceived to exist. The fact that control is discussed in terminology that is open to interpretation (rather than using a definitive empirical test) only adds further to the lack of clarity. Moreover, most hospitals, even if they don’t exert control over their medical staff, would usually reserve the right to control, which effectively means they cannot now engage any self-employed workers without incurring the wrath of HMRC. So if the supply (for tax purposes) now becomes that of employed

Barry Roback, director, Anderson Group

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Crises in UK healthcare and social work services are profound. To say both pose ‘life and death’ issues to the UK on a whole is an understatement, almost to the point of cliché.

Changes in how such services are delivered mean changes in how professionals in those fields are recruited, and who is recruited to provide the services, and on what basis — temporary or permanent — and from where.

Recruiters are at the forefront of change here, adapting to, as well as driving, necessary evolution in accepted and best practices. Agility, innovation, an eye on costs and an unstinting focus on the well being of the vulnerable and ill must all be uppermost in mind. It’s about service — and the ultimate in candidate and client care.

Contents

6 Together, recruiters and their end user clients have both opportunity and responsibility to make a difference in providing these life-critical services to the UK population: make a difference, and build a legacy of quality care and service to those who need it most.

Building a legacy With councils struggling to attract permanent social workers, how can recruiters help provide stability for vulnerable people?

12 Staffing health Skill shortages and stricter compliance are presenting recruiters with extra challenges to staff the health service. Are they coping?

20 Directory Listings See a list of companies offering services

DeeDee Doke, Editor Scan here to get your own copy of Recruiter

EDITORIAL Editor: DeeDee Doke T: +44 (0)20 7880 7601 deedee.doke@recruiter.co.uk Senior reporter: Colin Cottell T: +44 (0)20 7880 7603 colin.cottell@recruiter.co.uk Reporter: Matt Bodimeade T: +44 (0)20 7880 7606 matt.bodimeade@recruiter.co.uk Production editor: Vanessa Townsend T: +44 (0)20 7880 7602 vanessa.townsend@recruiter.co.uk Art editor: Adrian Taylor ADVERTISING Business development manager: Tom Culley T: +44 (0)20 7880 7607 tom.culley@recruiter.co.uk Senior sales executive: Lisa-Jane Parker +44 (0)20 7880 7608 lisa-jane.parker@recruiter.co.uk Recruitment advertising: Amalia Zafeiratou +44 (0)20 7880 7608 amalia@redactive.co.uk Fax +44 (0)20 7880 7553 PRODUCTION Deputy production manager: Kieran Tobin T: +44 (0)20 7880 6240 kieran.tobin@redactive.co.uk PUBLISHING Publishing director: Aaron Nicholls T: +44 (0)20 7880 8547 aaron.nicholls@redactive.co.uk RECRUITER AWARDS Events: Juliette Bond T: +44 (0)20 7324 2771 juliette.bond@redactive.co.uk CIRCULATION and SUBSCRIPTIONS To receive a regular copy of Recruiter, the leading magazine for recruitment and resourcing professionals, telephone +44 (0)20 8950 9117 or email recruiter@abacusemedia.com • Recruiter is also available to people who do not meet our terms of control: Annual subscription rate for 12 issues: £29.99 UK £35 Europe and Rest of the World • To purchase reprints or multiple copies of the magazine, contact Ryan Hadden T: +44 (0)20 7880 7618 ryan.hadden@redactive.co.uk

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SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENTS HAVE TO PROVIDE STABILITY FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE, YET THEIR WORKFORCE OFTEN COMPRISES A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION OF TEMPORARY STAFF. COLIN COTTELL LOOKS AT THE DIFFICULTIES INVOLVED AND HOW COUNCILS ARE TACKLING THEM

Vincent Clark, interim service manager at Birmingham City Council, has a plan. “We aim to have very few temporary staff. We want a permanent workforce,” he says. The workforce to which Clark refers is the council’s team of social workers.

With around 100 permanent vacant positions necessitating the use of agency staff, and around 45 open positions for agency staff, it looks like Clark will have his work cut out.

It’s a workforce and a challenge that aren’t going to go away, as local authorities continue to struggle to attract permanent staff into a sector associated with highprofile cases such as that of Peter Connelly — ‘Baby P’ who was tortured to death while under the supervision of Haringey Council in London in 2007. Indeed, the need to manage these workers effectively is set to become even more pressing and demanding.

According to a report by the think-tank Policy Exchange, the supply of social workers will not meet demand until 2022.

According to Debbie Smith, chief executive of Caritas Recruitment and

“We aim to have very few temporary staff. We want a permanent workforce” Vincent Clark Interim service manager, Birmingham City Council

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chair of the Association of Professional Staffing Companies’ (APSCo’s) social work group, there are already between 8,000 and 12,000 temporary qualified social workers out of a total workforce of 90,000 registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), the statutory regulator for social workers.

Penna Recruitment Solutions supplies interim managers to the sector, and its managing director Julie Towers says there are good reasons why temps will continue to make up a significant proportion of this workforce, despite efforts by councils to bring in more permanent staff. “It can be more advantageous to become an agency worker rather than a perm,” says Towers.

Not only can good temps find work easily, but also with such high demand for their services “if an agency worker has a bad day they might say ‘I am going to work up the road’”, she says.

Given the need for social workers to build relationships with their clients, one of the big challenges for councils is retaining temps, says Smith. “When they leave to go somewhere else, it creates lack of consistency in case work.” But retaining staff is no easy task, with the shortage meaning that temps are “constantly approached about jobs by other agencies”.

In addition, she warns, the lack of social workers with three to four years’ experience means there is a risk of less experienced workers having to carry out quite complex assessments. If this happens, there are also the knock-on effects of bigger caseloads and less staff supervision.

“It doesn’t really matter if they are temporary or permanent staff — the risk is the same,” she adds.

For Towers, much of the responsibility for managing the temporary workforce lies with the line management within social work departments. However, she warns that exercising this responsibility can have its complications, suggesting that

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Managing agency workers 2014

because managers are frightened of losing their temps to another local authority, there is a danger that agency workers “can be tiptoed around by managers”.

Her advice to clients is: “the workforce is the workforce — Otherwise, we could end up with a two-tier workforce. If you can galvanise them, and motivate and look to performance-manage them, you will be fine,” she adds.

Birmingham Council’s Clark agrees that the solution is to treat agency workers in exactly the same way as the permanent staff. This applies to their day-to-day supervision, the allocation of casework, and monitoring their work to make sure it meets all the right statutory requirements.

“We offer them the same level of supervision, and they are part of the team like everybody else. If you treat them fairly and give them the right level of support, you get good value out of agency staff,” he says.

He says the main difference between managing permanent and agency social workers concerns annual performance reviews and professional development plans, which the council conducts only after the temp has been in post for 12 months.

However, when it comes to managing temporary social workers, not all local authorities face the same pressure of numbers. With a total of only eight agency social workers (less than 2% of the total number), East Sussex County Council is less reliant on temps than most local authorities. Leatham Green, assistant director of personnel and training, accepts that such a small number means “there is a little less risk” for the council compared with Birmingham and other councils that employ large numbers of temps. “It’s a different space,” he says.

“It can be more advantageous to become an agency worker rather than a permanent member of staff” Julie Towers Managing director, Penna Recruitment Solutions

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“When temps leave to go somewhere else, it creates lack of consistency in case work” Debbie Smith CEO, Caritas Recruitment Green says this low level of agency staff puts East Sussex in the position of being able to allocate staff in such a way as to minimise client risk. “What we wouldn’t be doing is putting a temporary social worker into a high-risk case. Ideally, we would be looking to use temps for lightertouch work and more experienced staff to manage the high-end cases.”

However, he remains aware of the need for the council to remain vigilant to identify poor performance, in which case he says: “We would say to the agency ‘we don’t want them back’.”

And in cases of clinical incompetence, he says, “we would have a responsibility to report it to the professional body”.

Green also recognises the importance of establishing a clear line between the council’s and the agency’s responsibilities.

At East Sussex, it is the line manager’s responsibility to induct temps into what is expected of them, to explain procedures within the team, and to support them day-to-day in their casework, he says.

Indeed, he adds, for case reviews and debriefs, they probably receive “a bit more support” than the council’s experienced permanent social workers.

Professional registration, and ensuring that it is kept up to date, is the agency’s responsibility, he says. Training, apart from what temps need to know about changes to internal procedures and systems, also falls to the agency.

Steve Cavill, team manager for qualified social work at recruiter Synergy Group, says his agency plays a vital role in carrying out all the necessary preemployment compliance checks, as well as ensuring that all the necessary paperwork is kept up to date. This process varies from ensuring that a worker’s records are amended every time they change their address, to checking that their licence to

work as a social worker is renewed. “It is an ongoing process,” he says.

Smith emphasises the importance of partnership between agency and clients in retaining temporary staff, thereby building a stable workforce. Partnership is something that Ofsted, which inspects children’s and family services, is particularly keen on, she says.

Communication between all the parties is also a vital feature to maintain performance standards and relationships.

“We get regular feedback from the client on their [the workers’] performance, and whether they need additional training,” says Smith. And in turn, she says, “we give the client feedback on what we are hearing from the agency workers. It’s a tripartite relationship”.

One factor that makes communication more difficult is the widespread use of managed service providers (MSP) in the sector, says Smith. Many contracts prohibit direct communication between the agency and the end client, she says, and this can make managing temporary social workers more difficult. For example, it can stop agencies getting feedback on candidates, making it harder to assess their training needs.

However, she says, “Most MSPs are getting to the point where they understand that it is essential, and in some cases they are allowing direct contact with the client.”

This change of policy is a welcome sign, and indicates that managing the UK’s army of temporary social workers effectively depends on the supply chain and clients working closely together. In a sector where the consequences of getting it wrong can be tragic, avoiding such cooperation simply isn’t an option.

“What we wouldn’t be doing is putting a temporary social worker into a high-risk case” Leatham Green Assistant director of personnel and training, East Sussex County Council

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Staffing health: crisis or recovery?

GOVERNMENT CUTBACKS,SKILLS SHORTAGES AND EVER STRICTER COMPLIANCE CHECKS MEANS EXTRA CHALLENGES FOR BOTH RECRUITERS AND NHS MANAGERS ALIKE. DEEDEE DOKE AND MATT BODIMEADE INVESTIGATE

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Managing agency workers 2014

At no time has the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) and the recruiters that serve them faced greater or more diverse challenges.

“[The key to international recruitment is] to ensure that agency staff meet UK compliance and qualification standards”

Skills shortages and tightened client budgets top the list of their contemporary day-to-day headaches, complicated further by an abundance of necessary but time-intensive and expensive requirements to ensure that the agencyprovided healthcare professionals meet compliance and qualification standards.

And the sheer numbers of requirements continue to add up, each fuelling certain complications.

For example: the UK healthcare skills shortage has led to the international recruitment of foreign healthcare professionals to work in the UK, which in turn means immigration administrative hurdles to cross. Sometimes those hurdles and subsequent delays discourage foreign candidates from taking work here.

In a related development, in June this year new powers were granted to the General Medical Council (GMC) to check the English language skills of licensed doctors, resulting in the increasing involvement of recruitment agencies in arranging or conducting these checks.

To put it one way, recruitment agencies supplying healthcare workers, particularly to the NHS, must multitask to unprecedented levels of responsibility. As if the requirement to multi-task without ever losing sight of patient safety and care needed any amplification, it came nevertheless in the 290-recommendation Francis Inquiry report. Released in February 2013, the inquiry and report highlighted failings at the Mid-Staffordshire Foundation Trust and riveted attention on patient well being.

“Recruiting for values and behaviours” within the NHS was a key recommendation in the Francis Inquiry report.

As Deenu Patel, managing director at multi-discipline healthcare recruiter ID Medical tells Recruiter, points out: “The use of agencies is not to simply ‘plug

Andrew Preston Managing director, de Poel Clarity

gaps’ but to maintain patient care and delivery at all times, with a compliant, highly skilled, flexible and full-fledged workforce.”

Claire Billenness, managing director – client solutions of HCL Workforce Solutions, which supplies health and social care workforce solutions, says: “The big emphasis is on ensuring that all workers that are coming through

“We’ve changed our business model. It’s now much more structured to our clients’ needs” Jason Stewart Chief executive, DRC Locums

agencies are fully compliant,” adding that “cost, speed, removal of administration and high levels of clinical compliance” are also NHS priorities.

Multi-tasking to this level requires recruiters to invest heavily, both in terms of time and finances, in the workforces they supply. “It costs between £5001,000 to get a worker fully compliant,” Billenness goes on to say, “and that

“Staff that have been brought in from overseas are often unable to hit the ground running” Steven Anthony Operations director, Athona Recruitment

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is before you put them out to work.

You have got to churn a huge amount of hours before you even get close to covering your compliance costs, let alone the operating costs.”

So how can recruiters manage and prevail in the face of these complex demands?

Agencies such as ID Medical have ramped up their international recruitment drives and offer services including orientation programmes, medical English courses and what they describe as “ongoing guidance” during candidates’ transition from their home countries to living and working in the UK. The company has also launched its own medical English online course.

In the view of Andrew Preston, managing director of de Poel Clarity, which specialises in managing temporary workforces in the NHS as well as in private health and care sectors, the key to international recruitment is “to ensure that agency staff meet UK compliance and qualification standards, have sufficient training and are provided with a clear outline of their roles and responsibilities for each position they fill”.

While that sounds like a simple recipe for success, Steven Anthony, Athona Recruitment’s operations director – medical, knows that it is not always easily followed. He acknowledges that there have been a number of success stories related to recruitment from overseas, but adds there have also been “a number of failures”.

“Staff that have been brought in from overseas are often unable to hit the ground running, and can’t cope with the pressure and demand of the work, having not been used to such a pace in their home country,” Anthony tells Recruiter.

However, recruiters widely favour the GMC’s new powers to test foreign doctors’ English skills. Under the new powers, the GMC will be able to refuse to grant a licence to a European doctor who cannot demonstrate they have the necessary knowledge of English, and will also have the power to require European doctors to undergo a language

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The current hot topic The hot topic in payroll at the moment is the changes in Onshore Employment Intermediaries Legislation.

The Government recently made changes to the long standing Agency Legislation in order to tackle the growth of intermediaries disguising employment as false self-employment. The aim of the changes is to recover employment income and protect workers being deprived of basic employment rights.

Although the worker previously benefitted from being selfemployed because they paid a slightly lower level of NIC and they could claim tax and NICs free expenses; these benefits did not compensate for the loss of employment rights. The workers will now receive: National Minimum Wage, sick pay, maternity/paternity pay, holiday pay, redundancy pay and pensions contributions. In some cases the worker will have not registered with HMRC as selfemployed, and may find themselves facing a large, unexpected tax bill at the end of the year.

upon them. The new measures will now protect their pay rights and will also ensure a more level playing field for businesses wanting to operate compliantly with all legislations.

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Catherine Roberts, Head of Account Management at Candor, said: “Candor supports the Government’s aim to address the problem of tax evasion through false self-employment.

“The new legislation offers greater security to potentially vulnerable workers who may have had self-employed status forced

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assessment if this is needed to make a decision about their fitness to practise.

For his part, Anthony supports the implementation of language testing for foreign healthcare professionals to “help with the high expectations expected [of candidates] when working within the NHS”.

Tony Moss, managing director of Your World Healthcare, agrees. “We have to have a level of insurance that the level of English is sufficient to work within the NHS in the UK,” he tells Recruiter.

Moss predicts that another development likely to have a major impact on recruitment in the healthcare sector is the proposed revalidation of nurses every three years, planned to start in December 2015. A public consultation into nurse and midwife revalidation is now underway and scheduled to end next month [August].

Revalidation every five years for doctors began in December 2012. Says Moss: “It’s important that we learn our lessons from the doctors’ revalidation, and use those in best practice to ensure nurse revalidation is a smoother process.”

Moss suggests “getting somebody in house who can revalidate our staff… having your own person has got to be an advantage”. He adds: “It’s still going to be a difficult process, and I hope the NHS is willing to work with us to ensure locum staff are revalidated.”

Moss argues that the benefits to patients far outweighs the difficulties: “We have time, and we’re already working on how we facilitate this, but it’s going to be nothing but positive from the patient point of view. For nurses that qualified 15 years ago, for them to demonstrate safe practice is nothing but positive. As an agency, being able to provide that evidence to our clients is essential as it is about patient care at the end of the day.”

Changes within the NHS have led to many healthcare recruiters looking inward at their own operations. Today, Milton Keynes-based DRC Locums works ever more closely with the human resources, procurement and workforce planning

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“We have to have a level of insurance that the level of English is sufficient to work within the NHS in the UK” Tony Moss Managing director, Your World Healthcare

components of their NHS Trust clients.

And as the NHS undergoes significant change, so has how DRC Locums works with them, creating a “huge culture change”, the company’s chief executive Jason Stewart tells Recruiter. “We’ve changed our business model. It’s now much more structured to our clients’ needs,” he says. “It’s really been a two-year programme of fundamental change within our organisation.”

“The use of agencies is not to simply ‘plug gaps’ but to maintain patient care and delivery at all times” Deenu Patel Managing director, ID Medical

Previously, the business would have served its NHS Trust clients via a standard temps desk. However, now each Trust is served with a dedicated account manager that is the “client’s representative”, or single point of contact, within the company, and is charged with fully understanding their specific needs

and issues, along with ensuring they are met and dealt with, Stewart says.

In addition, DRC Locums has “upskilled and upgraded” the company’s management team and client management team by investing in training as well as recruiting into the business specialists in HR, procurement and workforce planning from supplier industries, Stewart says.

HCL Workforce Solutions has also looked inward, and spent the last three years restructuring its business “and employing really talented and bright people in the resourcing roles. We invested heavily in resourcing, training and development”, says HCL’s Billenness.

“We also invested heavily in compliance with clinical professionals infiltrated in the team. A third of the people in our organisation are either in resourcing or compliance roles. We have moved away from and have far fewer 360 [degree] consultants. What we have is, highly experienced client consultants.”

As it embarked on its path of change, HCL also took a highly significant strategic decision, Billenness reveals.

“We were a high-yield, opportunist organisation, and we were contract driven,” she says. “We made a strategic decision to become an absolutely 100% ‘on trend’ web organisation, and that would therefore be driven by contracts and high volume, and that would therefore drive us to be high volume and low yield. We would therefore be a lowcost provider to the NHS. This does not mean,” she adds quickly, “that we would compromise quality.”

But is that model sustainable, Billenness is asked?

“Is is sustainable?” she repeats. “I think we have to adapt as an industry, we have to remember that it is the public purse that we are spending, something that you and I contribute to on a monthly basis from our pay packet. The population is getting bigger, we are becoming more dependent on medication and treatment, we are living longer, and therefore we have to provide a solution. There has to be a solution.”

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Back Office Contact details

T: 01260 280 290 F: 01260 276 969 Email: info@backofficesupport services.co.uk www.backofficesupportservices.co.uk

Back Office Support Services was formed in 1998 and is one of the most established and experienced Back Office providers in the UK. We have helped recruitment agencies prosper into successful, award-winning businesses by providing superb quality and exceptional service.

Our greatest asset is our staff. Our highly qualified team is committed to delivering an unrivalled back office service to all our clients. We pride ourselves on delivering the highest quality service to every one of our clients and we have a strong philosophy for accuracy.

Re-focus your sales team on revenue and wealth creation and leave the tedious, time-sapping administration to the specialists.

“ Your total payroll solution”

payroll services made easy,

fast, accurate and reliable

candor delivers bespoke, hassle-free and eѝcient payroll services in: O O O O O O O

PAYE Payroll Umbrella PAYE CIS Limited Companies Sole Trader Payroll Outsourcing Payroll Factoring

Candor Contractors Ltd, 4a Olympic Park, Woolston Grange Avenue, Birchwood, Warrington WA2 0YL t: 0845 388 3001 f: 0845 388 3002 e: contact@candor.co.uk www.candor.co.uk

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Candor Contact details

T: 0845 388 3001 F: 0845 388 3002 M: 07983200949 W: www.candor.co.uk E: contact@candor.co.uk

Candor works across the UK to deliver bespoke payroll services in PAYE payroll, Umbrella PAYE, HMRC compliant CIS contractors, Limited Companies, Sole Trader, Factoring and Outsourcing.

Our services are personalised around the client’s specific requirements and we pride ourselves in providing accurate payments on time in line with all of the latest regulations, making the payroll process hassle-free for your business.

No matter the size of organisation, we have the skills and experience to deliver an efficient and reliable service for every company. Each client will be allocated a dedicated Account Manager to deal with any questions you or your contractors may have.

First Choice Software Contact details

T: 01256 314600 Email: sales@firstchoice.org.uk Web: www.firstchoice.org.uk

First Choice Software was founded by recruiters in 1996 to build and provide recruitment software to help recruitment companies achieve maximum sales from their consultants, while providing a great customer experience to their clients and candidates. Today the company is acknowledged as a market leader offering innovative solutions to progressive small companies as well as many enterprise clients. RDB ProNet is renowned for its usable workflows, ease of integration, customisation capability, compliance and security, and offers a choice of on-site, Cloud and hybrid solutions.

RDB ProNet is a truly complete recruitment software technology platform. It has inbuilt support for Vendor Management, on-line timesheets, websites and web portals, iPhone and iPad apps and countless third party products including most common back office products and multi-posters.

First Choice stands behind the flexibility, security and ROI delivered by its solutions.

Forest Contact details

T: 0845 459 4099 Email: umbrella@forest-group.co.uk Web: www.forest-group.co.uk

Umbrella companies? Surely you’d rather have qualified experts dealing with your most important asset – your candidates...

We understand this, we understand recruitment, and we know that happy candidates are worth their weight in gold. We’re an ICAEW member firm, as well as an FCA regulated firm of financial advisers.

Contractor payments, insurances, pensions, financial planning – our partner agencies get a lot from us. Get in touch today to find out how you and your candidates can earn smarter, live better.

ICS Contact details

T: 0800 195 3750 Email: enquiries@icsuk.com Web: www.icsuk.com

ICS have worked in partnership with recruitment agencies since 2002, providing an umbrella solution and accountancy services to thousands of contractors, freelancers and temporary workers.

Limited Company Service – Three levels of support; Umbrella Solution – Quick set up and simple process It is our job to take compliance seriously and we have tailored our services to ensure that we remain compliant.

We retain one of the big four accountancy firms to advise us, ensuring that we are always on top of any legislative changes. Every client that our recruitment partners refer to ICS receives the highest levels of client care and we ensure the agency is kept updated throughout the joining process.

Five good reasons to choose ICS: Full compliance with legislation; Over a decade working with contractors and agencies; Independently audited annually; Dedicated account team for any queries; Inclusive insurances for the contractor For our recruitment partners, we are a first point of contact for advice on legislation that may impact them and their candidates. Working in partnership, Think ICS.

PayStream Contact details

T: 0800 197 6516 F: 0161 601 7842 Email: info@paystream.co.uk Web: www.paystream.co.uk

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When you and your contractors are looking for real choice, innovative services and expert advice, you can count on PayStream.

Our service offering means that we can support all your contractors, regardless of industry and circumstance by delivering appropriate solutions rather than offering a “one size fits all” service.

We believe in offering real choice and a first class service, which is why over 90% of contractors asked, said that they would refer our services to a friend.

Our team have extensive accounting, payroll, tax and legal knowledge and experience. This in-house knowledge, together with external support from our tax advisors on legislative changes, means that we pride ourselves on providing pro-active support to agencies. This ensures that you and your contractors receive the best and most compliant services in the market, which is why we work closely with many different agencies every week, including most of the top 20.

For a friendly, straightforward approach that delivers maximum returns for minimum effort, you can count on PayStream.

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Managing agency workers 2014

Ship Shape Contact details

Kavan Threadgold, Commercial director T: 020 7706 5240 Email: natalie.wright@ shipshaperesources.com Web: www.shipshaperesources.com Payroll and free back office outsourcing

Ship Shape’s umbrella payroll provides market leading worker and agency benefits. Outsource any (or all) of your back office administration and costs to Ship Shape, free of charge, to create a cutting edge recruitment operation.

Recruitment Finance: Up to 90% of your approved invoice value will be funded, subject to status approval, at zero cost to you.

Pay and Bill: We handle timesheet collation and approval plus client invoicing. We can make payments to agency employees, umbrella PAYE, self-employed, limited companies and even other payrolls. The Ship Shape BACS Bureau manages payments to workers, HMRC and performs bank account reconciliation (as required).

Timesheet Management: Ship Shape has the technology to complete the entire timesheet process, from worker submission to online fulfilment, client approval and billing.

Compliance Administration: Ship Shape takes on the compliance and employment liabilities on behalf of the agency. Workers are registered and compliance records made available to agencies and clients, 24/7 via any internet device.

Credit Control: Cash flow is a key concern for many SMEs yet few have the time and resources to chase all outstanding invoices to conclusion. Our outsourced credit control service will provide you with the peace of mind that credit control is handled by experienced professionals who will handle your clients politely, using a systemised and rigorous process.

Our Guarantee: Ship Shape’s payroll processes and contract documentation have been audited by industry experts Saffrey Champness and Brabners LLP. With an in-house team of qualified accountants and tax experts we are confident enough to contractually take on all compliance liability for CIS, IR35, AWR, MSC legislation, and general employer responsibilities.

Sterling Contact details

T: 01925 626285 Email: sales@thesterlinggroup.co.uk Web: www.thesterlinggroup.co.uk

At Sterling Umbrella we take looking after our clients needs very seriously. Compliance and Customer service are at the forefront of our focus. We are an APSCo Affiliate Member and are Professional Passport Approved which gives added reassurance that we do things properly.

We pride ourselves on ensuring we deliver a compliant service and we follow strict HMRC guidelines and procedures. We react immediately to legislation changes ensuring we are always up to date with changes within our industry.

We have a dedicated Agency Account team who will look after your needs and assist where needed in the joining process of your contractors. Our joining process is simple and enables contractors to join online within minutes or via speaking with one of our experienced Joining Team members who walk contractors through every aspect of their chosen payment method.

Our umbrella model gives contractors the security of being employed and the ability to claim back business related expenses with our fully audited expense procedure, such as travel and subsistence whilst on assignment.

Simplyco Contact details

Paul Murphy T: 01900 898 440 Email: hello@simplyco.co.uk Web: Simplyco.co.uk

Choosing the right umbrella company to work with is more important now than it’s ever been and at Simplyco we take tax and employment status compliance very seriously.

New legislation surrounding employment status puts agencies and their owners at considerable risk of penalties if their umbrella company gets it wrong. We’re a long established, UK based financially secure company and we know the recruitment industry inside out.

We’re not a big, faceless company. Just a friendly, expert team of old hands and wise heads. Downto-earth, trustworthy people who know our stuff, and we’ll share that knowledge with our agency partners.

Simplyco Umbrella is the first choice for agencies that care about compliance and receiving an excellent level of service. For a life less complicated get in touch with our team today.

Umbrella-Company Contact details

T: 0800 121 6513 Email: enquiries@umbrella.co.uk Web: www.umbrella.co.uk

We are a market-leading and best-value umbrella and accountancy service provider for contractors and freelancers. We are APSCo accredited and Professional Passport approved.

Umbrella-Company Ltd offers a range of compliant solutions including a PAYE umbrella solution and accountancy service for those wanting to operate through their own limited company. There are NO joining or leaving fees and there is one point of contact for all contractors and consultants – you will be assigned you own dedicated account manager.

• £16.97 (net) weekly fee for all umbrella services • £31+VAT per week for our highest level of limited company accountancy service We are fully HMRC compliant from an employer’s and employee’s NI, PAYE and expense perspective

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Can’t see the wood for the trees?

Forest will help.

Agency legislation is here and you have new HMRC reporting requirements.

Stay on the right side of supervision, direction and control of your workers

Protect yourself, your clients and your candidates now and into the future. Call forest today on 0845 459 4099.

To celebrate the launch of our brand new website, we’re giving away a European city break for two.

Simply visit our website and register your name to enter.

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HAVE LEGISLATION CHANGES LEFT YOU UNCERTAIN? If your current provider isn’t looking after your best interests then turn to Sterling Umbrella, we do things the right way, afterall 99% of our contractors are happy with our services.

As a market leader, Sterling Umbrella hold preferred supplier status with major UK recruitment agencies, offering services enabling them to work more efficiently and cost effectively and also ensuring contractors benefit from bespoke streamlined processes whilst maximising their income.

Sterling Umbrella are an APSCo Affiliate Member and Professional Passport approved which along with our audited expense procedure and following HMRC guidelines and processes, demonstrates our dedication to providing a compliant service. Leaving our contractors and recruiters safe in the knowledge that they will be well looked after.

Find out more on how Sterling Umbrella can assist you and make your life easier…

quality where it matters

Delivering optimum compliance

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Main Tel: 01925 626 285 sales@thesterlinggroup.co.uk Sterling House, 810 Mandarin Court, Centre Park, Warrington WA1 1GG

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www.thesterlinggroup.co.uk © Sterling 2000 Limited 2014

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