FAQs

A Personal Service Umbrella (PSU) company employs a temporary worker, supplies them for short-term contracts and processes their payroll. It is comparatively cheaper and incurs less administration than setting up your own limited company, particularly if you are not a career temp. With an umbrella company:

• You will be an employee of the PSU.
• FPS will address all accountancy and taxation matters

The PSU will makes payments to you that are net of PAYE and National Insurance contribution because all income is treated as salary.

You are an employee of your PSU.

You will need to do the following from within your client portal:

• Read and authorise your employment contract
• Verify your bank details
• Complete a P46 (a HMRC document for individuals without a P45), or post in a hard copy P45
• Complete our Expenses Status Questionnaire (ESQ)

In order to verify your identity, please send us a copy of an acceptable form of identification such as your passport (for UK Nationals we only require the 30 digit long passport number at the bottom of your passport).  Full details of what documents are acceptable are also shown within the client portal.

When you start with your PSU please remember to provide your P45 or if you do not have a P45 complete a P46.  If neither has been provided before your first payment you will be place on a 0T tax code.

A 0T tax code means that you have no tax free allowance.

747L - This replaces the 647L tax code.  This means that the client is entitled to a cumulative allowance of £7475 each tax year.

0T  - Client has not sent us a P45 or completed a P46 before their first payment. Tax code ‘0T’ means your allowances have been used up or reduced to nil and your income is taxed at the relevant tax rates.

BR  - The client has a 2nd job/pension.  All their income will be subject to 20% tax.

D0 - The client has a 2nd job/pension and they are a higher rate tax payer.  All their income will be subject to 40% tax.

D1 - The client has a 2nd job/pension and they are an additional rate tax payer.  All their income will be subject to 50% tax.

NT - The client is not subject to any tax deductions (0%).

Emergency Codes

Week 1 or Month 1 emergency codes treat each week or month on in isolation and gives an equal amount of tax-free pay every tax week.   For example a 747L Wk1/Mth1 Code means that the client is entitled to an allowance of £143.84 each tax week.

The PSU will pay your salary directly into your bank account net of PAYE and National Insurance contributions. Each individual has their own tax code and this, together with their unique situation of variable hours worked, means that payments could vary. You can use our online take-home pay calculator to work out how much better off you could be, or chat with one of our client services team.

Not necessarily. The amount of money that you receive each time will depend on the hourly rate, hours worked, expenses submitted and your tax code. Changes in any of these variables will mean an alteration in your take-home pay.

You will need to register initially on this website. You will set your own password as part of the initial registration which you will need to use to access the client portal through the client log-in on the homepage of this website.

We will process your payment on receipt of cleared funds into the PSU.

To check your payment status, please log into the client portal and access "View payment history." You will also receive a text confirming payment.

Your payslip will be posted into your dedicated and secure client portal.

In order to comply with HMRC guidelines, the PSU has to pay Employers National Insurance. We like to be transparent, so the amount paid out for Employers National Insurance will be shown on your payslips.

You must submit your expense claim to FPS 24hrs prior to expecting payment to be processed.

Before claiming expenses we need you to complete an expenses status questionnaire. This is completed online in our client portal for each contract you take up. The questionnaire identifies if you can claim home to work travel and subsistence. Details of expenses are submitted by you along with your timesheet or on an ad-hoc basis. For those expenses that require a receipt, you will be issued with an expense reference number by the website when you submit the details online. You will need to record this number on the envelope that encloses your receipts. Please send this envelope to:

The Expenses Team
Administration Centre
Ramsey
IM8 1GB

You can track the progress of your expenses claims on your area in the client portal. If the status of your expenses claim does not change please call our client services team on:  0800 612 9345, Monday to Thursday 8am to 6pm and Friday 8am to 5.30pm.

You may claim the HMRC rate of £0.45 per mile for your first 10,000 miles, thereafter the rate is reduced to £0.25 per mile within the same tax year.

Please contact our client services team on 0800 612 9345 with the following information:

• Your recruitment agency / client's details
• Rate of pay
• Start date and end date of your contract

YES – Not only have the thresholds changed, the rate at which National Insurance is charged has increased.

The Lower Earnings Limit threshold has increased from £97 per week to £102 per week.

The Primary Threshold Limit has increased from £110 per week to £139 per week.

The Upper Earnings Limited threshold has decreased from £844 per week to £817 per week

Primary Contributions

• 12% Employees (Earnings over Primary threshold up to Upper Earnings Limit)
• 2% Employees (Earnings over Upper Earnings Limit)

Secondary Contributions

• 13.8% Employers (Earnings over Secondary Threshold)

* The Secondary Threshold is £136 per week.

You will notice the Earnings thresholds for when National Insurance Contributions is charge for Employees and Employers are now different.

You will only receive a P60 if you were employed by an FPS Administered Umbrella Company as at the 5^th April 2011.  You will receive your P60 by the 31st May only if you are employed and receiving payments on 6th April of that tax year.

You must keep the form safe; however we will be able to send you a duplicate P60 or provide a Statement of Earnings Letter that shows the necessary information if requested.

The P60 shows your gross salary, PAYE, National Insurance contributions and your student loan deductions.

No, FPS Group takes care of all the PSU end-of-year returns. We do not offer services relating to personal tax returns.  However FPS Group has partnered with Tax Essentials to provide our clients with services concerning tax affairs please refer to the Tax services tab on the website.

Self Assessment is a way of working out and paying tax. It's a way in which the UK Government taxes items that can't be accommodated within the PAYE scheme; PAYE carries on as before. The most common reasons why employees are required to complete Self Assessment forms are that they have received income from less common sources. (i.e. land & property, bank interest not taxed at source, foreign income etc.).

Not usually, but there are exceptions. For example, if you:

• Have received £10,000 or more gross income from savings or investments before tax (including dividends)
• Were self employed at any point during the tax year
• Were a Director at any point during the tax year
• Earn over £100,000 gross income during the tax year (all income)
• Have been sent one by HMRC
• Are claiming £2,500 worth of expenses/subscriptions against tax

If HMRC sends you a Self Assessment form you must complete it and send it back.

This is a personal choice. If you would like assistance to complete the tax return you can contact a tax specialist or Tax Essentials.

You can complete your self assessment form online through HMRC.

It depends on your personal situation, and if you were being paid on the correct tax code for your individual circumstances. If you have received other sources of income outside of your employment with your PSU, or if you have claimed expenses that HMRC does not accept, then further tax charges may arise.

You would only receive a tax rebate if you have not worked for the full year, or if you have been paying tax on the wrong tax code.

A P11D is a form your employer uses to tell HMRC of any expenses and benefits in kind you have claimed through the tax year.

You will only receive a P11D if you are an employee earning salary and expenses at a rate more than £8,500 per year. FPS Group is required to prepare these forms and you will receive one by the 6th July. You are required to send a copy to HMRC and FPS is also required to send a copy. This is for you to confirm (section 336) that the expenses were wholly, exclusively and necessary incurred in the performance of your duties.

NB. Not every item of expense gets reported on a P11D, the following are not reported; Any Mileage allowance, Personal Incidental Expenditure, working from home, Glasses, Training and training related cost.

Please also Note that not every PSU has to provide a P11D.  If you do not receive one you have no requirements.

If you receive a P11D when completing a Self Assessment, the information on the P11D must be disclosed. If you do not receive a Self Assessment these expenses MUST be declared to HMRC in a letter.

You could be liable to penalties and interest.

Please not that if you are no longer employed by an FPS Administered Company then an administration charge will be payable for replacement documents.