The Sterling Group Reviews 

251
TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

4.4

While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more

To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more

See what reviewers are saying

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I just have to say i have been dealing with a lady at Sterling called Kelly , and she is by far the most helpful person iv dealt with . I'm genuinely not one for leaving people reviews good or bad , b... See more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful Absolutely awful. You pay tax. National insurance. THEIR national insurance. An apprentice levy. All tallies up to approx 40% of wages. 40%. Absolutely unbelievable!!... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Called with enquiry and spoke to Holly She made the process very easy, by explaining quickly how to proceed She had a full understanding of the umbrella service and attributes that ca... See more

Company replied

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Sarah from Sterling has been extremely helpful and very patient and helping me set up the app and talked me through how to summit expenses on the portal correctly . I have spoke to Sarah 3 times on th... See more

Company replied

Company details

  1. Payment Service

Written by the company

As one of the longest established contractor organisations in the UK, the team at Sterling ensures that contractors and agencies receive the highest quality services, from umbrella PAYE solutions, CIS contractors services, limited company contractor se...


Contact info

4.4

Excellent

TrustScore 4.5 out of 5

251 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

No recent history of asking for reviews

This company hasn't invited customers recently, so reviews may not be representative

Replied to 100% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 48 hours

How this company uses Trustpilot

See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.

4.4

All reviews

(251)

18 reviews in the last 12 months

Write a review
Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Fastest and officiant team ever.

Fastest, officiant and friendly most important easy to work with. Customer service is brilliant as well. I would recommend everyone to work with them. Especially thanks to Holly W. and Chantel. Beat team ever.

July 30, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I just have to say i have been dealing…

I just have to say i have been dealing with a lady at Sterling called Kelly , and she is by far the most helpful person iv dealt with . I'm genuinely not one for leaving people reviews good or bad , but when Kelly deals with any problem I have regarding pay , she takes full responsibility for it and gets it dealt with herself there and then . Such a breath of fresh air . If you use Sterling ask for KELLY

July 24, 2026
Unprompted review
Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Destroying the self employed

Although I understand the law has changed, there is absolutely no justification for the shit show that is this company.
Working on a self employed basis has always been harder for some than others. Within the railway industry wr have had to deal with many changes over the years, but this change to Umbrella pay takes the cake.
STERLING have made their wage slips absolutely impossible to understand. Not one single person I have spoken to knows how to decypher their payslips or the information presented on their portal. Details about mileage and receipts gets removed once processed so you cant check past submissions. Fuel reimbursement is now a tax relief that no one understands. The weekly "bonus " apparently has nothing to do with the amount you spend on fuel, but changes weekly with absolutely no logic to how it is worked out.
2 identical weeks of work with the only difference being a £70 fuel receipt in one week results in a £10 difference in income. Tax, holiday pay and bonus are all different. This in itself isn't the main problem. STERLING HAVE MADE ABSOLUTELY ZERO EFFORT TO EXPLAIN ANY OF THIS IN TERMS A NON ACCOUNTANT CAN UNDERSTAND.
Each call to the payments department results in the same thing. Either they don't know what they are explaining and are just reading from a prepared script to deal with complaints or they are think we are all accountants who should just understand their "creative accounting"
See below for the computer generated automatic response that sounds like it was written by a politician to convince anyone reading this that they are soppy confused/concerned.
" im sorry ro hear about your bad experience with sterling/we would like to understand your difficulty/problem .."blah.

April 1, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback.

We take all customer concerns seriously and would like the opportunity to understand what happened and put things right. A member of our team will be in touch shortly to arrange a call at a convenient time to discuss your concerns and work towards a resolution.

Thanks, Sterling

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Can’t fault the service at all

Can’t fault the service at all, Jen was a great help getting me registered and keeping me updated on everything going on. Would definitely recommend the service!

June 26, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your kind review, the Sterling team appreciate this.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Absolutely awful umbrella company don't expect to get paid quickly

Absolutely awful umbrella company! Very confusing system and very bad at invoicing. Don't bother if you want to be paid regular or on time. Consistent delays invoicing my agency. Took them 5 weeks to invoice my agency on one occasion after telling me they were invoicing them the same day! Addendum as its not possible to reply your comments you tried to contact me 2 days after I phoned by which time had already got a response from my agency telling me you had only just posted the invoice 5 weeks after submission. And this just one instance of late payment not sure how you can resolve posting invoices late do want my overdraft fees?

March 22, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Hi, we have tried to contact you several times to obtain more information about your experience so that we can resolve the matter promptly, please get in touch on 01925 626200. Thanks

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They are thieves stealing from working…

They are thieves stealing from working people pocket. Charge for payslip is outrageous. It takes about 20 second of work to fill the numbers to produce payslip and process wages. But Sterling is more greedy than Trump. And your money are not on the account on Friday morning. Sterling - you go to hell

March 12, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your message. I would like to provide clarification regarding the registration and payment matter you raised. Following a review of our system, we have been unable to locate an active registration for you with Sterling. The only record present is an initial enquiry call made by yourself, during which our services were discussed. As no full registration was completed, including the required eligibility-to-work checks and other mandatory documentation, no payment could have been processed. Our team has attempted to contact you to discuss this further but has not been successful. We would be happy to review the situation in detail and work toward a resolution. Please contact us at your earliest convenience so we can assist you promptly.
Kind regards, Sterling

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Jen was really helpful and easy to talk…

Jen was really helpful and easy to talk to.
She went above and beyond to help with getting set up as I came up against a few issues with working away from home and not having all the documents required to hand.

February 27, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Understanding payment

I have had trouble understanding the method of payment. After speaking with Dylan he explained everything so clearly that I now fully understand the payment method and can work out my payment with ease.

February 13, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Cannot fault the team at Sterling!

Cannot fault the team at Sterling, Especially Holly & Laura - Always quick to hand with any issues and genuinely work great with all our candidates. Fast and reliable

February 6, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Sterling Service

Perfect service as always from Laura Wise at Sterling and all contractors speak highly of the service!
Always professional and never any payment issues for our operatives
Would highly recommend their services

February 6, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I phoned to ask some questions about…

I phoned to ask some questions about things I wasn't sure of, Jen Boyle has been the person looking after my account with Sterling group, she answered all my questions with in depth detail & explained thoroughly, she has great knowledge within her field, i came away from the call with a much better understanding of the things I was very un sure of, she answered all my questions and put my mind at rest.

February 5, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

I have received a fantastic service…

I have received a fantastic service from Sterling.

I had an issue with the app and had a few questions and these were answered and resolved immediately.
Spoke to a lady called Laura who was very clear, friendly and got everything sorted.
Recommend? Definitely.

February 2, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Jen Boyle helped me with setting up CIS…

Jen Boyle helped me with setting up CIS was absolutely painless she was a great help kept in touch throughout the full process and ensured I was paid promptly on time

January 30, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Efficient, easy to navigate and excellent client service

The onboarding process was very simple, the identification verification process was easy and the communication has been good. The highlight of the onboarding process was dealing with Holly who went above and beyond to provide information, updates and information regarding the app portal. Would recommend Sterling. Would highly recommend Holly

January 19, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Supportive. Great service, knowledgable

Called with enquiry and spoke to Holly

She made the process very easy, by explaining quickly how to proceed

She had a full understanding of the umbrella service and attributes that can influence the process

She was able to paraphrase this knowledge, providing all
necessary information; clear and concise guidance.

She emailed the links and followed up to ensure I was able to proceed.
I felt fully supported.

Thank you
Kevin

January 22, 2026
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Onboarding - Holly Waters

During my onboarding process i spoke to Holly Waters, she was always so patient, friendly and helpful. Any questions i had she made sure they were answered effectively and efficiently. She even went the extra mile to reassure me they had received my hours on time. I couldn’t recommend enough, a smooth enjoyable experience throughout! Thank you Holly and team😁

June 30, 2025
Unprompted review
The Sterling Group logo

Reply from The Sterling Group

Thank you for your wonderful review

The Trustpilot Experience

Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.

We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.

Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.

Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.

Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.

Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.

Take a closer look