How it works

Our finance team checks every detail before onboarding begins, making sure everything is correctly entered into ETZ, our contractor management system.

• Contractors receive a tailored onboarding pack based on the role’s IR35 determination (e.g., limited company or umbrella company), and right-to-work requirements.
• We handle the verification of all necessary documentation, including passports, insurance certificates, incorporation certificate, company bank statements, and right to work status.
• After verification, contracts are raised and issued via DocuSign. This means you never need to handle the complexities of compliance or eligibility checks.

We work with contractors in two ways, depending on the IR35 determination:

• Umbrella company: The contractor is employed by the umbrella company, which manages tax, NI, and PAYE. Propel contracts directly with the umbrella.   The contractor will need to select an umbrella company listed on our preferred suppliers list (PSL). 
• Limited company: The contractor operates through their own personal service company (PSC), and we verify the incorporation of the company, that relevant insurance is in place, and the company bank details are correct.

As the client, it is your responsibility to determine whether the role falls inside or outside IR35 using HMRC’s official assessment tool ‘Check Employment Status for Tax’ (CEST tool). Propel then manages the setup based on that determination.

What Does Inside and Outside IR35 Mean?

• Inside IR35 means the contractor is working in a way that’s similar to an employee.
  They pay income tax and National Insurance through PAYE, usually via an umbrella company. Despite paying taxes like an employee, the contractor does not gain employment rights.
• Outside IR35 means the contractor is genuinely self-employed and provides services through their own limited company. They’re responsible for managing their own tax and National Insurance.

The IR35 status determination depends on factors such as control over work, mutuality of obligation (ongoing commitment between client and contractor), and the right to provide a substitute.

We are here to support and walk you through it. 

Contractors submit their timesheets weekly through our user-friendly ETZ portal. Line managers receive an automated email notification to review and approve the days worked with a single click.

• Each timesheet includes a digital timestamp and a complete audit trail, capturing the date, approver’s IP address, and signature for full transparency.
• You have access to ETZ to view and approve timesheets at any time; no extra software downloads or systems are needed. Everything is designed to be fast, accurate, and transparent.

We ensure your contractors are paid promptly and accurately. Propel pays contractors bi-weekly, with a Monday 6pm cut-off for approved timesheets and invoice submissions, and payments made every Friday. This means contractors receive their first payment within two weeks of starting and weekly thereafter.

Propel then invoices your business for the approved hours. This gives you a single, simple point of payment while we manage the entire payment process behind the scenes.