041 Why do recruitment agencies have lists of preferred umbrellas?
Temporary workers and contractors are often required to choose an umbrella from a preferred supplier list (PSL) operated by their recruitment agency. Some workers feel this restricts their choice, however many recruitment firms operate PSLs that are in workers’ best interests. We wanted to learn more about PSLs from the agency perspective so chatted to […]
040 Should Temps & Contractors Be Able To Choose Their Umbrella?
Temporary workers and contractors are often required to choose an umbrella from a preferred supplier list (PSL) operated by their recruitment agency. Today we’re talking to Paul Sheraton, an IT contractor who recently launched an official petition aiming to allow workers the right to choose their own umbrella rather than be restricted by preferred supplier […]
Can Umbrella PSLs Be Good For Workers?
Over the last few months we have posted a few criticisms in relation to recruitment agencies’ preferred supplier lists of umbrellas, which restrict a worker’s choice of umbrella. In particular we are concerned about the obscene financial incentives underpinning some PSLs, and it seems that the person most affected by the decision is the one person […]
Petition Launched Seeking To Ban Umbrella PSLs
A contractor has started an official petition to allow workers to have the right to choose their own umbrella. Here at IWORK, we’ve been banging this drum for ages now as preferred supplier lists are not usually in workers best interests, and in our opinion they don’t actually offer much real choice to the person […]
037 Why We Should Abolish Umbrella Preferred Supplier Lists
Temporary workers and contractors will often be required to be paid via an umbrella company and often recruitment agencies operate a preferred supplier list (PSL) of umbrella companies that their worker can choose from. In this episode, IWORK’s founder, Julia Kermode, discusses why she thinks umbrella PSLs should be abolished. She has proposed this as […]
Do We Really Think Contractors Can’t Decide For Themselves?
Last week I posted a few thoughts on LinkedIn in relation to my proposal to abolish umbrella preferred supplier lists (PSLs), which is just one of my recommendations to the government consultation on the umbrella market. I have many concerns about PSLs and how they operate today, and in some cases they are cartel-like in […]
Time To Get Rid Of Umbrella Preferred Supplier Lists?
In the wake of recent cyber-attacks, I was asked by a journalist last week what I would recommend to contractors who are considering changing their umbrella, so I found myself thinking about this properly for the first time in ages. Whereas previously my answer would have been to look for accreditation, it is clear to […]
Can my agency force me to work through their PSL?
We’ve written before about Preferred Supplier Lists (PSLs) and how they can be incredibly effective for agencies looking to reduce their risk when engaging with other suppliers, including umbrella companies. In short, a PSL is a list that the agency creates of trusted companies that they are willing to work with as part of their […]
What is a Preferred Supplier List?
When working through a recruitment agency, your agency may be required to treat you as an employee in terms of, amongst other things, deductions to be made from assignment income and payments to be made to HMRC. Often, agencies do not wish to have this responsibility and so may require you to sign up with […]