FIS Consultant Len Bunton continues with the theme of getting paid, and what options are open to FIS members. These monthly Blogs are designed to help FIS Members avoid common traps and build on our focus on collective experience. 

As I have set out previously, some of this is self-induced, and that is why I have been working with a number of organisations to help them improve their financial management of contracts. I emphasise again that your payment applications need to be made on time and be fully detailed – if you fail to do either of these, or even worse, both of these, then you will not get paid what you think you are due. However, there are other actions you can take…

The second in our series of short blogs by FIS Consultant, Len Bunton on contractual and commercial issues he experiences when supporting FIS members and the wider community – it is designed to help FIS Members avoid common traps and build on our focus on collective experience. 

My phone is ringing a lot just now with clients saying – “we need help as we are not getting paid.” Is that going to improve, and I would say no in the current market conditions. What business in the construction industry need to do is to become much more focused, and commercially smarter in dealing with the financial aspects of their projects.

So here are a few suggestions…

This is the first in a series of short blogs by FIS Consultant, Len Bunton on contractual and commercial issues he experiences when supporting FIS members and the wider community – it is designed to help FIS Members avoid common traps and build on our focus on collective experience. 

There is nothing worse for sub-contractors than doing work on site and not getting paid for it. So how does that come about, and what can you do about it. The first thing FIS members need to do is to read the terms of the sub-contact you are offered, to identify any high-risk issues. If you are too busy, then there are plenty of experienced folks out there who can do it for you. Once potential problem clauses are identified, then you can raise these with the employer/contractor and try to negotiate these out. What happens if they wont budge, well I tell my clients jut to walk away, its not worth signing up to something that could put you out of business.

One area I want to focus on relates to site instructions and variations. A FIS member sent me a sub- contract recently where it states that you don’t carry out variations without a written variation instruction from the contractor, then they won’t be accepted, and if you do carry out the work then you won’t be paid. Now on many may occasions, you are working away, and the site manger says, “will you take down that ceiling and reboard it please as its been damaged by other trades.”……