Late payment is having a potentially serious impact on plumbers, according to a survey of tradespeople by ECIC, the specialist insurer for the construction industry. In its annual ‘Healthcheck’ survey, the company found that late payment is an issue for 62% of plumbers compared to an industry average of 41%. Furthermore, close to a fifth of plumbers said they struggle to pay for supplies because their cashflow has been impacted by late payment and almost a quarter of plumbers have to fund specific resource just to chase outstanding payments. However, reflecting the high demands on skilled contractors, firms are taking control of the issue where they can, with half of the plumbers surveyed saying they would turn work away from known late payers.
John Flaherty, Business Development Executive for ECIC, says: “It’s shocking that despite Government promises of support, late payment is still such an issue for the nation’s hard-working plumbers. This can have a serious knock-on effect for their business, delaying projects and damaging customer relationships.
“The good news is that where they can, plumbers are being selective about who they will work with, based on the customer’s previous payment performance. By taking a firm stand in this way, it sends a clear message that late payment won’t be tolerated.”
The findings of the survey follow the recent introduction of the Enterprise Act which has introduced changes to the speed of commercial insurance claims payments.
John Flaherty continues: “As part of the Enterprise Act introduced in May, unnecessary delays in claims payments should be a thing of the past, giving plumbers some much needed certainty when they need to make a claim.”
