Frequently Asked Questions
Q; Am I entitled to holiday pay?
A; Contractors joining Sombrilla become employees of Sombrilla and are therefore entitled to holiday pay.
Sombrilla handle holiday pay in a straightforward way - you can choose to receive an on account payment every time we pay you in respect of the holiday you have accrued or we can hold your holiday pay entitlement for you. The choice is yours.
Q; Is Sombrilla a managed service company?
A; No, Sombrilla is not a managed service company. You will not be a director or shareholder. All members of Sombrilla are employees and receive all money via our compliant PAYE payroll service.
Q; Am I insured as a Sombrilla employee?
A; Yes, as an employee of Sombrilla you will benefit from the following inclusive insurance*.
Up to £1m Professional Indemnity insurance
£5m Public Liability insurance
£10m Employers Liability insurance
*Excludes certain trades & professions
Q; What is an expenses ‘dispensation’?
A; Essentially a dispensation is an agreement between HMRC and Sombrilla to reduce the amount of paperwork required to manage your expenses. Under a dispensation there is no need for Sombrilla to include allowed expenses on an employee P11D and there is no need for the employee to include expenses on their tax return.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about what dispensations are for. A dispensation does not allow you to claim for expenses you have not incurred, and HMRC will take action against companies that abuse the dispensation system.
Q; Do I need to submit receipts for expenses?
A; You will need to send us receipts for expenses claimed outside of our HMRC approved Scale Rate.
Q; How quickly will I be paid?
A; Payment is transferred to your nominated bank account on the same working day that we are paid.
With the Sombrilla Standard service, payments are made to your bank account using BACS and funds are normally received by you 3 working days after payment is made. With the Sombrilla Premium service, payments are made to your bank account using CHAPS and funds are received by you on the same working day payment is made.
Q; How do I advise you of my hours and expenses?
A; You upload the timesheet and expenses form to your secure on-line portal on our website.
Q; Will I be paid monthly or weekly?
A; This will depend on the payment cycle of your contract/agency. If we are paid weekly we will pay you weekly.
Q; Why do you deduct Employers National Insurance from my salary?
A; We don’t. We deduct both Employers NI and our Admin Fee from the amount we are paid by your client or agent. The amount that remains, after reimbursing you for any expenses you have incured, is your taxable income. Sombrilla have a legal requirement to pay Employers' NI.
Q; Am I taxed on expenses?
A; No there is no tax or National Insurance deducted from legitimate business expenses.
Q; Do I get a payslip?
A; Yes this will be uploaded to your secure on-line portal on our website. We will send you an email to inform you this has been done.
Q; How will I know when I have been paid?
A; We will send you an SMS to advise you that a transfer has been made to your bank account.
Q; Do Sombrilla pay sick, maternity and paternity leave?
A; Yes, as long as the statutory requirements are met, you will receive statutory sick pay or maternity/paternity pay.
