TJW Contract Solutions is a trusted UK umbrella company, offering HMRC-compliant payroll services to contractors across various industries. With over 15 years of experience, TJW provides transparent and reliable support, prioritising the welfare of its contractors and delivering market-leading service.
When signed up to our Umbrella payment service , you become our employee and can therefore take advantage of all the benefits that being an employee entails.
TJW Contract solutions prides itself on the service we provide to agencies and their contractors. We currently deal with a number of agencies and understand the importance of getting contractors paid on time.
•Compliance with agency workers regulations
•Pensions auto enrolment
•Access to statutory benefits (i.e. SSP, SMP etc.)
•Tax relief on genuine business expenses (subject to sdc assessment)
• Hassle free registration process
• Estimation of your take home pay on registration
• Dedicated email address for your correspondence
• Fast response times
• Free to join and leave or to move assignments
• Competitive margin structure with reduced rates for low pay earners
• Receive cashback on purchases at Rewards @ TJW
• Low rate personal accident insurance scheme
• No hidden charges
• Friendly efficient staff fully trained to answer all your questions
• SMS Payment confirmation and emailed payslips
• FREE Advance payments for late timesheets (*subject to agency confirmation)
• £50 Refer a friend incentive scheme (contact us for details)
All your key questions answered
When we contract with your agency you will have an agreed ‘assignment’ rate with them. This assignment rate isn’t your Gross pay rate - it’s a rate that includes all the costs of employing you, together with our margin. These costs will include the employment costs (employer’s National Insurance, Apprenticeship Levy and, where applicable, the employer’s auto-enrolment pension contributions) and your holiday pay.
The remainder is your Gross Pay (which consists of your hourly rate at NMW/NLW plus a profit share bonus) on which we then must deduct PAYE, employee’s National Insurance and where applicable, the employee auto-enrolment pension contributions. The balance is paid to you as your net pay.
All taxes, National Insurance contributions and Apprenticeship Levy costs are reported and paid to HMRC; all pension contributions are reported and paid into your account with our pensions auto-enrolment provider, NOW:Pensions.
Moving from your PSC/LTD company?
Currently, your LTD company is your employer and has the responsibility of paying employer costs on the salary paid to you by your company, although in reality many LTD contractors pay themselves a salary below the threshold which doesn’t attract Employer National Insurance (or Employee National Insurance and PAYE). When operating through an umbrella company, responsibility for paying the employment costs still falls to the employer – in this case the umbrella company.
Moving from perm/direct PAYE?
If you are directly paid by your agency or client at the moment, the employment costs are calculated and paid in the background, prior to your personal PAYE/National Insurance calculations. Your client or agency will pay these costs directly to HMRC. When using an umbrella company, your assignment rate is inclusive of the employer costs, which we retain and pay on instead.
In each holiday year your holiday entitlement will the statutory amount – currently 28 days (including bank holidays) – unless your agency informs us otherwise. Your holiday pay comes to us from your agency and is included in the rate we receive from your agency in the assignment rate. You will have two options as to how we pay this to you:
Retained – we retain the holiday pay element of your pay into your holiday reserve to be paid to you when you take time off. We will reserve an amount for holiday pay based on 5.6 weeks holiday per year; if you are entitled to more holiday this amount will be adjusted to compensate. We will also reserve a small amount to allow for Employer Costs which are due when we come to pay your holiday pay. We will clearly state on each payslip you receive the total amount we have reserved for your holiday pay and Employer Costs. You will need to request payment of your holiday by completing our online form. Holiday can only be claimed for time actually taken off.
If at the end of the holiday year the total amount of actual Employer Costs incurred is lower than the total amount reserved, we will pay to you the difference as salary, less any additional Employer Costs which may be due. When you leave our employment you will automatically be paid any remaining holiday pay we hold in reserve.
Paid in Advance – if you prefer, you can opt out of having holiday pay reserved and elect to have it paid upfront with each payment you receive. This means that you will receive payment in advance for the time that you actually take off as holiday and won’t be paid directly when you are not at work. The amount of holiday pay advance will be clearly shown on each payslip you receive. You can chose which option you prefer on the drop down tab on the contract, when you register.
We will make payment to you on the Friday following the week worked (i.e. a week in ‘arrears’), unless your agency payment terms are any different. If your agency is late in sending timesheet details to us, we will make payment to you on the same day as funds are received from them.
Unless the agency has requested an advance request, in which case we will pay you on that day as requested by your agency.
You are entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, so if you are off work for 4 or more days you will need to obtain a doctor’s note and send that in to us. You can read more about the eligibility criteria - www.gov.uk/statutory-sick-pay. Depending on your circumstances you may also be entitled to SMP, SPP or SAP.
Yes. As an employee of TJW you will be enrolled into a government workplace pension scheme, operated by NOW:Pensions, as it is a legal requirement.
You will be enrolled after 12 weeks following your first payment from us, unless you choose to ‘opt in’ sooner. Details of how to do this will be sent to you by our pension provider soon after your first payment. The statutory percentages are 3% Employer and 5% Employee contributions payable on your qualifying earnings – you can choose to increase your Employee contributions should you wish to do so.
Can I opt out of the auto enrolment pension scheme?
You can opt out of the auto enrolment pension scheme only after you have been enrolled and your first contribution has been processed. We will notify NOW:Pensions of your enrolment at the beginning of the week following your first contribution. You will then receive an email from NOW:Pensions confirming your enrolment, which will also contain information on how to opt out should you wish to do so. If your opt out is completed within 30 days of your enrolment notice you will receive a full refund of all contributions made. Refunds cannot be made after this 30 day opt out period.
TJW are one of a handful of umbrella companies that can support you paying via salary sacrifice into your personal pension. We can engage with most providers, however please check with us in advance for clarification on this and how it would work. We will request the details for your personal pension once you have set up with us and will arrange the setup with your provider directly.
Do I also get the employer saving on employer contribution?
We pass on all tax and NIC relief, including Employer NICs for salary sacrifice. You therefore receive the maximum possible benefit of making contributions into your personal pension via TJW.
Please note that even if you have your own personal pension, you will still be auto-enrolled into our company pension.
Agency Conduct Regulations
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations 2003, known as the Conduct Regs in industry shorthand, is a framework of fundamental standards for recruitment businesses. They were established to ensure that end clients and candidates are fairly treated within the labour supply chain. It doesn’t matter how you are paid as a contractor – Umbrella, CIS, Self-employed or Limited Company, the regulations apply where you are supplied through a recruitment agency.
The main points the Conduct Regs cover are:
• Information provided to the client by the contractor and vice versa
• What contractual documentation needs to be in place
• When contractors must be paid
• When transfer fees can be charged to the client
Non-compliance with these regulations can be reported to the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS) which will investigate any claims. Companies found in violation of these regulations may face prosecution or prohibition proceedings.
The Conduct Regs carry an opt-out provision which allows those who work through a limited company (including an umbrella company) to Opt Out. When you register with an agency or apply for a new role you will be asked if you wish to opt out; it’s important to note that this is entirely your decision. Contractors operating their own limited company (PSC) on outside-IR35 contracts are typically encouraged to opt out, as it supports their IR35 status. Your agency will give you a form to indicate your choice. This must be signed and returned to the agency before client introduction to ensure the opt-out remains valid, preventing the agency from breaching the regulations.
When you work through a recruitment agency, you’ll be asked to decide to opt in or opt out of the Conduct Regulations. But what do these regulations mean and how does your choice impact your contracting journey? Here we’ll explain a bit about the Conduct Regs and shed some light on the significance of opting in or out.
Although opting out of the Conduct Regs comes with some loss of protections, there are also advantages of doing so.
Opting out allows you to take control of your work situation. By negotiating terms that suit your needs, customising working hours for example, you can pave the way for a more satisfying assignment.Opting out may open doors for constructive negotiations with your agency. You may be able to advocate for better pay rates, preferred work shifts and additional benefits.It is a valid point that the Conduct Regs cause additional administrative for agencies, which may delay the start of an assignment, so opting out expedites this.
These are the main implications of opting out which you may wish to consider:
• Loss of protection regarding payment if the client fails to pay the agency for your completed work. However, in our experience it is very rare for a reputable agency to not pay a worker where there are signed timesheets in place.
• Where a worker has opted out, the agency can use restrictive covenants to restrict the worker from going to a competitor agency or client.
• There are points relating to temporary-to-permanent fees, which can negatively impact the client if they decide to hire you as an employee or direct contractor.
• Before being introduced to a potential client you must agree on terms with the agency.
Although the regulations state that opting out can’t be given as a condition for a contractor when accepting any form of agreement, a decision will need to be made before client introduction is made. Ultimately, the decision is yours alone and should be made on an informed basis.
