Background
Misleading Advertising: On The box Pay Ltd breaks the UK advertising rules for making misleading claims and omissions for the tax arrangements offered on the https://ontheboxpay.co.uk website.
Together with HMRC, the CAP Compliance team has been taking market-wide action about the advertising of tax arrangements. As part of this work we published our joint Enforcement Notice - Advertising Tax Arrangement Schemes.
The Notice applies to websites which advertise a tax arrangement to UK individuals or businesses that has been challenged by HMRC. The tax arrangement advertised by On The box Pay Ltd was challenged by HMRC and subsequently this issue was passed to the Compliance team.
Misleading Statements
The following references on the On The box Pay website breach the Enforcement Notice because the arrangement has been challenged by HMRC:
- “Cost Effective – Our timesheet fees are calculated per day or week to suit your contract more cost effectively”
- “Choose Us To Enhance Your Work/Life Balance - Become an employee of On The Box Pay and rest assured that we have your payroll covered”
- "It also alleviates the administrational burden for contractors and significantly reduces time and payroll costs for agencies"
- "With recent reforms to IR35 legislation, if your contract is deemed inside IR35, using an umbrella is also the most simple way to remain compliant"
- “Upon receipt of payment, we will cover the employer costs and retain the umbrella margin, then make required deductions to your salary”
- "You will be paid via faster payments and receive a payslip detailing your deductions and contributions"
- "We deduct our fee and cover employer costs"
- “You will simply complete a timesheet each week/month and we will do the rest”
- Website uses an "'Umbrella Check Approved' stamp
On the basis that the tax arrangement offered for umbrella payroll services on the https://ontheboxpay.co.uk website has been challenged by HMRC, and contractors using the scheme may not be paying the correct tax and National Insurance contributions, we consider these statements are likely to mislead consumers.
Omissions
Ads for schemes under HMRC challenge may be advertised – but it is particularly important to be clear and upfront about the potential risks to customers of entering into the challenged arrangement.
HMRC investigation does not necessarily mean that a claimed tax advantage will not be upheld. It does mean, however, that there is a risk that the scheme will not successfully deliver the tax advantages claimed, which should be disclosed. Omission of the disclosure of risk of entering the scheme is a problem.
The On The box Pay website has not laid out any of the risks of entering into their tax arrangement as laid out in the Enforcement Notice.
The CAP Compliance team contacted On The box Pay Ltd and, in the absence of a response, took the decision on 12 March 2025 to place On The box Pay Ltd’s company details on this section of the ASA website. These details shall remain in place until such time as On The box Pay Ltd has appropriately amended the https://ontheboxpay.co.uk website to ensure compliance with the CAP Code.
