OPRaaS

A trusted compliance partner for recruitment agencies

OPRaaS, On-Pay-Roll-as-a-Service, has been a systemised governance and workforce management partner for the temporary labour market since 2019. We work with recruitment agencies, end-hirers, umbrella operators and MSPs to design and run labour supply chain assurance (LSCA 2.0) frameworks that keep contingent workforces compliant, evidenced and audit-ready across JSL, IR35, CIS, GLAA, modern slavery and HMRC labour supply chain expectations.

Our methodology was built inside live supply chains. Over the last seven years we have removed non-compliant umbrellas before they became HMRC headlines, uncovered mini-umbrella and CIS tax credit schemes, exposed payslip skimming inside accredited brands, and supported public sector clients through Government Commercial Agency frameworks. That operational track record is what now sits behind every OPRaaS engagement.

What April 2026 changed for recruitment agencies

On 6 April 2026, Joint and Several Liability (JSL) came into force under Chapter 11 of Part 2 of ITEPA 2003. Where an umbrella in your supply chain fails to remit PAYE or Class 1 NICs, HMRC can now recover the full unpaid amount from the recruitment agency that placed the worker. There is no statutory defence and, on KPMG’s reading of the Finance Bill, no right of appeal even where fraudulent information was supplied by the umbrella.

HMRC has been equally clear about what good practice looks like. Its updated Labour Supply Chain Assurance guidance (GfC12) states that organisations must hold their own risk-based checks and evidence, and that reliance on industry accreditations or third-party badges is no longer sufficient. The standard has moved from possession of a PSL to demonstration of a governed, evidenced process. Agencies that can produce a single, time-stamped evidence file when HMRC or a Tier-1 client asks the question are in a fundamentally stronger commercial and audit position than those who cannot.

How OPRaaS works alongside your agency

OPRaaS gives recruitment agencies a structured, repeatable governance system across the full labour supply chain, not a one-off audit report that is out of date the day it is delivered. The core methodology is captured in four steps:

The OPRaaS Virtual Compliance Director (VCD)

Sitting alongside the platform, the OPRaaS Virtual Compliance Director (VCD) provides a named, retained governance function for your agency. The OPRaaS VCD chairs monthly governance calls, runs the quarterly risk-check cycle on your umbrella PSL (payslips, credit scores, director changes, VAT registration), translates new HMRC guidance into operational actions, and signs off the evidence file your board and clients see. It replaces the cost of a part-time internal compliance hire with focused expert capacity and agreed deliverables each month.

What this delivers for a TRN member

Approved on UK Government Commercial Agency frameworks

OPRaaS is an approved supplier on the UK Government Commercial Agency, formerly Crown Commercial Service, including RM6310 Audit and Assurance Services (Lots 2 and 4), the RM6219 Learning and Training Services DPS, and the RM6237 Learning and Training Services DPS. Central Government and the wider public sector can call off OPRaaS labour supply chain assurance, training and implementation through these routes. For TRN member agencies serving public sector clients, that means our methodology is already cleared as a compliant procurement route.

OPRaaS Methodology selected track record

• Identified and removed a suspected non-compliant model from a public sector supply chain before a large NIC liability became the end- hirer’s problem
• Exposed payslip skimming inside an FCSA-accredited umbrella affecting around 8,000 workers since 2015.
• Uncovered multiple mini-umbrella schemes and a CIS tax-credit fraud, subsequently shut down by HMRC.
• Independently scrutinised by HMRC on three occasions, by FTSE250 group internal audit, and by the National Security Inspectorate.
• Identified £2.5m of overcharge by a PLC construction labour provider in a single end-hirer engagement.

Get in touch

To talk to OPRaaS about your agency’s JSL exposure, your PSL evidence pack, or the OPRaaS Virtual Compliance Director model, contact the OPRaaS team.

Chris Dunn, Founder and Managing Director

Email: info@opraas.co.uk

Phone: 01625 900744

Web: www.opraas.co.uk

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/opraas