by Clair Mooney | Jul 1, 2018 | Main News Feed
Iain McIlwee has been appointed as the new chief executive of FIS, the trade body which represents the fit-out sector.
Iain will be responsible for the development and implementation of the Association’s long and short-term strategies to the benefit of members and industry, maintaining high profile representation and lobbying with key stakeholders both outside and within the membership.
He began his career as an engineering analyst, before moving on to the world of trade bodies in 1996. He has been chief executive officer of the British Woodworking Federation since 2011, where he implemented strategies that saw membership grow by 40% and retention levels soar to an all-time high. During his tenure, BWF launched the award-winning Fire Door Safety Week, an awareness campaign focussed on the legacy of neglect in the maintenance of fire doors. Iain is currently serving his second year as Vice Chairman of the Construction Products Association.
FIS President Andrew Smith said: `Iain really impressed our interview panel, and we were unanimous in our decision that he seemed an excellent fit to pick up the mantle from our previous chief executive David Frise, and drive FIS to new heights. He is a clear and confident communicator, has a wealth of trade body experience, and a proven track record in building membership communities – exactly what we were looking for. The FIS Board, staff team and I very much look forward to working with him over the coming years.’
Speaking about his new role Iain said: ‘It is an exciting time to be joining FIS. The construction industry is changing and not before time. The impact of Grenfell echoes through the sector and we need to take note, ensure that the hard lessons are learned and never repeated. The collapse of Carillion is also leading us to look at the contractual nature of the construction process. We have the Industrial Strategy and the Sector Deal for Construction emerging and creating opportunities and a radically reformed CITB to support a focus on skills and competence. As a sector we need to find better ways to collaborate to improve quality, safety and productivity, we need to balance on and off-site activity and truly embrace the digital revolution. I am looking forward to working with the FIS Board and team to ensure that the membership is well placed to benefit from all of these opportunities and to see the fit-out sector leading this change agenda.’
by Clair Mooney | Jun 28, 2018 | Main News Feed
RICS is updating the SKA rating for offices scheme to ensure it reflects current best practice as well as incentivises clients and industry to improve standards in interior fit-out and refurbishment projects. Currently, the following workshops, themes and dates are available. To attend, RSVP with the workshop(s) you wish to attend by emailing dsaunders@rics.org
Workshop 1: Materials & Waste
Date: Monday 2 July
Time: 2-5pm
Location: Overbury plc, 77 Newman Street, London W1T 3EW
Workshop 2: Materials, Waste & Circular Design/Economy
Date: Wednesday 11 July
Time: 2-5pm
Location: Derwent London, 25 Savile Row London W1S 2ER
Workshop 3: Water, Wellbeing & Ecology
Date: Thursday 19 July
Time: 2-5pm
Location: Derwent London, 25 Savile Row London W1S 2ER
Workshop 4: Project Delivery & Transport
Date: Wednesday 25 July
Time: 2-5pm
Location: Overbury plc, 77 Newman Street, London W1T 3EW
Workshop 5: Energy & Pollution
Date: Tuesday 31 July
Time: 2-5pm
Location: Derwent London, 25 Savile Row London W1S 2ER
Workshop 6: all issues in scheme
Date: Wednesday 19 September
Time: 10.30-2.00pm
Location: Overbury plc, The Zenith Building, 26 Spring Gardens, Manchester M2 1AB
Workshop 7: all issues in scheme
Date: September
Time: 11-2.30pm
Location: RICS, Birmingham
by Clair Mooney | Jun 26, 2018 | Main News Feed
Peter Caplehorn, CPA Deputy Chief Executive and Policy Director, will host a Skype conference call with members on Wednesday 25 July from 11am-12pm to discuss the impact of the Hackitt Review’s recommendations on the work of marketing and communications professionals within our industry. The Review highlighted, for example, the need for greater clarity in marketing language and labelling, particularly in relation to how products have been tested and certified for use and performance. If you are interested please contact mary.economidou@constructionproducts.org.uk
by Clair Mooney | Jun 26, 2018 | Main News Feed
This is your last opportunity to claim Training and Development Plan Grant for the 2017/2018 Grants Scheme.
The deadline to submit all Grant claims for this period is Saturday 30 June 2018. Any claims that are submitted after this date will not be processed.
Please submit your completed claims to the relevant email address below:
Training Plans – Customer.ServicesTP@citb.co.uk
2017/18 Grant Scheme – grant.claimforms@citb.co.uk
by Clair Mooney | Jun 21, 2018 | Main News Feed
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling that an individual who had worked solely for London-based Pimlico Plumbers for six years, was entitled to full workers’ rights despite being VAT-registered and paying self-employed tax, our tax adviser Liz Bridge provides her comments on the case…
“Everyone in Construction has long known that a worker who claims to be self employed may be an NIC and employment rights time bomb waiting to go off.
This is particularly true if many of the contractual terms in the contract he works under are ‘sham’ –if he didn’t turn up for work he would he ever be required to come again, the only substitutes he could send were other workers from the same firm, etc. It is also true that if the worker does not actually ever work for others and works for the same employer for a substantial length of time, any court will have considerable doubt about self employed status.
In the case of Pimlico Plumbers, the worker concerned wore a uniform, drove a company van, and had a contract that referred to wages, gross misconduct and dismissal. He also had a restrictive covenant which restricted him competing in London should the Pimlico engagement contract cease.
If your firm is to be safe you should review your self employed workers at least once a year and you should be truthful to yourself. It is no good being confident that your employment contracts will protect you if you know in your heart that they cover an arrangement that is really employment. Do not think that the challenge will always come from HMRC.
Could your contracts of engagement be seen as artificial if the worker told a court what was actually expected of him and how he was controlled? The challenge for Pimlico Plumbers came from a worker who wanted his rights acknowledged, not from a Government department.
The atmosphere surrounding employment is changing and the courts are supporting ‘employment’ decisions more and more. There is also a major proposal to change the IR35 rules to support more PAYE. This Pimlico Plumbers decision from the Supreme Court only tells us all what we have known for some time: taking on self employed workers is risky unless they are genuinely self employed.
When I say ‘genuinely self employed’ I mean that the worker brings with them any specialist materials needed, or that they pay other workers, or they bring in specialist kit. Beware the man who arrives with his hands in his pockets asking what you want him to do with your materials and your kit. He is your risk area.”
Liz Bridge
Secretary, Joint Taxation Committee
by Clair Mooney | Jun 21, 2018 | Main News Feed
FIS is seeking a membership manager to join its growing team. We are looking for a proactive and enthusiastic person with a strong sales and marketing background to retain and increase the organisations members.
You should be able to demonstrate outstanding communication, questioning, listening, writing and presentation skills, excellent organisational skills, the ability to prioritise work load and work under pressure. A proven capability of working with a wide range of external stakeholders is essential.
For full details on the vacancy and to apply visit www.thefis.org/jobs/membership-manager/
