Umbrella payslips explained line by line

Start with the assignment rate

The assignment rate is what the agency pays the umbrella company. It is not a salary, and it is not what reaches the worker — it is the amount from which every employment cost is met before pay is calculated.

Confusing the assignment rate with gross pay is the single most common reason an umbrella payslip looks wrong.

Employment costs

• Employer’s National Insurance, which is a cost of employing anyone and is not a deduction from the worker’s wages.
• The apprenticeship levy where it applies.
• Employer pension contributions under auto-enrolment.
• The umbrella company’s margin, which should be a stated figure rather than a percentage of the rate.

Gross pay and deductions

What remains after employment costs is the worker’s gross pay, and it is from that figure that income tax, employee National Insurance and the employee pension contribution are deducted.

Holiday pay appears here too — either accrued and held, or rolled up and paid with each payment, but it should always be visible as its own line.

How to check yours

Add the employment costs to the gross pay. The total should equal the assignment rate. If it does not, that is the question to ask, and a compliant provider will answer it line by line.