Our friends over at Contractor Voice are launching group legal action against umbrella companies suspected of wrongdoing in relation to paying contractors their earnings. The campaign group has a history of exposing dubious practices within the umbrella sector, including withholding holiday pay and skimming – both of which can be done legally and therefore are ‘compliant’, depending on the precise detail of the arrangements.
Latest figures indicate that there are some 700k contractors engaged via an umbrella, any number of whom could have suffered a financial loss at the hands of their umbrella. Shockingly, Contractor Voice’s exposés of misconduct suggest that these are not isolated incidents, and in fact has been taking place undetected on an industrial scale.
Jacob Bellas, founder of Contractor Voice told us:
“We have been exposing unethical practices in the umbrella sector for years now, and it is unfair that contractors miss out financially without any redress. Not any more! This group action is long overdue and will bring justice by giving people the money that has been wrongfully denied to them.
“I urge anyone who thinks they may be eligible to get in touch, the more that do the stronger our case will be. Payslips and Contracts can be confusing so if contractors would like to upload their payslips to Contractor Voice to be audited first, then we will get them audited and return the results to the contractor.”
Penningtons Manches Cooper LLP would like to hear from any contractors who suspect wrongful, unauthorised or unexplained deductions, underpayments or skimming in their wages by any umbrella or payroll companies for which they have been employed. If you have worked as a contractor in the past or currently work as a contractor, you may be eligible. Please complete the short form online, and your information could help bring justice for thousands.
This legal action should be a stark reminder for recruitment agencies to be very careful when deciding which umbrellas to work with. The work done by Contractor Voice has exposed a number of seeming ‘compliant’ umbrellas who’s dubious activities had gone undetected and unchallenged for years. It is important not to blindly accept assurances of ‘compliance’, particularly as certain legal practices may be detrimental to your contractors and should not be permitted.
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