Absolute Garbage . 1.They signed and accepted a contract for me even though I told them not to and had received confirmation from them that they would not on two separate occasions 2.Following a pay increase they paid me the lower amount .When I questioned this stated that they paid me what my agency had invoiced them. They left me to sort this out and it turned out my agency had invoiced the higher rate!! No apologies for the error 3. My pension plan returned some funds to them which Paystream continuously states they had not received. It was not until I was able to obtain evidence that the money had been paid to them over a month earlier that they miraculous contacted me saying I was due a payment from my pension plan . Again no apologies 4. Good luck getting any assistance when querying anything. You will speak to and receive emails from several different people who will have not looked at your previous history leading to the situation where you'll have to constantly repeat yourself. Use any umbrella company other than Paystream

their it system is very poor and it only work with one password which will be given by payroll people and they will ask not to change since it won't work if you changed to any password. Very poor in replying to query

Been with people group for a couple of years now. Left them recently as my new agency used someone else but so unimpressed I came straight back to peoples group. Very good and would highly recommend.

I am very happy with their quick contractor support and their timely payments. I have been using them for a year now, and I am quite satisfied. Good job Team Ovations Umbrella

Awful - They Won't Pay You Awful, just awful. Recently finished a contract with Parasol at the end of September, working inside IR35. Invoice submitted on 30/09, we're now into November and they haven't paid. I'm owed about £7000. The client (who I know personally & trust, having worked for them several times before, without issue) have provided Parasol with the banking transaction number - thereby proving payment, but still they're claiming they haven't received anything. It's disgraceful, really. Borderline criminal. When you phone up you're just passed from pillar to post, are promised call backs that don't happen and it's clear that they're more than happy to hold on to your money. It all feels very underhanded, to be honest. I literally have no trust in this outfit whatsoever. My advice - avoid this outfit and go with someone reputable. I suspect that all of the 5 star reviews are paid for shill reviews. It's clear to see from Parasol's trust pilot rankings that they are very close to the bottom of the list. I'll give it till the end of the week and if I haven't received payment by then, I'll be complaining to the regulatory bodies, engaging ACAS and seeking independent legal advice. It'll most likely be a pyrrhic victory - given the costs of taking them to court - but I will be taking it forward & will hopefully be able to persuade the courts to award costs. Have been a contractor for a long time and never been faced with a situation like this before. Learn from my mistakes and choose someone else, please.

People’s PAYE option is better than any umbrella ever and provided me with furlough support for the 18 months of coronavirus. Great company to work for.

Incredibly incompetent business. Took ages to get paid my wages. They came back with overly apologetic excuses, but basically shafting the employee... I reported them to ICO.org.uk. If more people report them then action will be taken hopefully ☹. Hacking in September!. What a crock of crap! Just more ways to delay my payments.. Good luck!

I have been with Parasol six months or so and in that time they have screwed up expense claims (weeks late), pension payments (over £20k in a black hole somewhere) and payroll (two months in one payslip and incorrect payment). Getting answers from them is almost impossible. Considering ombudsman/legal advice. Avoid these people like the plague.

I used Orca as an umbrella pay company for around 6 months. At every stage of the process from sign up to first payment and then through to leaving Orca have been first rate. Great communication, clear payslips and quick payment. Would highly recommend for any contractor needing an umbrella company for off payroll work.

I was surprised to see some poor reviews as thus has not been my experience. I was with the Umbrella company before and it was a dreadful experience. I changed and went to Parasol. Really helpful, courteous and responsive. Big shout to Wayne and to Carl Leicester - absolutely brilliant service. Just a shame I won't ve with the comany fir long.

Don't use this company - I'm in shock at the amount of money I received after costs were deducted. I was made to believe I would only be charged £28 a week by parasol and then I find out there were other costs. please don't use them.

I was not paid on Friday as my agency didn’t send my timesheet. When I called people group they were very reassuring and told me they would sort it for me. They contacted my agency to chase my pay and I was paid in full by the end of the day with my payslip on my portal and a call to explain what had happened. Great service

Despite a great deal of hard work to ensure contracts were outside IR35, halfway through the contract they were changed to inside with no real right of appeal. Roles hadn’t changed, just the threat of another fine from HMRC. The message was that so long as there is a Ltd company at the end of the payment chain then the role is inside IR35

Capita are not engaging contractors via Limited Companies with a blanket ban, no assessment, not offering PAYE, and are quoting an all in rate that includes Employer NI, and forcing use of umbrellas of their selection via a PSL. I found another contract outside IR35 and left mid contract, which I’ve never done before but a lack of business partnership goes both ways.

One of the better umbrellas. Submit timesheets on a Friday, get a text message on following Wednesday advising what will reach my bank account then two days later (Friday) it's credited along with emailed payslip. No problems and everything ran like clockwork unlike certain other umbrellas.

Accepted a role here during height of pandemic. Day rate was quite poor and had to use one of four "recognised" umbrellas. There was no SDS and "policy" was contractors had to use "recognised" umbrella. Only took role as I hadn't worked for months and have never worked with such a collection of poorly skilled contractors (you truly do get what you pay for). Luckily found something else once market recovered and left contract early. Umbrella also messed up my timesheets and I was underpaid for weeks.

1. Giant had not taken my previous employment into consideration so my tax code changed from L to W1 (Emergency Tax Code). 2. Didn't pay any tax to HMRC for a whole 2 months. 3. Took a deduct advance payment of £787 which wasn't paid to HMRC. 4. Took a £50 'Giant Margin' rather than the standard £25 If I don't receive a full refund and explanation to the above I will be contacting the Financial Ombudsman. These mistakes have left me with a £1400 tax bill. What exactly have I been paying Giant to do? Do not use them or mistake them for Giant Precision. I have previously used Giant Precision and was very happy for their service.

I have had the same experience as everyone else. Calls unanswered, emails not responded to, takehome pay different to what was expected and shown on payslips, tax deductions significantly higher than advised and expected. Generally a poor service and experience for what should be a very basic service. Do you homework and trust the reviews of others!

Hi all, I've had a very poor customer experience with Parasol as an umbrella (and also ClearSky, their accounting package). My takehome was poor, customer service was a litany of broken promises and they managed (somehow) to tax me twice in the same month. Make your minds up, but there are options out there

I am really impressed with WIS Umbrella. When I first spoke with them thay were able to provide fantastic salary estimates and really helpful guidance around pension contributions. There website is really good and the payslips and pay advices provided are excellent. As an ongoing customer, they always respond to my queries quickly and fefficiently. I thoroughly recommendd them

Reversed decisions of 12 months previous due to incorrect guidence by a unknowledged 'expert' leading to blanket decisions justified by false, untested assumptions and unfair, ill informed appeals process. Not even following HMRC guidance. Such a shame.

Reviews must be fake, these cowboys are useless

I have been with lots of payroll companies over my 20 year supply career and can happily say I have never had an issue with People Group. They were transparent from day 1, they supported my and all my colleagues during the pandemic, they pay on time every week and their payslips are clear. Would be happy to recommend to friends.

I've been with People Group for 3 years. They supported me immediately through furlough unlike one of my other providers. Always get responses via phone and email. Great set of additional benefits and just generally nice people to deal with.

I was working through my Ltd company for years until my latest contract extension put my inside IR35 without any prior warning. I had very little time to find a provider and do my research but after a call with Compass I felt at ease with what was needed and they walked me through the changes I would see moving from Ltd to umbrella. We discussed all the differences and what it meant for me and ultimately my take home pay. They where able to get me setup and running within 48hrs in time for me to accept my extension and continue like nothing had happened. Great advice from them on all aspects of working through an umbrella, the workplace pension and other associated benefits Compass offer when you are with them. All in all a simple easy to understand process with great support from knowledgeable people.