Q&A

How does Prime UK work?

We have two main functions as far as our clients are concerned:

1. To act as an employer on behalf of all contractors
2. To provide a professional and secure PAYE payroll service for all contractors, ensuring that those claiming employment expense are compliant.

These are the two many business activities that we will carry out on your behalf if you operate as a contractor. Our income comes from our employees and covers all of our costs when we operate as the employer.

What is the process like at Prime UK?

Once you have signed up and registered with us, we will need proof of ID and address as well as your P45. From this point, we can then take over, getting in touch with the agency to obtain your contract. You will then become our ‘employee’, covered by an over-arching contract which will enable you to carry out assignments as follows for clients/agencies during your period of employment with us:

• You can work for an end client or agency and we will put in place a contract with them.
• You will be able to carry out your duties under contract at the temporary workplace.
• You will be able to upload your timesheets to our portal and we invoice the agency.

The client/agency then pay us the contract rate to cover work that has been completed by you. This will include all costs such as holiday entitlement and employer’s NICs; note that this rate will be higher than if you were paid directly by PAYE as it has to cover these additional costs. Once the funds are released to us, we process the payment and deduct NICs, Income Tax and our margin.

You then get a text or email from us to say that your payment has been made.

It is that simple.

Is Prime UK right for me?

This depends on whether the agency you are work for has a PSL (Preferred Supplier List) that means they will only work with selected payroll companies, shown on the PSL. If your contract with them states that you can only use a company shown on their PSL, you may not be able to choose us. However, if your contract does not restrict you, then you can use any payroll company, including us. Many agencies do not limit your choice of payroll companies so if in doubt, always ask them.

Once you are free to go ahead and join us and have signed up, we will call the agency and introduce ourselves. It may even be that we are already working with them.

Should I be concerned when using a payroll company?

No, reputable payroll companies offer a very safe and secure service. However, do make sure that you use a company which is totally compliant. Many offer ‘deals’ such as ‘take home 90% of your pay’ but don’t be lured by them as they may be running a non-compliant scheme.