9 Reasons Why SafeRec Certified Umbrella Companies Are Truly Unique

The umbrella compliance landscape has evolved rapidly, with various providers offering different approaches. At SafeRec, our Certification was built to deliver free, transparent, independent assurance to agencies, clients, and workers, not just by reviewing documents, but by verifying the end-to-end process and ensuring taxes are paid to HMRC.

The SafeRec Certification isn’t just a badge or bolt-on. It’s a complete, robust, and independently verified compliance framework that is unlike anything else on the market, built by design to give recruitment agencies and workers the concrete, real-time evidence they’ve long been missing.

And the results speak for themselves. In just two years, over 8,500 recruitment agencies have adopted SafeRec Certified Umbrella Companies, a staggering 1,100% increase. Why? Because we don’t just “check” compliance. We enforce it.

Many still assume the SafeRec Certification is just a payslip audit tool. That’s a common misconception. From day one, our mission has been to flip the model of compliance, away from passive tick-box reviews and towards a framework that genuinely protects the parties at risk: Your business, your workers, your clients, and your client’s clients.

So, what makes the SafeRec Certification truly unique? Below are 9 reasons, along with why each one matters to you, highlighting the things only SafeRec does. Here’s a quick table of contents before we dive into the full detail:

1. SafeRec Actually Audits Payslips
2. SafeRec Enforces the Audit of All Engagement Types
3. SafeRec Enforces a Full Compliance Framework – Payslip Audits Are Just 20% of It
4. SafeRec checks Payslips and RTI against HMRC Tax Account Each Month
5. SafeRec Checks Legal and Real-Time Tax Compliance Hand-in-Hand
6. SafeRec Provides Proof of Compliance to Workers Each Week
7. SafeRec Enforces Tax Compliance via Real-Time Auditing
8. SafeRec Provides Proof of Tax Compliance Directly to the Supply Chain
9. SafeRec Can Reconcile What the Umbrella Company Processes with the Umbrella Schedule Sent by Agencies

1. SafeRec Actually Audits Payslips

Firstly, it is essential to state that SafeRec is the only compliance solution in the UK that actually audits payslips. We’re talking about the actual payslips, the exact document the worker receives, read, interpreted, and forensically audited in real time.

Other solutions that we see appearing on the market are auditing payroll data. While there is some merit in doing that, what they’re really doing is requesting payroll data to be reformatted and fed into their systems in a way that suits their own platform. Doing that reduces the notion of a payslip audit to a review based on pre-prepared data, more like an exercise in trust.

And over-reliance on trust has been one of the industry’s key pitfalls.

Why does it matter?

When you're not auditing the payslip itself, the exact document the worker receives, you're relying on transformed data. And any transformation creates opportunity for manipulation. It’s like asking someone to organise their own evidence before a forensic review. You only see what they want you to see.

This risk is especially critical when the Umbrella Company owns the payroll software, what’s to stop them from sending curated data to make everything look compliant.

At SafeRec, we don’t leave that to chance. Our technology reads, understands, and audits payslips exactly as they are generated by the payroll system and delivered to the worker. We also share the payslip audit with each worker (see below). No formatting. No summaries. Just raw, authentic payroll output, scrutinised line-by-line for legal and tax compliance.

2. SafeRec Enforces the audit of all Engagement Types

Traditional accreditations have long operated more like an optional choice than a compliance standard. Umbrella Companies can pick and choose what they want reviewed; “Review us for Umbrella PAYE, but ignore our PEO model,” or “We’ll do CIS, but leave the rest alone.”

It’s selective. It’s inconsistent, and from our experience, it creates too many blind spots.

At SafeRec, we’ve drawn a line. Our Certification isn’t something Umbrella Companies can decide to do in part. If they’re responsible for collecting and paying tax to HMRC, across any engagement type (PEO, Umbrella or CIS), it must be audited. No exceptions. We think it is important to understand that when you’re dealing with tax risk, selective oversight increases the risk for all parties in the supply chain.

Why does it matter?

This matters because a selective choice of what needs to be reviewed opens the door to non-compliance, and exposes your agency to reputational and financial risk. An Umbrella Company might run a squeaky-clean PAYE model (the one that gets accredited) while operating a non-compliant scheme on the side.

With SafeRec, that risk disappears. We certify the entire entity(ies), not just the parts they want us to see. If they’re engaging workers through a model where they are responsible for deducting and paying taxes to HMRC it is going to be reviewed, legally, operationally, and financially.

3. SafeRec Enforces a Full Compliance Framework – Payslip Audits Are Just 20% of It

Over time, SafeRec has become best known for its forensic payslip audits, and we understand why. In an industry where no systems can actually scrutinise what’s on the payslip itself, our ability to audit every line, in real time, stood out immediately.

But while payslip audits may be the most visible part of what we do, they’re far from the full picture. In fact, they represent just 20% of what the SafeRec Certification delivers.

The SafeRec framework was never designed to be a single-layer solution. It was built from the ground up to provide a complete, enforceable compliance structure that protects all parties, agencies, workers, MSPs, and end clients, from legal, financial, and reputational risk.

It’s made up of two core pillars:

1 | Legal Compliance Review

This is a deep dive into the Umbrella Company’s legal and operational structure. We review:

• Contracts issued to workers and agencies
• Onboarding processes
• Holiday pay calculations and policies
• Background checks on directors and associated companies
• Any red flags in the supply chain or commercial setup
• All Policies and processes
• etc

The legal compliance review conducted by a regulated law firm result in a 30-50 pages Legal Compliance Report available at not cost to all agencies, MSPs or end clients in the UK after signing up at SafeRec.co.uk.

2 | Real-Time Auditing

Our auditing technology doesn’t just read payslips. It captures:

• Payslips as they’re issued, in real time
• RTI submissions to HMRC, received directly from the payroll software, in raw unedited form and also in real time
• Cross-referencing between payslips, CIS statements and RTIs to ensure taxes have been accurately disclosed to HMRC
• Check against the Umbrella Company’s HMRC tax account, every single month, to ensure that declared liabilities match and have actually been paid.

On top of this, we ensure full transparency.

Every worker, agencies, MSP, or end client are sent a monthly tax compliance report demonstrating that taxes have been accurately calculated and paid to HMRC for every single one of their workers.

Why does it matter?

Because you can’t just do one of these things and call it compliance. If you only review the contract but don’t check the payslip, non-compliance can hide in payroll execution. If you only audit the payslip but don’t verify tax payment to HMRC, money can be withheld or misdirected. If you don’t cross-reference everything in real time, manipulation is possible before monthly or quarterly “checks” take place.

Each of these steps covers a different angle of risk, and only by connecting all of them can you truly protect your business and your workers.

That’s why SafeRec Certification goes far beyond just payslip audits or any other traditional accreditation. It’s a full-stack compliance framework, designed not just to detect risk, but to eliminate it.

4. SafeRec checks Payslips and RTI against HMRC Tax Account Each Month

This is where SafeRec Certification truly sets itself apart. We’re not just reviewing payslips or trusting that RTIs were submitted correctly, we go one step further: We check the Umbrella Company’s HMRC tax account every single month and cross-reference the declared liabilities with the actual amount paid. Our approach removes guesswork and assumptions, and ensures nothing is overlooked.

As covered in Part 3, SafeRec is the only Certification in the UK that brings together all three critical components:

• Audited payslips, as seen by the worker
• RTI submissions, captured in real-time directly from the payroll software
• The Umbrella Company’s HMRC tax account, accessed monthly for full visibility

This triangulation means we don’t just verify that the numbers look correct, we prove that the tax was:

• Accurately calculated
• Correctly disclosed to HMRC
• And fully paid

Why does it matter?

Because under current UK legislation, and especially under the looming Joint and Several Liability (JSL) provisions, your agency can be held liable if an Umbrella Company fails to pay tax to HMRC.

It means you could be doing everything right, but if an Umbrella Company keeps deductions from workers or misreports liabilities, HMRC can come after you for the shortfall.

That’s why this part of the SafeRec process is not optional, it’s essential. And we don’t just do it for Umbrella PAYE, we apply the same verification process to PEO models and CIS engagements, ensuring no gaps in the supply chain where liabilities can fall through.

SafeRec gives you irrefutable evidence that the taxes deducted were:

• Rightfully calculated
• Properly declared
• And, most importantly, actually paid to HMRC

That’s how you protect your business. That’s how you mitigate risk.

5. SafeRec checks Legal and Real-Time Tax Compliance Hand-in-Hand

Some organisations or advisors might try to convince you otherwise, that auditing payslips is “nice to have,” or that reviewing contracts and processes is enough. You’ll hear two extremes:

On one hand: “We audit payslips, so we’re covered.” On the other: “We’ve checked the contracts and policies, that’s all you need.” But here’s the uncomfortable truth: neither approach is enough on its own.

At SafeRec, we’ve seen firsthand how critical it is to treat legal and tax compliance as two sides of the same coin. How can you audit expenses without reviewing the expense policy of the Umbrella first? That’s why every step of the SafeRec Certification is designed to connect both, and why they’re deeply interlinked throughout the process.

Yes, we audit payslips, RTIs, and HMRC tax payments in real time.But we also review contracts, internal processes, director background checks, payment models, holiday pay policies, associated companies, and so much more… because if even one part of that structure is broken, the entire compliance framework collapses.

And we take it one step further.

The contract we sign with every Certified Umbrella Company legally binds them to full transparency. If they fall out of compliance, we inform the supply chain. That includes the recruitment agency, the MSP, and the end client. We don’t do quiet warnings behind closed doors. We protect the people who actually carry the risk.

Why does it matter?

Because a false sense of security can expose your business to unnecessary risk. If you only review contracts, you’re relying on promises. If you only audit payslips, you’re missing context. Real compliance means checking whether what was promised in the contracts is actually happening in practice, and whether taxes are being correctly calculated, disclosed, and paid.

Each part of the SafeRec Certification reinforces the others. The contract review informs the payroll audit. The payslip audit checks the promises made in the policy. The real-time monitoring ensures that non-compliance is acted upon, and reported, immediately.

That’s how real protection is built. Not in isolation, but through a joined-up, enforceable framework that agencies can trust. And that’s exactly what the SafeRec Certification is the only one to deliver.

6. SafeRec provides proof of Compliance to Workers each week

One of the most overlooked, yet fundamental, parts of compliance is the worker.

Too often, the very people who make the supply chain function are left completely in the dark. We speak of compliance as something done for them, but rarely with them. And history has shown us where that leads, just look at the Loan Charge scandal. Thousands of workers left financially and emotionally devastated, because they had no visibility into the schemes they were placed into.

At SafeRec, we believe that true compliance starts with transparency, and that starts with the worker.

That’s why, as part of our Certification, every worker receives a payslip audit report, every single week, through our B2C platform PayslipBuddy.co.uk. This report includes:

• Confirmation their payslip has been independently audited
• Verification that taxes were correctly calculated
• Proof that deductions were fair and legal
• Reassurance that their Umbrella Company hasn’t overcharged or manipulated their pay

By putting workers in our process, we close the loop. Reports go directly to the people who need them, without being filtered or delayed. Just real evidence, sent directly to the people it affects most.

Why does it matter?

Because excluding the worker creates blind spots, and blind spots are where non-compliance thrives. If workers don’t receive their audit reports, how can they raise concerns if something’s wrong?

If only the Umbrella Company sees what we’re auditing, what’s to stop them from cherry-picking what they share?

By involving workers directly:

• We prevent selective auditing, the Umbrella Company can’t choose what is or isn’t seen
• We give workers the power to question, not just accept
• We ensure agencies receive the same transparency, directly from us, not filtered through others

Because when everyone sees the same evidence, trust isn’t just a promise, it’s a fact.

7. SafeRec enforces tax compliance via real-time auditing

We also start seeing emerging compliance solutions that show that a failed review without taking action. They notify that a payslip check has failed… and then what?

You’re left with the task of chasing the Umbrella Company. You’re expected to challenge them, escalate, negotiate, and somehow get them to fix it, as if you had the authority, the technical knowledge, or the leverage to force changes on tax avoiders.

With the SafeRec Certification, we do things differently.

We deal directly with the Umbrella Company. Every single time. As part of the SafeRec Certification, every Certified Umbrella signs a binding contract that makes one thing very clear: If we identify non-compliance, whether in their certified entity or any associated company, we revoke their Certification, and we notify all of their clients (past and present) to explain they lost their certification and why.

Our process ensures transparency and timely communication with all parties involved.

Why does it matter?

Because non-compliance isn’t just a technical issue, it’s a massive tax liability for your business. And if it’s not dealt with swiftly and decisively, you’re the one who could be left exposed. You can’t mandate compliance from the outside. You can’t force an avoidance scheme to fix itself. And you shouldn’t have to.

That’s our job. And we’ve structured our entire Certification to back you up.

The SafeRec contract is fantastic news for compliant Umbrella Companies, and creates substantial barriers for companies that are not meeting full compliance standards. Even if just one associated company is running a dodgy scheme, signing our contract would put their entire business at risk.

What we built isn’t a just reporting tool but an entire enforcement mechanism.

8. SafeRec Provides Proof of tax Compliance directly to the supply chain

In this industry, there’s one thing every Umbrella Company has in common: They all say they’re 100% compliant, 100% of the time.

But here’s the challenge: How do you tell the difference between the ones who are compliant, and the ones who just say they are?

That’s exactly why proof of compliance can’t come from the Umbrella Company itself. It’s not that Umbrella Companies can’t be trusted, it’s that trust alone is no longer enough, it must be backed by clear evidence. Especially now, when the risks for recruitment agencies, MSPs, and end clients are so high.

That’s why we designed the SafeRec Certification to flip the model on its head and provide the compliance proof, directly to you.

If you’re working with a SafeRec Certified Umbrella Company, you receive:

• A full legal compliance report, conducted by WTT Legal, a regulated UK law firm: This report is available on SafeRec.co.uk, spans 30 to 50 pages, and details everything from contract structure, holiday pay policies, and onboarding processes to governance and director checks.
• A monthly tax compliance report, proving that: - Every worker has been independently audited - Payslips match RTI submissions and CIS records - Taxes were accurately calculated
• And most importantly, paid to HMRC

You don’t have to ask the Umbrella Company for reports. You don’t have to chase anyone for evidence. You get it directly from us, and it’s based on independent, real-time auditing.

Why does it matter?

Because liability follows the money, and HMRC doesn’t care who says they’re compliant. They care about what you can prove. And if you can’t prove it, you, your workers, your clients, or even your client’s client could be held liable for unpaid tax.

SafeRec was created to end that. We’ve introduced a framework where compliance is no longer self-declared, it’s proven, documented, and delivered independently, every single month.

This isn’t about trust. It’s about verifiable protection.

9. SafeRec Can Reconcile What the Umbrella Company Processes with the Umbrella Schedule Sent by Agencies

Most compliance checks only look at what the Umbrella Company chooses to show. They work in isolation, which means there’s no independent verification that what you authorised as an agency matches what was actually processed in payroll. SafeRec takes this a step further. When agencies share the umbrella schedule they send to the Umbrella Company, we can reconcile it against:

• The payslips processed
• RTI submissions to HMRC
• CIS statements
• And the amounts paid on the Umbrella’s HMRC account

This ensures that what you agreed is exactly what’s been actioned, with no hidden engagements, rate changes, or unauthorised placements slipping through.

For agencies that choose to share their schedules with us, this reconciliation becomes another layer of protection on top of the SafeRec Certification, adding extra certainty to an already robust compliance process.

To find out more about enabling this for your business, simply create an account and drop us a line at support@SafeRec.co.uk.

Final Thoughts

The industry is moving beyond blind trust and retrospective box-ticking. In a world where recruitment agencies and end clients can be held liable for tax failures they didn’t cause, real-time, independent, and enforceable compliance is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity.

The SafeRec Certification wasn’t built to fit into the old model. It was built to revolutionise it. With forensic-level auditing, legal and tax compliance reviewed hand-in-hand, full transparency for workers, and direct proof of compliance delivered to every part of the supply chain, SafeRec is changing the standard, not just raising it.

If you want more than promises… If you want protection you can prove… Then it’s time to work with SafeRec Certified Umbrella Companies.

Access the full list of Saferec Certified Umbrella Companies here