Comparator

With over 20 years of experience, Parasol has grown from providing umbrella payroll services to offering comprehensive employment and payroll solutions. During this time, we’ve supported more than 250,000 professionals and partnered with over 3,000 recruitment agencies and end clients.

We understand the critical priorities for your candidates, clients, and agency: exceptional support, on-time payments, and full compliance with HMRC regulations. These are at the heart of everything we do and are reflected in the loyalty of professionals who choose us year after year, as well as our long-standing partnerships with some of the most recognised names in recruitment. As a founding member of the FCSA and a company created by a contractor for contractors, Parasol makes getting paid simple for the agile workforce. Since our launch in 2000, our goal has been to empower contractors to maximise their careers by offering complete peace of mind through accurate, compliant, and reliable payroll services.

Speedy Onboarding

Getting started is simple. Agencies provide basic details and terms; contractors complete a quick Right to Work check via Trust ID (just three minutes). We handle all paperwork and contracts for a smooth process.

Compliance-First

As an FCSA founding member, we set the gold standard in UK tax, employment, and regulatory compliance—giving agencies and contractors complete peace of mind.

Security & Stability

We safeguard your data with Cyber Essentials Plus certification and maintain strong financial stability to ensure uninterrupted payroll services.

Trusted Guidance

Our expert teams offer tailored support, onboarding assistance, and training workshops—the largest agency and employee support network in the sector.

Umbrella Company UK was launched in 2019 and has revolutionised the way contractors and freelancers are paid through an umbrella company. We live in a digital world, and we wanted to modernise the umbrella experience. How did we achieve this? We introduced a state-of-the-art app. The app is intelligent. It will allow you to submit their hours and view your payslips – all while on the go!

We’re relatively new on the scene, but we have already received exceptional feedback from our clients. When you join us, you’ll be able to take advantage of:

• Our state-of-the-art app (meaning you’ll have hardly any administration) • Easy sign-up process • £25 million insurance package • Same Day Faster Payments • Employee Benefits, including Sick Pay and Maternity/Paternity Pay • No tie in period, and no joining or leaving fees • Access to Umbrella Company UK Rewards – our employee discount scheme* • Fully compliant payroll (PAYE) – we’re proudly accredited by the FCSA.

• Available for clients who opt for the Umbrella Company UK premium service only.

Clarity Umbrella Ltd is an award winning Umbrella Company with a reputation for open, honest and transparent working. So, if you are looking for a more personalised service for your assignment then look no further.

Harmond is a dynamic umbrella company that provides a comprehensive range of services. Specialising in streamlined operations, Harmond offers centralised support for payroll, compliance, and administration, allowing contractors and freelancers to focus on their core work.

Award-winning FCSA-Accredited & Professional Passport-Approved Payroll Company: Umbrella, PAYE, CIS & Limited Company.

MainPay is a leading provider of services to agency workers across the UK. We pride ourselves on our outstanding service, our people and bespoke systems.

Your trusted partner, experts in Legislation, Contracts, Insurances and Payroll. Honesty and transparency are at the heart of our operations and with over 25 years experience in contractor engagement, we get it. We offer a tailored and consultative approach to our workers, agencies and end clients and we'll be your first point of contact for any advice or guidance you need.

We’re Focused – the award-winning umbrella and CIS company for contractors who want prompt and accurate payment every time. Voted Best Umbrella Company (500-1000 clients) at The Contracting Awards, we offer unmatched reliability, quick and easy onboarding, and a genuinely caring approach for total peace of mind.

From payroll to tax, benefits to pensions, we take care of everything. With Focused, contractors can be confident they’ve got their money, and we’ve got them covered. We keep things simple while truly caring about the wants and needs of our contractors and agency partners.

Here are just some of the benefits of working with Focused:

• Salary sacrifice for personal pensions - Helping contractors save for their future whilst also passing on the employer’s NI saving in the form of additional gross pay.

• Online personal portal – Easy access to payslips and submit timesheets where necessary.

• Award-winning support – A dedicated helpline for any questions, weekly payment SMS notifications and proactive welcome calls.

• Free employee rewards scheme – Access to personal accident insurance and exclusive offers and discounts at thousands of high-street brands.

Clipper Contracting Group was established with one thing in mind: to provide the highest levels of service for the provision of payment solutions to temporary workers. Our aim is to make the umbrella payroll experience ‘queryless’ for all of those involved.

Supporting workers in a range of sectors such as construction, healthcare education, engineering and logistics, Clipper Contracting Group provides a range of employed and self-employed solutions to support the UK’s contingent workforce.

We work with the best advisors, employ the best people and provide the best experience to ensure to both our workers and recruitment partners that we remain totally compliant and competitive in these ever-changing times.

Benefits of Clipper Contracting Group:

Simple, one-click, online registration – our bespoke registration CRM allows workers to complete registration online in a matter of minutes

Dedicated worker aftercare – from weekly phone calls to email contact, we stay in touch with our workers to ensure their experience is as expected.

Auto-updates to recruiters – track the status of your worker’s registration process with daily automatic updates by email

Advance payments – we can assist with advances on late timesheets all the way up to 4pm on a Friday

Personal accident insurance – as standard for all workers

Clipper Plus - access to discounted shopping deals and 24/7 online GP services

Exclusive deals with a range of partners – From discounts on gym memberships to tax returns, we have arranged a number of deals

Disaster Recovery – we have invested heavily in our systems to ensure we can continue to operate in any situation and guarantee payments to workers

Recruitment experience – founded by former recruitment professionals, we solely operate in and fully understand the recruitment industry and our service reflects this understanding.