Managing payrolls in the temporary labour market is a complex task that many businesses prefer to avoid. 

To handle this, umbrella companies were created to take on the responsibility and simplify the process for employers. It's their speciality, and the reputable ones do it exceptionally well.

So, with the introduction of Joint and Several Liability in April 2026, the question is:

is it possible to GUARANTEE that no liability will ever arise?

The short answer is no.

As we have indicated, the rolling liability associated with monthly verifications can be substantial, especially depending on where an umbrella failure event falls within the liability cycle.

One way to manage this high level of risk is for the agency to take direct responsibility for PAYE liabilities, effectively removing the risk from the supply chain.

Given the complexity of payroll, there's always a potential risk for small calculation errors, such as tax code mistakes.  Generally, these errors are minor and can be considered very low risk. Furthermore, HMRC is unlikely to dedicate substantial resources to conduct a full audit just to identify such small discrepancies.

So, whilst it is impossible to guarantee there will never be a liability under JSL there is a significant difference between the whole PAYE liability being required to be paid again and the small amounts that could be due from the complexity of payroll operations.

The first could result in business failure while the second, in the unlikely event it occurred, can easily be dealt with through normal company expenditure.