{ How contractors can benefit from employee benefit schemes? |}
As a self-employed contractor you could be forgiven the world of workplace benefits is off the current market,but you could not be further from the truth. Yes your end customers benefits scheme will probably be off the table,but by working through an umbrella company you could get access to a plethora of employee benefits which does not just make contracting easier but really give back some of the fees you pay to the umbrella each week. Employee benefits come in many sizes and shapes but They Frequently contain: Public Liability Insurance Cover (roughly #3.84 a week) Professional Indemnity Insurance Cover (roughly #5.19 a week) Perkbox Rewards (roughly #6.09 a week) Cycle to work schemes If you’re paying an umbrella company #25 a week,then it’s important to offset that cost against some of the benefits you’d otherwise need to cover out of your pocket. Read on for a breakdown of the benefits and how they are able to financially help the contractors that receive them. { Public Liability Cover — on average #200 per annum |} As a contractor working through a Limited Company or as a self-employed worker,in order to step onsite and fulfil your contract you are often needed to provide your client with proof of your public liability insurance. Public liability insurance protects,you,your client as well as their end customer in the event you cause injury or loss to somebody in the course of doing your role (though not through your actual resulting work). Say by way of example you’re in IT and you’re building a piece of software. In the course of making this program,you lose the memory stick that houses the information on it. In this event it’s your public liability insurance which foots the bill for the loss brought on by your client as opposed to you,meaning a blip in an otherwise perfect livelihood won’t cost you your house. Public liability insurance is not compulsory in the UK,but it is often a minimum necessity to engage with a client. Though your job may take nine months to complete and the final result would be covered under your compulsory professional indemnity insurance cover,some mishap you encounter in the course of the nine months you take to reach the final result will not be. {As mentioned previously,unlike public liability insurance,professional indemnity insurance is a legal necessity. |} As an expert,you’d expect that each piece of work you do is top notch but sometimes things can go wrong and in the event this is a result of your job,this is the insurance which will cover the bill. Say by way of example you’re a railroad,and also in the class of your inspections you miss a faulty signal,which subsequently causes an accident. As a contractor you could be financially accountable for the consequences of that accident and as such unless you have professional indemnity insurance you might wind up footing the bill. Of course,nobody wants to evermake a claim on their insurance however much like taking out car insurance,as a responsible contractor you want to ensure should the worst happen,you’re covered. Perkbox (along with other employee perk schemes) — a minimum of #317 per annum Perkbox is the UK’s top employee reward scheme and it’s becoming increasingly popular amongst high end umbrellas which are looking to give a bit more back to their loyal customers. The perks are pretty straight forward,with 90% consisting of money off coupons at major retailers such as: Exclusive Odeon,London Eye & National Attraction Offers 5% off at Ikea 8% off Just Eat 8% off at M&S 10% off at Debenhams 10% off at Charles Tyrwhitt 15% off at New Look However there are a Couple of big winners Which You Can benefit from when you combine your umbrella company such as: { 20% off EE monthly phone bills (worth #96) Free Mobile Phone insurance (worth #179) 12 Free Coffees from Café Nero (worth #42) |} Limit the plethora of different discounts on offer,these 3 offers alone will net you a benefit of #6.09 a week. { Employee benefits can add up quickly |} Should you mix both contractor insurances and perkbox,the ordinary contractor on #50,000 per annum could expect to benefit to the tune of around #15 a week. Compare it to an umbrella charge of #25 a week and internet weekly cost is really only #10. For more information on umbrella businesses,the benefits they provide and how these can impact your net take home after tax,compare umbrella businesses on the internet now.
