Umbrella company Giant Group has refuted allegations made by umbrella company comparison site Umbrella Supermarket.com that it allows contractors to claim expenses when no expense has been incurred, in breach of Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) guidelines.

In a statement on its website Giant said: “The allegations made by Umbrella Supermarket against Giant are untrue. Giant’s adherence to HMRC guidelines is reflected in all our processes, documentation and procedures including our employment contracts, expense policy, staff handbook, online portals and manual checking/authorisation of claims. HMRC have recently successfully concluded a detailed review of Giant.”

However Peter Warren (pictured), managing director of Umbrella Supermarket, told Recruiter that he “remained confident” that  Umbrella Supermarket’s investigation into Giant would be vindicated.

He added: “Our only interest is that umbrella companies monitor and process their contractors expenses fairly and correctly.
“We have nothing against Giant, which is a respected pillar of the community. It could have been any other umbrella company.
“I am sure that Giant will have a perfectly good explanation, and that that explanation will be forthcoming.”

Michael Healy, operations director of Giant Group, says: "Despite Peter Warren's assertions of impartiality, Giant believes the assumptions made on the basis of a telephone call are neither balanced nor impartial and are also incorrect. Giant processes expenses in line with legislation and HMRC guidelines."