[Python Edinburgh] Umbrella company recommendation?

Ed HAWKINS ed.hawkins at st.com
Fri Nov 19 12:55:59 CET 2010


Hi Dougal,

It might be useful if you did a 10min talk on setting-up a company, alongside Mark’s talk(s)...

cheers, Ed.

From: edinburgh-bounces+ed.hawkins=st.com at python.org [mailto:edinburgh-bounces+ed.hawkins=st.com at python.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Gould
Sent: 19 November 2010 10:44
To: The list for Pythonistas in Edinburgh.
Subject: Re: [Python Edinburgh] Umbrella company recommendation?

Sorry... the name to avoid is SpringBoard....

From: edinburgh-bounces+j.gould=austinfraser.com at python.org [mailto:edinburgh-bounces+j.gould=austinfraser.com at python.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Gould
Sent: 19 November 2010 10:43
To: The list for Pythonistas in Edinburgh.
Subject: Re: [Python Edinburgh] Umbrella company recommendation?

We have probably a 50/50 split of all our contractors who use umbrella/limited companies.

Of those using umbrella companies there is a wide range but the same names are always associated with problems. 

We are not legally able to recommend umbrella companies but I can happily provide details of a few who have good reputaitions:

Orange Genie, Giant and Parasol are probably the biggest/best.

Avoid SprinBoard Umbrella though. It has been set up by recruiters as a sister company who then share company/client information for their recruitment arm to pitch/canvass. Contractors are sometimes drawn to them because of their reduced fees though. Recruiters get a bad enough reputation which isn’t always justified and this is really bad practice!!

Hope this helps.....

Thanks

Jon 
Austin Fraser
01189596689

From: edinburgh-bounces+j.gould=austinfraser.com at python.org [mailto:edinburgh-bounces+j.gould=austinfraser.com at python.org] On Behalf Of Dougal Matthews
Sent: 19 November 2010 10:35
To: The list for Pythonistas in Edinburgh.
Subject: Re: [Python Edinburgh] Umbrella company recommendation?

A vaguely remembered partial (possibly mostly made up) quote from my accountant.

"I would strongly advice against using an umbrella company. The Inland Revenue is coming down on them at the moment and you'll almost always end up loosing a bigger cut and having less control."

Or something like that, he said a few other things too but I don't fully remember. I realise he wants my business but in the grand scheme of things a one man limited company is a small fish compared to the other companies at his firm, so I doubt he's *that* bothered.

It may well be worth going the accountant route, its not that hard. I'm just getting into it and you can get setup quickly (I formed a company in a week).

Cheers,
Dougal

-- 
Dougal Matthews
www.dougalmatthews.com
www.twitter.com/d0ugal

On Friday, 19 November 2010 at 10:23, Mark Smith wrote:
Hi Guys,

I know there are a few contractors on this list.

Is anyone working with an umbrella company they recommend (or recommend against). A colleague of mine is looking for one, and I have no experience with them.

--Mark
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