A summary of July’s data from the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI® revealed that Construction growth eased to an 11-month low in July amid weakness in commercial building.
Other key findings include:
To view the full report, click here.
We have received advice from Liz Bridge who runs the Joint Taxation Committee, is a Tax Judge and sits on the CITB Levy Panel. Her advice is set out below;
Some firms insert a clause into their contractual terms which allow them to make a deduction for training costs of say 1.25% of the amounts payable to a subcontractor. This deduction must be made plain when subcontractors are tendering for work so no one can say it was sprung on them after the work was done. If it is not in the original contractual terms, any deduction would amount to short payment. The clause must make no reference to being in respect of the CITB Levy because it is not legal for employers to pass on their obligation to pay the Levy to any worker.
A note of caution – It is generally reported that subcontractors tendering to firms making such a deduction for training will inflate their tender price to recompense themselves for the deduction. There may also be resistance from subcontractors who are gross paid under CIS because they may know that no Levy is paid for them. Equally, there may be resistance from subcontractors who are themselves subject to CITB Levy because there is no set-off in the new Levy scheme and they will reason that they are paying twice for training.
Whilst it is possible, it isn’t always best practice.
We would like to remind FIS members that they are eligible to contact Liz Bridge or the Womble Bond Dickinson legal construction team, both services are free and can be found in the Membership Hub here.
On 7 August, the Fit-Out Top 500 Leaderboard will go live. FIS is sponsoring the latest online Leaderboard, the series of which is run by Jim McClelland who enjoys a high-profile social media presence on Twitter. The Leaderboards provide league-table-style Twitter rankings for the Top 500 influencers worldwide in key sectors. FIS currently features in the Top 500 for the Built Environment at position number 164, whilst David Frise sits at number 158 and Joe Cilia at number 267.
The aim of the new Leaderboard is to raise social media engagement for our members and promote the finishes and interiors sector to the wider industry.
How will the Leaderboard work?
McClelland is currently taking nominations and populating the Leaderboard; the ranking order will be determined by Klout Score. On Monday 7 August, the first Leaderboard will be published and if you choose to follow the board, you will be notified each Monday via email of your rank and Klout Score.
How can your company feature on the Leaderboard?
FIS has set the criteria to include all those who have an interest in the Fit-Out Sector, including Finishes and Interior Systems such as ceilings, drylining, heritage plastering, operable walls, partitions, plastering and raised-access flooring. To be sure of inclusion, simply send a Tweet to @SustMemeTop500 using the hashtag #FitOutTop500 and include your Twitter name.
If you have any questions about the Leaderboard, please contact nickysmith@thefis.org
We look forward to the launch of the Fit-Out Top 500 and helping to raise the profile of our members to the wider industry.
On Saturday 15 July, six staff from the FIS office in Solihull ran the 5K Pretty Muddy course in aid of Cancer Research UK.
Carole, Cath, Clair, Erika, Nicky and Sharon decided to form the team ‘Can the FIS ladies finish?’ as two FIS staff have fought the disease during the last two years.
The cold morning saw the ladies hold on to their coats for as long as possible, and the rain ensured that the course was muddier than normal. Once the warm-up was completed, they set off at 10.45am and within three minutes, they linked arms to form a barrier against the powerful jets of water kindly provided by the Fire Service!
Then followed ten obstacles which included crawling through a mud pit, scaling the A-frame, bouncing on Space Hoppers and the final slide down into the mud bath. The ladies thoroughly enjoyed the event and have so far raised £1,000 for Cancer Research UK; the photos and videos can be seen on the FIS Facebook page.
If you would like to make a donation, please visit the ‘Can the FIS ladies finish?’ fundraising page at: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/can-the-fis-ladies-finish
The latest edition of the Joint Taxation Committee’s Newsline for July can be downloaded here. This month’s hot topics include:
After a successful inaugural event in 2016, our Scottish Awards Lunch will be held at the George Hotel in Edinburgh on Friday 6 October. The Lunch looks set to attract in excess of 150 members and guests; winners of the FIS Scottish Awards will be announced and presented by our guest speaker and compère Bill Copeland.
Please book your tickets via the events page here.
There are a small number of sponsorship opportunities available. If you are interested in any of these, please get in touch either by emailing clairmooney@thefis.org or call the office on 0121 707 0077.
View the event details and winners of the inaugural Scottish Awards in 2016 here, winning projects can be viewed in the image gallery.
