BoostPay is SafeRec accredited

BoostPay is SafeRec accredited. This post explains what that means in practice, for recruitment agencies, end clients, and the contractors being paid, and why the timing matters.

SafeRec is an independent payroll verification system built for the umbrella sector. We've always run a compliant payroll, but compliance without proof is just an assertion, and assertions aren't enough anymore. When a worker is paid through a SafeRec-accredited umbrella, an independent record is generated automatically. It shows what was deducted, when, and whether it matches what was submitted to HMRC. The worker can access it directly. The agency and end client have an audit trail that wasn't produced by the umbrella company. This real-time link is reinforced with live audits of the BoostPay HMRC dashboard, completing the audit trail by showing all RTI, CIS and VAT information and up to date payment statuses.

It's this approach that sets the SafeRec accreditation apart. Whilst most compliance assurances in the umbrella market come from the umbrella itself: declarations, audits, contractual commitments. SafeRec is different because the record is generated by an independent system at the point the payroll runs that tracks through the HMRC dashboard. Not annually. Not on request. End-to-end and every single payroll.

What changed in April 2026

Sections 61Y and 61Z of ITEPA 2003 came into force on 6 April 2026. They introduce Joint and Several Liability for recruitment agencies, and in some circumstances end clients, where unpaid tax arises from a non-compliant umbrella in their supply chain.

The key words are joint and several. If an umbrella fails to account correctly for PAYE and National Insurance, the agency that placed workers through it, or the end client, can be held liable for the resulting debt. There are no statutory defences. It doesn't matter whether either of them knew there was a problem.

A lot of the commentary around April 2026 has treated this as an unprecedented shift. It isn't quite that. HMRC already had tools to pursue unpaid tax up the supply chain. What the new legislation does is formalise and strengthen that reach, and remove any ambiguity about who carries the risk when an umbrella fails.

The organisations that should be worried are the ones that were already operating in ways they shouldn't have been, working with non-compliant providers because they offered better commercial terms, or simply not asking hard enough questions. For businesses that have always taken their supply chain seriously, April 2026 changes the administrative picture, not the underlying risk.

What this means for recruitment agencies

Until recently, umbrella due diligence was largely a compliance exercise, something agencies did to satisfy audit requirements and demonstrate reasonable care. It now carries direct financial risk.

The umbrella a staffing business works with is part of its exposure. Agencies are asking not just whether an umbrella is compliant, but how they can demonstrate that if they're ever asked.

Assertions from the umbrella aren't sufficient. An annual audit is a snapshot. Contractual protections and compliance declarations help, but none of them give you a continuous, independently verifiable record that every payroll run was processed correctly.

SafeRec does. Because verification runs automatically for every payroll processed through BoostPay, there is a real-time audit trail that exists independently of us. It wasn't produced by BoostPay. It wasn't requested by the agency. It was generated by an independent system at the point the payroll was run. If HMRC ever asks, that record is there.

What this means for end clients

End clients sit further from the umbrella relationship than agencies, but April 2026 doesn't treat distance as a defence. Where a non-compliant umbrella is operating in a supply chain, HMRC can look beyond the immediate contractual relationship when determining where liability sits.

For businesses that engage contractors through staffing businesses using umbrella payroll, understanding what sits in that chain is no longer optional due diligence. It's part of managing exposure.

SafeRec accreditation gives end clients something concrete to point to. Not a promise from the umbrella, but an independently generated record that payroll was processed correctly, produced automatically at the point each payroll was run. That distinction matters when the question of liability arises.

What this means for contractors

If you're paid through BoostPay, your payroll records are independently verified every time you're paid. You can access them yourself. You don't need to request them or wait for anyone to send you anything.

The record shows what was deducted from your pay, when, and whether it matches what was reported to HMRC. If something looks wrong, you'll be able to see it.

Contractors shouldn't have to take an umbrella's word for it that their deductions are correct. With SafeRec, they don't have to.

Why we pursued accreditation

We've always taken the view that workers deserve to know their payroll is correct, not because we say so, but because they can check it themselves. SafeRec makes that possible.

The April 2026 changes gave that principle a sharper commercial context. Agencies reviewing their supply chains need something independently verifiable. End clients need to understand what sits in their contractor chain. Contractors deserve transparency over their own pay. SafeRec accreditation addresses all of that.

You can find out more about how SafeRec works at saferec.co.uk. If you're a recruitment agency reviewing your umbrella arrangements, an end client with questions about contractor payroll, or a contractor who wants to understand what your records show, we're happy to talk it through.