Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the growth of umbrella companies, and (2) the ability of the staff of those companies, to demonstrate continuous service and accrue employee benefits and employment rights.

The government has undertaken a significant amount of work on umbrella companies in recent years. After analysing the results of a call for evidence on umbrella companies which ran from November 2021 to February 2022, the government published a joint consultation to seek views on options to regulate umbrella companies for employment rights and to tackle tax non-compliance. The consultation closed on 29 August 2023. We are now considering the views and evidence received to inform our decision about how to proceed. We will publish a summary of responses and our next steps in due course.