A lot of umbrella companies are claiming to have "no hidden fees" as if that's all you need to know on the subject. Here at Gabem we believe you have the right to know exactly what a company will charge, and see it as our duty to be open and provide you with crystal clear information. With that in mind we've put together a list of all the charges we make, if it's not on this list you won't be charged for it.

(Click here for an explanation of the difference between net and gross costs)

Umbrella company: What will it cost?

• £22 or 10% whichever is LESS, per week (gross)*

• £2.50 Personal Accident Insurance (net) per week (if you can prove you already have comparable cover we won't include you in our policy and you won't be charged)

Optional extras:

• 24 hour Personal Accident Insurance +£1.25 per week

*Gabem umbrella combines the best aspects of what you might erroneously call a "fixed fee" or a "percentage fee". We take a weekly margin that is either 10% of your gross, or £22 whichever is LESS, and on top of that because the margin is deducted gross, you receive tax relief on it, potentially reducing the impact on your bottom line to as little as £11.31!

Solo and CIS Self employed: What will it cost?

• £20 per week (gross)

• Public Liability Insurance £2 (net) per week (if you can prove you already have Public Liability Insurance we will waive this cost)

Non-standard charges

• ExpenseBox our receipt scanning and cataloging service for self employed contractors costs £10 plus VAT each time you send us one of your envelopes of receipts (for complete details click here)

• Self Assessment completion service £97.75 one off (net) charge that includes VAT

• REPRINTS of payroll documents after you have left Gabem £10 per requested year (net). This includes:

  • End of year documents
  • Replacement P45s
  • Statement of Income \ Letter confirming income

The difference between net and gross

If you plan on using these costs as a basis for comparison it's important to know the difference between gross and net deductions because there is potentially huge financial gap between the two.

A gross deduction is taken before any tax or NI is applied, so you receive tax relief on that amount. This is how a £22 deduction can end up being as low as £11.31 from their bottom line, because someone on the higher rate of tax could "save" £12.44 of tax and NI.

So if someone is quoting you a net figure remember it could still be significantly higher than someone charging a gross figure.