Workforce Assured: Stronger Partnerships. Better Protection. Greater Confidence to Grow.

by Steve McDermott | Oct 14, 2026 | All Articles, Blog, Freelance Professionals, HMRC, IR35, Legislation, News, Talent Management, UK Employers

Workforce Assured: Stronger Partnerships. Better Protection. Greater Confidence to Grow.

New Red Planet is proud to be Workforce Assured accredited. We believe the greatest value comes from putting those standards into practice together, through partnerships that protect workers, strengthen compliance and support sustainable growth.

Behind every project is a workforce. Behind every worker is a chain of businesses responsible for how they are recruited, engaged, supported and paid.

When those businesses work well together, workers receive clearer information, clients gain greater confidence and suppliers have a stronger foundation for delivering their services.

That is why Workforce Assured matters to NRP, and why we want to build relationships with fellow accredited contractors, recruitment agencies and supply-chain partners.

WHY: Your people deserve protection. Your business deserves confidence.

Businesses should be able to focus on delivering projects, supporting clients and developing their teams, with confidence in the arrangements behind their workforce.

Workers should understand who engages them, how their pay works and where to turn when they need support.

Achieving that takes clear responsibilities, dependable processes and partners who are prepared to demonstrate how they operate.

Workforce Assured focuses on ethical, transparent and fair labour practices within the built environment. Its accreditation includes audit protocols for contractors, agencies and umbrella suppliers, examining the controls behind worker engagement across different tiers of the supply chain.

That matters because a worker’s experience is shaped by more than one organisation. The standards set by a contractor need to carry through to the agency supplying the worker and the intermediary processing their pay.

At NRP, our purpose is to take payroll pressure off our partners and support the people their businesses depend on.

Our Workforce Assured accreditation reflects our commitment to that purpose. It gives fellow accredited businesses a shared starting point for discussing expectations, evidence and how we can work together.

HOW: Make shared standards part of everyday delivery.

A strong partnership connects the promises made during procurement with what happens when a worker starts an assignment, receives a payslip or raises a question.

That means agreeing who does what, providing understandable information and dealing with issues promptly.

Workforce Assured supports this wider approach through three complementary areas:

Accreditation: assessing labour-management practices and identifying improvements.
The Academy: training, guidance and consultancy for different parts of the supply chain.
Specialist audit and compliance services: examining how arrangements operate through ongoing checks.

The Academy includes support for policies, procedures, procurement and governance, alongside training for contractors, agencies, umbrella businesses and workers. Accreditation and Academy services are distinct offerings.

Workforce Assured’s specialist tools also look beyond company-level assurances. Worker interviews explore the experience of people on projects, while documentation audits can examine payslips, contract terms, competency records and right-to-work evidence.

These services help businesses test whether their processes are reaching the workforce in practice.

For NRP, this reinforces a principle we value: confidence is stronger when it is supported by evidence.

We want our partnerships to have clear onboarding arrangements, appropriate payroll processes, accessible support and useful information that helps each business understand its part in the supply chain.

Why partnerships between accredited businesses matter

If your business is already Workforce Assured accredited, you have invested in examining your practices and demonstrating your commitment.

The next question is how your partners help you maintain those standards as your workforce and client commitments grow.

Working with another accredited business creates a useful foundation. It gives both parties a recognised framework for discussing labour practices, while leaving room to examine the specific service, responsibilities and evidence required.

Strengthening compliance

Clear handovers between contractor, recruiter and payroll provider can help reduce gaps, duplicated work and uncertainty.

Agreeing the engagement model, onboarding requirements, payroll deadlines and escalation process early makes the relationship easier to manage.

Accreditation supports this conversation. Ongoing due diligence and each organisation’s responsibilities remain essential.

Supporting worker protection and wellbeing

Workers benefit when their terms and pay are understandable, questions have a clear route to resolution and concerns are taken seriously.

Labour assurance complements the site’s health and safety arrangements by bringing attention to employment practices, worker experience and relevant documentation. It forms one part of protecting a workforce.

Creating a stronger foundation for growth

As a business grows, its processes need to keep pace with more workers, more locations and greater client expectations.

A capable payroll partner can support that expansion without placing every additional processing task on the contractor’s or agency’s internal team.

Workforce Assured also describes its accreditation as a shared assessment model that can reduce duplicate audits for clients using the standard. Its stated benefits include supporting suppliers’ work-winning activities by helping them meet client compliance requirements.

Our view is that shared standards, clear responsibilities and dependable delivery create better conditions for lasting commercial relationships.

WHAT: NRP’s payroll support for your business and supply chain

NRP works with contractors, recruitment businesses and end clients to understand their workforce arrangements and identify the appropriate payroll service.

Our services include:

Umbrella payroll for suitable temporary-worker arrangements.
PEO PAYE for agency partners seeking a PAYE option with NRP acting as the employer.
Managed payroll bureau services for businesses retaining employment responsibility while outsourcing agreed payroll processing.
CIS processing for engagements assessed as suitable for that model.

We begin by understanding your current arrangements, your client requirements and where your team needs support.

From there, we agree a practical process covering onboarding, information exchange, payroll and queries, with responsibilities clearly defined between the parties.

The aim is straightforward: give your business dependable payroll support and more capacity to focus on serving clients and delivering work.

Fellow Workforce Assured accredited businesses: let’s put our shared standards to work.

If you are a contractor, recruitment agency or supply-chain business within the Workforce Assured community, we would welcome a conversation.

You may be reviewing your payroll arrangements, preparing for growth or looking for a partner who understands the standards your clients expect.

NRP can explore where our services fit, what support your team needs and how we can build a relationship that works for your business and its workforce.

We share a commitment to better labour practices. Let’s discuss how we can deliver them together.

Contact Steve McDermott, Business Development Manager

Email: steve.mcdermott@newredplanet.com
Telephone: 07854 881 220

To discuss further email here.

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NRP Featured in Care Agenda: Taking Payroll Pressure Off Care Providers

by Steve McDermott | Oct 14, 2026 | All Articles, Blog, Freelance Professionals, HMRC, IR35, Legislation, News, Talent Management, UK Employers

NRP featured in Care Agenda: taking payroll pressure off care providers

New Red Planet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Damian Wasey, explores how payroll affects staff confidence, management time and workforce stability in the September 2026 edition of Care Agenda.

Care providers have enough to manage. Keeping services safely staffed, supporting employees and delivering quality care all demand time and attention. Behind those priorities sits another essential responsibility: making sure people are paid correctly and on time.

When payroll creates repeated queries, corrections or last-minute pressure, the impact reaches beyond the finance team. It takes managers away from their responsibilities and can undermine employees’ confidence in their employer.

That is the subject of Damian’s article, “Payroll: The Hidden Pressure Point in Social Care Staffing”, published in Care Agenda, Care England’s sector magazine.

More time for your people. More focus on care.

At NRP, we believe payroll should support your organisation and its people, without becoming a recurring burden on those responsible for delivering care.

Care payroll brings particular challenges. Different shift patterns, waking nights, enhancements, variable hours and travel payments can sit alongside frequent starters and leavers, pension duties and statutory payments.

For an owner, manager or finance team already balancing multiple responsibilities, keeping all of this running smoothly can consume valuable time.

Our role is to take that processing burden off your team and provide dependable support when you need it.

Payroll support built around your organisation

NRP provides a fully managed payroll bureau service for care homes, nursing homes and domiciliary care providers.

We work with you to understand your workforce, pay arrangements and existing processes, then build the service around your organisation. Support includes payroll processing, statutory payments, pension auto-enrolment administration, HMRC RTI submissions and clear payslips.

With named account support and a dedicated Bureau Portal, your team has a clear route for information and payroll queries.

For directly employed staff, you remain the employer while NRP manages the agreed payroll processing responsibilities.

Support across permanent and temporary workforces

Alongside our bureau service, NRP supports recruitment agencies through our umbrella and PEO PAYE services.

This gives care providers and their agency partners access to a payroll specialist who understands both directly employed workforces and temporary staffing arrangements, with the appropriate service for each.

Read the Care Agenda feature

View the article below to learn more about the payroll pressures facing care providers and how NRP can help.

Care Agenda September

Could payroll be taking more of your team’s time than it should?

Whether you process payroll internally or already outsource it, a conversation can help identify where your current arrangements could work better.

Book a 15-minute payroll review with Steve McDermott to discuss your workforce, your current process and the support your team needs.

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RM6376 and RM6238: Education Recruitment Margin Caps Have Arrived. Your Profits Don’t Have To Shrink

by Steve McDermott | Jun 2, 2026 | All Articles, Benefits, Blog, Employee Rights BIll, HMRC, Legislation, News, Recruitment Businesses, UK Employers, Umbrella Legislation

RM6376 & RM6238 Margin Caps Are Here. So Where Do Education Recruiters Find Their Profit?

If you’ve recently secured a place on RM6376 or RM6238, congratulations.

It’s a significant achievement and one that doesn’t come easily.

Financial stability, safeguarding, governance, compliance, operational capability and pricing transparency all come under scrutiny. Securing a place on either framework demonstrates that your business can operate at the standard schools, Multi Academy Trusts and public sector organisations expect.

However, for many education recruitment businesses, winning a place on the framework is only the beginning.

The conversation we’re having most often at the moment isn’t about compliance.

It’s about profitability.

The Work Hasn’t Reduced. The Margin Has.

Most agency owners understand why margin caps have been introduced across RM6376 and RM6238.

Schools are under pressure.

Budgets are tighter than ever.

Procurement teams are being asked to demonstrate value and control costs wherever possible.

The challenge is that whilst the frameworks may cap what agencies can charge, they don’t reduce the cost of running a compliant recruitment business.

You still need to attract candidates.
You still need to manage safeguarding.
You still need to support schools.
You still need to pay workers accurately and on time.
You still need to stay compliant.

The work hasn’t reduced.

The margin has.

It’s no surprise that many agency owners are now asking the same question:

“How do we protect profitability without increasing risk?“

Is Bringing Payroll In-House The Answer?

One of the first options many businesses consider is bringing payroll in-house.

On the surface, it makes sense.

If margins are being squeezed under RM6376 and RM6238, surely removing third-party costs is the answer?

Sometimes it is.

Often it isn’t.

What many businesses quickly realise is that payroll isn’t just payroll anymore.

When workers are employed directly by the agency, the responsibilities that come with employment sit with the agency too.

That means considering:

Payroll governance
HMRC reporting obligations
Employment rights
Compliance monitoring
Operational administration
Joint & Several Liability considerations for your end clients

With employment legislation continuing to evolve, particularly around day one worker rights, many agencies are understandably cautious about taking on additional responsibility unless the commercial benefit is clear.

For some businesses, bringing payroll in-house works well.

For others, it creates more cost, complexity and risk than expected.

The Conversation Has Changed

Historically, many recruitment businesses selected a payroll model years ago and simply stuck with it.

There was often little reason to review it.

Margins were healthy.

The process worked.

Everyone moved on.

The introduction of RM6376 and RM6238 margin caps is now encouraging agency owners to revisit decisions that may not have been reviewed for years.

Questions such as:

Is our current payroll model still the most efficient?
Are there alternative worker engagement models available?
Could we improve profitability without disrupting operations?
Are we carrying unnecessary employment risk?
Are we getting the best commercial outcome from our workforce model?

These are exactly the conversations we’re having every day.

There Isn’t A One-Size-Fits-All Solution

At New Red Planet, we’ve worked alongside education recruitment businesses operating on CCS frameworks for more than a decade.

Today, more than 30 suppliers across RM6376 and RM6238 utilise our services.

One thing we’ve learnt during that time is that no two agencies are the same.

That’s why we don’t believe every business should be pushed towards a single payroll solution.

Some businesses are best suited to an Umbrella model.
Others benefit from PEO PAYE.
Some prefer a PAYE Bureau solution.
Many operate a combination of different engagement models.

The right answer depends on your objectives, your workforce, and how your business operates.

What often surprises agency owners is how much difference a relatively small change can make.

In many cases, improving profitability isn’t about making wholesale changes to the business.

It’s about reviewing a process that may not have been challenged for years and identifying opportunities that have previously been overlooked.

The Agencies That Thrive Will Be The Agencies That Adapt

The agencies that continue to succeed under RM6376 and RM6238 won’t necessarily be those charging the highest margins.

They’ll be the businesses that understand their costs.
The businesses that operate efficiently.
The businesses that have visibility.
And the businesses that are prepared to adapt when market conditions change.

The frameworks have undoubtedly changed the landscape.

But they haven’t removed opportunities.

They’ve simply encouraged agencies to look at areas of their business that may not have needed attention before.

Let’s Have A Conversation

If you’re reviewing how workers are engaged, how payroll is delivered or whether there are opportunities to improve efficiency and profitability within your existing model, we’d be happy to share what we’re seeing across the education recruitment market.

After supporting CCS framework suppliers for many years, we understand the challenges agencies face and the practical solutions many are implementing to adapt successfully.

Your margin may be capped.

Your options aren’t.

6 April has passed – JSL liability is now real

by Steve McDermott | Apr 10, 2026 | All Articles, Blog, Employee Rights BIll, Freelance Professionals, HMRC, IR35, Legislation, News, Recruitment Businesses, Talent Management, UK Employers, Umbrella Legislation

6 April has passed – JSL liability is now real

If your payroll partner can’t prove compliance, the risk sits with you

April 6th has now come and gone.

We are officially in the new world of Joint and Several Liability (JSL).

This means one thing very clearly – if an umbrella company in your supply chain cannot prove they are operating correctly and paying the correct PAYE and NIC to HMRC, the liability does not stop with them… it moves up to you!

This is no longer theoretical. It is live.

What you should now be demanding from your payroll partners

Every recruitment business should now have a clear compliance checklist. At a minimum, you should be able to evidence:

FCSA Accreditation
SafeRec Accreditation
Full access to all current and historic payslips for your workers
Back-end visibility of PAYE submissions to HMRC (RTI data)
Back-end visibility of actual PAYE payments made to HMRC

If you cannot see it, you cannot prove it.

And if you cannot prove it, under JSL, you may be liable for it.

The old model is gone

Gone are the days of choosing an umbrella because:

They offer the biggest rebate
They take you to the best events
They fund nights out or perks for the team

Those things are no longer a deciding factor.

Compliance is now the deciding factor.

Because the cost of getting it wrong is no longer commercial – it is financial liability.

What does that liability actually look like?

Let’s keep it simple.

50 workers
£400 per week
Over just 12 weeks

That’s £240,000 in gross pay moving through the supply chain.

If PAYE and NIC have not been correctly accounted for, the potential exposure can easily exceed £70,000+ in just that short period.

Now scale that across multiple clients, projects, or months.

This is how JSL risk builds – quickly and quietly.

Early warning signs are already here

We are only days into this new landscape, and we are already seeing umbrella companies entering administration.

That is exactly where the risk begins to surface.

Where New Red Planet fits in

At New Red Planet Limited, everything we do is built around transparency, compliance, and visibility.

Yes, we still enjoy spending time with our partners – whether that’s football, racing, rugby or the odd day out.

But that is a byproduct of strong, compliant relationships – not a substitute for them.

If you would like to understand how we provide:

Full payroll transparency
Real-time visibility of HMRC submissions and payments
A compliant, future-proof payroll structure under JSL

then let’s have a conversation.

Because in this new world, what you can’t see can hurt you.

steve.mcdermott@newredplanet.com

07854 881 220 or 0161 713 1730

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The shake-up has started, and agencies must get their supply chain in order before April.

by Steve McDermott | Nov 18, 2025 | All Articles, Blog, Employee Rights BIll, Freelance Professionals, HMRC, IR35, Legislation, News, Recruitment Businesses, Talent Management, UK Employers, Umbrella Legislation

The post will take around three to four minutes to read. It is important, and will help you understand what is coming and what you may need to prepare for.

I wanted to give you a straight, honest overview of what is happening across the umbrella and payroll world ahead of the Autumn Budget. There are meaningful changes on the the way that will affect how recruitment businesses manage their supply chains, their payroll models, and their responsibilities to workers. My ain here is simple. I want you to have the facts, the likely timelines and the areas that will need early attention before anything becomes law.

The shake-up has started, and agencies must get their supply chain in order before April.

Recently, an umbrella company collapsed owing more than £2 million after advancing money to recruitment clients on extended credit terms. When those clients did not repay the funds, the umbrella could not meet its liabilities. The result was contractors left unpaid and agencies exposed.
(Source: Freelance Informer)

This is not a one off. It reflects the wider pressure in the market and why the Government is now moving quickly. The direction is clear. The market is being pushed towards financial stability, real transparency, and full compliance.

What is happening on 26 November
The Autumn Budget is expected to set out the next stage of changes to umbrella legislation and the Employment Rights Bill. This will likely be the clearest picture yet of how the new compliance framework will work and how responsibility will be shared, monitored, and enforced.

A first for the industry
For the first time ever, REC, APSCo, FCSA and HMRC have sat at the same table to help shape this legislation. Together, they are focused on three things:

• stopping the hundreds of millions lost each year through non-compliant payroll models
• improving protection for everyday workers
• removing non-compliant payroll and recruitment businesses from the market permanently

This level of collaboration has never happened before. It signals a real shift in how the sector will operate in the future.

Timescales to implementation
Current expectations are:

• The big announcements will be made on 26 November.
• More detail will follow in the months after.
• The transition period will run throughout 2025.
• Full enforcement is expected from April 2026.

This gives everyone roughly 12 to 16 months to prepare properly. (Would probably leave this information out. If someone gets done, could quote it OR might slow down decision making)

What this means for recruitment businesses
One of the biggest areas under consideration is joint and several liability. Agencies OR end clients will be held responsible for PAYE failures or non-compliance carried out by any umbrella in their supply chain.

There is also strong expectation that the Employment Rights Bill will introduce day one rights for many workers. This will not only affect umbrella users, it will also impact agencies running their own PAYE. Processes, documentation, internal capacity, and onboarding workflows may all need to change.

Changing market behaviour
Depending on their setup, agencies will respond differently:

• Many will continue using umbrella providers
• Some will change how they work with them
• Some will bring payroll in-house
• Many will outsource their in-house payroll for extra support and protection

If you are thinking about changing your payroll structure, especially bringing PAYE in-house, or outsourcing it, the planning needs to start before the Employment Rights Bill takes effect in April.

What we will be doing
Over the next couple of weeks, we will keep a close eye on everything released by Government, HMRC, industry bodies and legal advisers. As soon as confirmed information is available, we will share it in a clear, easy to understand way so you can prepare with confidence.

In the final days before the Budget, we will also share a five-day countdown. Each message will focus on one key part of the reforms and what agencies should be thinking about ahead of the announcement.

New Red Planet holds dual FCSA accreditation for umbrella and PAYE. This means we already work to the standards that will be expected once the new framework is in place. If at any point you want clarity on what the changes could mean for your setup, or you simply want to talk through the likely impact, you are always welcome to reach out. I am here to help where needed.

Contact Steve McDermott if you would you like to know a little more about the risk and benefit of outsourcing you contractor payroll, and have No-obligation chat:

steve.mcdermott@newredplanet.com or 07854 881 220 or 0161 713 1730