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One of the many differences you will find when you work with Eaglecliff Recruitment is a unique transparency in the way in which we work and the professionalism that you encounter in every aspect of the Services provided.
The majority of the Contractors that we work with provide their Services through their own Limited Company, through an Umbrella Company or via a Consultancy mechanism. A small number of Temporary Workers are also engaged through the company’s own internal PAYE mechanism as well.
From the day you first start to liaise with the Eaglecliff Recruitment team and through every stage of the on-boarding process, you will be working closely with a dedicated Account Manager who will understand the type of assignment you are undertaking and who will have the perfect contract to match. Flexibility is always available so if you have any special requirements, please ask as whenever we can agree to special requests, this becomes a priority.
Regular meetings will be held with you – ideally face-to-face but increasingly often on-line – and advice and guidance on any issue relating to being a Contractor or for your specific Assignment is always available.
You will find that the Eaglecliff Contractor Care team are always pleased to help in any way that we can.
Why does Eaglecliff need a copy of my Passport or Work Permit or Visa?
The Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Business Regulations, known as the EAA Regulations, came into force in England, Wales and Scotland on 6th April 2004. Under this legislation, we are required to obtain confirmation of a candidate’s identity and prove that they are able to operate legally within the United Kingdom. If you are British or an EU Citizen, we will only need your Passport in order to validate this. If you are not, we will need proof of your eligibility to work in the UK through a valid Work Visa or Work Permit.
Why does Eaglecliff need the Contact details for my Next of Kin?
In the event of an Emergency or accident on site resulting in the injury of one of our Contractors, we need to be able to inform the Next of Kin. In order to avoid any unnecessary delays, we always ask for this information from the outset.
What level of Cover is needed for Professional Indemnity Insurance?
The Consultancy Agreement states that the Supplier must be covered by appropriate professional indemnity insurance in connection with the Services and that the Supplier will need to supply Eaglecliff with evidence of this cover on request. We would suggest cover of £1M. However depending on Work Location and your own individual circumstances, you may need to take out additional insurance, especially if you are working offshore or in a medical or potentially dangerous job role.
How Soon do I need to Return the Contract Documentation to Eaglecliff?
The Contract Documentation needs to be signed electronically within Secured Signing within 48 hours ideally unless you have queries, which should be sent via email within this timeframe. All documentation must be signed prior to the Start Date of any new Assignment. Once the corresponding Work Order is in place with the Client, your contract will be counter-signed and a copy will be automatically sent back to you showing both sets of signatures via email.
No Signed copy of my Contract Documentation from Eaglecliff Recruitment? Is there a problem?
Before we are able to counter-sign your Contract, we need to have the corresponding Work Order in place from the Client. Although we track these daily, there are sometimes delays that are outside of our control. These are usually caused when a Hiring Manager is away on leave and an alternative Approver has not been assigned to the task. However, we will keep you informed of any delays and we will ensure that all Contract Documentation is counter-signed prior to your Start Date.
Opt In or Opt Out of the Employment Agency Regulations?
A good example of the protection provided by the Agency Regs is the protection you would receive if an end-client went into liquidation. If you opt in, you are protected, and the Agency would have a legal obligation to pay you even though the Agency had not received payment from the end-client. However, if you are working through a professional agency such as Eaglecliff Recruitment, you do not need a legal document to provide this protection as we would honour that obligation to all of our Contractors as part of our overall Service levels. Whether you wish to have this protection or not is entirely up to each individual to decide upon and we have an obligation to give you this option.
Intellectual Property Rights: What is Eaglecliff Contractually obliged to do?
It there are any Intellectual Property Rights developed during the course of your Assignment, these will need to be vested in the client. However, as there is no direct relationship between the Client and the Contractor, you will be asked to assign these Rights to Eaglecliff Recruitment and we in turn are asked to assign these Rights to the Client in the corresponding agreement we have with the Client. Our contract states that Eaglecliff is contractually obliged to forward to the Client all intellectual property, and rights to it, that the Supplier provides, and that Eaglecliff will do so within one week of such receipt, without retaining copies or intellectual rights.
Is the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) a general Agreement covering my Terms of Employment with the Client or does this relate to Payments through Eaglecliff?
The NDA covers both the work that you are providing and the Terms of the Contract, which includes Pay Rates and Payments as well. This specifically should be viewed as a “Confidentiality Agreement” and you should read the documentation carefully. It is vital that this is signed prior to the Start Date of any Assignment and you must always be mindful of the contractual agreement contained within this document. Breaches of these can be serious and could cause immediate termination.
IR35
The Consultancy Agreement for the Supply of Professional Services that we work to is designed to be neutral from an IR35 perspective. If you are working on a consultancy basis and your role should fall Outside IR35, these Agreements will not hold you back on this. However, it is the actual nature of the role itself that should determine this, rather than purely the wording in a contract. It will also help if you are working with multiple clients concurrently and if your role is Project based. With regard to IR35, you should always seek your own independent professional advice and always ensure that you are compliant of your own Tax Liabilities. When changes to the IR35 Legislation are implemented, probably in April 2021, the liability for determining the IR35 status of each Assignment will be the responsibility of the Client in the form of a Status Determination Statement. Contracts will then need to be compliant depending on the SDS that has been provided for each contractor.
Provision of Rate Payable to the Contractor as well as the Mark-Up and the Supplier Rate for Third-Party Agency Suppliers
We ask for this information to be included on the Contract Labour Details document, within the Assignment Schedule and within the initial Request for Information when we work with Third Party Agency Suppliers. Mark-Ups must be in line with the guidelines in place and must always be disclosed as part of the on-boarding process. If a Mark-Up exceeds the guidelines in place, it may be possible for this to be approved under extremely rare situations but a high level of approval will be required from the Procurement Manager, which is more often than not refused rather than being granted.
Am I covered by the Client’s Insurance Policy while on Business Travel?
As an Independent Contractor we would advise that you always take out your own Travel Insurance policy to ensure you are covered for medical assistance, cancellation and loss of personal belongings as a minimum.
Accounts and Payments
Payment Terms
Standard Payment Terms for Eaglecliff placements are set at 7 days. Payments terms for Payrollers are set at 30 days.
Where Do I Send my Invoices to and what if I have Queries regarding Accounts and Payments?
Queries regarding Accounts and Payments should be addressed to accounts@eaglecliff.co.uk or you can call us at any time on 01732 464 644.
Following Commencement of my Assignment, when should I submit my First Invoice?
Unless otherwise agreed, the first invoice should be submitted after four weeks of work have been completed whether or not it is the beginning or the middle or the end of a calendar month. However, if you have agreed to invoice on a calendar monthly basis, you should submit your first invoice as soon as you have approved Timecards at the beginning of the month following your Start Date.
Deadlines for Entering Timecards
Generally there is a six week deadline for entering Timecards and Expense details into the Resource Management Systems that we work with. However, you should always enter your Timecards on a weekly basis unless there are exceptional reasons why this is not possible. This helps to ensure that any discrepancies can be easily rectified as well as ensuring that you can be paid quickly and without delays to your Payment. It is also really important from a cash flow perspective so do please enter Timecards weekly as this helps everyone massively.
Is it possible for the time taken between Eaglecliff receiving my Invoice and my Invoice being paid to be reduced?
Yes, if you are experiencing difficulties for any reason, please contact the Accounts Team. The Accounts team are always happy to help in whatever way they can and we can usually bring your Payment Date forward under special circumstances. We can also arrange for a Same Day Payment to be actioned at a cost of £25.00 if this is ever necessary for any reason.
What is the Procedure surrounding self-billing and invoicing?
Although one of the Resource Management Solutions that we work with – IQN – is a self-billing e-Recruitment solution, we have not yet implemented a self-billing solution for paying Contractors. As such, you will need to independently send an Invoice on a four-weekly or calendar monthly basis to accounts@eaglecliff.co.uk. This works as a protective mechanism which greatly helps to avoid errors due to self-billing which might not otherwise be detected easily and which can sometimes provide inaccurate information for long periods of time. By asking for an external, third-party Invoice we are able to validate this with the on-line IQN data and if it does not validate correctly, then further investigations are carried out.
What is the Procedure for a Rate Review?
Contractor Rates are not subject to a Review on an Annual basis in the same way that Permanent Employee might expect a Salary to be reviewed annually. However if there is a measurable change in your Job role, you will need to submit a Business Case highlighting these changes and indicating the proposed new Pay Rate that you are asking for. If you have a completely new Job role or Project, this would be even better and we will need details for this. Rate Reviews are not granted purely on the length of time that you have been working with the Client, on any increases due to inflation or on the basis that Market Rates have increased since you started your Assignment. All Rate Reviews will need to be approved by your Hiring Manager and by the Procurement team as well. This whole procedure can take up to six weeks so always get your Business Case prepared well in advance of the expected Start Date for your new Rate Proposal.
What do I do if I need to book a Flight and what do I need to do regarding Expenses?
Each business area has their own procedures for this so you will need to address this at a local business level or with your Hiring Manager. Generally the rule is that the Client will book flights and hotels, which should provide more preferential rates than if an individual contractor booked this independently. For a small number of areas, there are no provisions in place and you would be asked to book your Travel arrangements yourself, getting a Premium Economy Flight, reasonably priced hotels and 2nd class Rail tickets. All expenses are to be agreed in advance with the Client and these are then inputted in to IQN along with your Timecards and need to be approved by the Hiring Manager prior to payment being made.
What happens if a Contractor is unable to work due to adverse weather conditions such as snow?
If a Contractor is unable to work due to adverse weather conditions such as snow, and when this disrupts travel plans which then make it impossible for the contractor’s work to be undertaken as say it is imperative that the contractor is located at a certain location in order to be able to conduct the work, then it will be at the Client’s discretion to decide whether or not the Contractor should be paid. Generally, the Client policy for contractors is only to pay when work has been completed so generally, if the contractor is unable to get to the work location, then unfortunately even under adverse weather conditions, which are outside of the control of the contractor, theoretically that contractor would not then be paid.
Hiring Policy Model
With the introduction of the new changes to the IR35 Legislation due in April 2021, many Corporate Companies are now deciding to switch to a new Hiring Policy which changes the way in which they are engaging with Suppliers of Contractors such as Eaglecliff Recruitment. This new Hiring Policy means that Contractors may only be provided through a compliant PAYE mechanism rather than through a Personal Service Company.
This then eliminates the need for any Status Determination Statements around IR35 to be undertaken as contractors will automatically be channelled through this different way of working.
It is important to note that this does not then mean that any Assignment automatically falls “Inside IR35” just because the payment mechanism has needed to be changed. There is no need to conduct any Assessment regarding IR35 so the role could still be one that effectively could be deemed as “Outside IR35” were there to be an Assessment conducted. However, it does mean that there is no requirement for the Client to make this assessment as the Policy effectively makes this pointless.
For this reason, the majority of Contractors supplied through Eaglecliff Recruitment are now looking to change from the traditional model of a Personal Service Company to a more modern approach that is acceptable to a greater number of hiring companies. To accommodate this changing trend, we have partnered with a small number of FCSA accredited umbrella companies who will make sure that everyone is compliant with regard to the new IR35 Legislation.
What Does An Umbrella Company Do?
An Umbrella Company takes care of all the hard work for you: Deducting Income Tax and National Insurance via Pay As You Earn (PAYE) mechanisms which means there is less admin for you as the Contractor. Switching from a Limited Company – or your Personal Service Company – is much more than just signing up to a new Umbrella solution. It’s vital that you make sure you are guided through the process by experts, otherwise you could end up paying more Tax if you are not careful. You will also find a more flexible Service can be offered through these mechanisms as an Umbrella Company is a Financial Services Company and not an Employment Agency.
Why FCSA Accredited?
FCSA is a Membership body for Service providers in the Professional Employment Services sector, including Umbrella companies. Accredited Membership is awarded to Service providers that have been independently audited by industry experts – who are themselves regulated Accountants and Solicitors – to confirm that they adhere to the FCSA’s rigorous Codes of Compliance.
We have chosen to work with the FCSA accredited Umbrella Companies as we felt the Code of Conduct is much stronger, the audit process is better and is reviewed by HMRC. We also feel that it is a more recognised option with End Clients, partly because the audit process is a lot stricter than that which is conducted by any other accredited body. Ultimately, working with FCSA accredited Umbrellas protects everyone in the Assignment chain from Financial Risk.
Only FCSA accredited Umbrella Companies are accepted onto this “Preferred Supplier List” so you can rest assured that your Tax affairs will be in safe hands. It really is not worth the risk to work in any other way and to end up with unwelcome surprises two years down the line, especially if one of these is a massive demand from the Tax Inspectors.
The full list of FCSA accredited Umbrella Companies can be found here- https://www.fcsa.org.uk/members/
Preferred Supplier List
Following on from a recent Audit where many factors were taken into consideration including Responsiveness, Service Levels, Industry Reputation, Compliance and Costings, Eaglecliff Recruitment has recently established a close working partnership with two FCSA Accredited Umbrella Companies:
Brookson One are known for Compliance: They are Founding Members of the FCSA, the Preferred Accountancy Partner of IPSE and Members of the REC and APSCo. Brookson One specialise in transferring Contractors from a limited company to an umbrella PAYE solution, offering a complete solution, backed by an established Reputation for reliability, outstanding advice and an excellent Client Relations team.
Unusually for an Umbrella Company, Brookson One are regulated by the FCA and by the ICAEW which all means they can answer questions and provide solutions to a wide range of Tax related questions that you may not even have been aware of.
Get in touch today and ask for an Illustration of your Take Home Pay.
For more information:
Call: 0800 230 0213
Email: newbusiness@brookson.co.uk
Giant are an award winning Umbrella Company, who offer professional independence with all the benefits of being an employee. Their Umbrella service is designed to be simple, paperless and hassle free. They ensure that you receive the right level of support when on assignment, take care of all PAYE tax deductions, give you pension planning options and provide you with a mobile enabled portal so you can easily access your data. All you need to do is complete your timesheets and they will do the rest.
For a more comprehensive introduction and to see how Giant Umbrella can benefit you, including a snapshot of your take home pay, please click here:
https://info.giantgroup.com/lakwp3sy
In addition to partnering with Brookson One and Giant Umbrella, we are currently working with a small number of other FCSA Accredited companies and you can reach these through the links provided below:
Invoices are paid on a monthly basis or on a four-weekly basis unless otherwise agreed for exceptional circumstances.
For Invoices received on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, along with approved Timecards, payment will be cleared by BACS transfer on Wednesday of the following week. For Invoices and Timecards received on Thursday or Friday, payment will be cleared by BACS transfer on Friday of the following week.
Should you have any queries regarding Accounts and Payments Procedures, please do not hesitate to contact Wendy Flegg, our Operations Manager.