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CLC Spring Budget 2024 Representation

CLC Spring Budget 2024 Representation

A letter addressed to the Chancellor highlights the importance of the construction industry in growing the UK economy. The industry contributes 9% of the UK’s GDP and employs over 2.63 million people. The letter emphasises the need for stability across the sector’s projects, identifies challenges in housing delivery, and suggests solutions such as unlocking small sites for SME house builders and incentivising private finance for affordable housing.

It also calls for consistency in implementing the Construction Playbook and flexibility in infrastructure investment, along with a national retrofit strategy to achieve Net Zero Carbon by 2050. The letter concludes by urging the government to work with the industry to address these challenges and promote economic growth.

Read the full letter here

FIS announces Innovation Awards Shortlist

FIS announces Innovation Awards Shortlist

FIS has announced the shortlist for its 2024 Innovation Awards. The awards aim to shine a light on innovation, debunking the myth that our sector is not innovative. The Awards comprise four categories, Digital, Sustainability, Product-Fit Out and Product – FF&E. A judging panel was set up for each category, who indpenedetly assesed all entries.

Digital

  • PlanRadar
  • Zentia for Sonify 3D Studio
  • Etex for MySiniat

Sustainability

  • IOBAC UK for its contamination-free flooring installation tabs
  • Optima for its Glass Partitions manufactured with Hydro CIRCAL aluminium
  • Selo for TEMPUS – temporary fire doors

Product – Fit Out

  • Fire Stop Products for Speed Cutter
  • Global Ceilings Services for Teg Clip
  • Seamless Abutment Solutions for Cross Stud

Product – FF&E

  • Box Strap
  • Mute for OmniRoom
  • Eyevolution for Shadowline

Congratulations to those who made the shortlist, and thank you to everyone who entered. We will be announcing the winners at the FIS Awards Ceremony on 27 February in London. Reserve your place here.

Discover careers in construction with Open Doors 2024

Discover careers in construction with Open Doors 2024

FIS is encouraging its members to get involved in this year’s Open Doors event which allows young people and career changers to visit construction sites and workplaces across Great Britain from Monday 18 – Saturday 23 March. This is our chance to showcase the range of career opportunities available in our sector.

Open Doors, delivered by Build UK of which FIS is a member, offers a unique insight into what it is like to work in construction by taking visitors behind the scenes to showcase the diverse range of opportunities available in the industry.

Construction needs to recruit almost 45,000 new entrants each year, and Open Doors aims to show that the industry offers exciting and rewarding careers for everyone – whatever their age, background or skills.

Schools and colleges can book group visits for their students to discover first-hand what the industry has to offer, including a wide range of apprenticeships. New events will continue to be added over the coming weeks, so keep an eye on the Open Doors website for events taking place in your local area.

Visitors can book their place now at more than 150 events already registered across England, Scotland and Wales. From high profile projects – including One Leadenhall in London, the new Aquatics Centre in Manchester, and the Paisley Museum in Scotland – to manufacturing facilities, offices and training centres, Open Doors enables visitors to see the industry in action and learn more about the 180 careers available.

Julie White, Chair of Build UK, said:

“I am passionate about making the world of construction open and accessible to as many young people as possible, so they can see all the different career opportunities there are in our industry. Open Doors is a fantastic way to find out more about the amazing things we build and what the industry has to offer, so book your visit today to see where a career in construction could take you.”

Michael Oppong, Management Trainee Quantity Surveyor at Willmott Dixon who attended an Open Doors visit in 2015, added:

“Open Doors definitely sparked my interest in a career in the construction industry. I have since taken the degree-level apprenticeship route, combining on-the-job training with university studies. I would encourage everyone to attend an Open Doors visit and consider a career in the industry – just like me!”

Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024

Holiday pay and entitlement reforms from 1 January 2024

The government has published guidance setting out how holiday pay should be calculated for part-year and irregular hours works, as well as other 2024 holiday pay changes.  The guidance advises how employers should apply the recent changes to the holiday pay provisions of the Working Time Regulations.

It sets out:

  • changes relating to the amount of leave that can be carried over, removing the regulations that allowed workers to carry over leave that could not have been taken because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • how statutory holiday entitlement is accrued and calculated
  • what calculations an employer should do if an employee leaves a job part-way through a leave year, to check they have received the statutory minimum or if a payment in lieu is necessary
  • definitions for an irregular hours worker and part-year worker and provides examples for each
  • how statutory entitlement is accrued by part-year or irregular hours workers while they are on maternity or other family-related leave, or off sick
  • how employers should calculate rolled-up holiday pay

FIS Associate Service Provider Member Citation has produced a simple free guide to everything you need to know about managing annual leave, updated with the latest rules which can be downloaded here.

What’s inside?

  • The latest employment law changes
  • Holiday entitlement and pay
  • Carrying over and accruing holiday
  • Rolled-up holiday pay
FIS and GIRI collaborate to help reduce error and increase productivity in the sector

FIS and GIRI collaborate to help reduce error and increase productivity in the sector

FIS and The Get It Right Initiative (GIRI) have announced an exciting new collaboration to help reduce error and increase productivity in the finishes and interiors sector.

FIS and GIRI have worked closely together in recent years. This new agreement formalises this arrangement and will support both organisations to develop their work through the supply chains, share best practice ideas between different parts of the construction sector and ultimately drive transformational improvement in tackling errors and increasing productivity.

The core objectives of this reciprocal membership deal are:

  • Improving knowledge exchange and highlighting best practice guidance to help inspire and inform change
  • Supporting training that underpins competence and improves productivity
  • Collaborating to understand and eliminate mechanisms for error
  • Informing design and encouraging better process management

FIS CEO Iain McIlwee said:

“Collaboration, breaking out of silos and challenging the status quo are essential to delivering the change.  Giri have always provided a platform to do this, from the initial research into the cost of error through to the amazing training that they have developed.  The work they are doing around error and retention is potentially groundbreaking and we are keen to throw our weight in and support this work, share and test our key resources and learnings with Giri and to plug our members draw in to this amazing network.”

Cliff Smith, GIRI’s Executive Director said:

“Collaboration is key to change. FIS are a leading sector body with a wealth of deep sector-based knowledge and some excellent guidance available.  The potential is huge.  FIS share our values about the need for collective research and better collaboration to support data-led change.  This combined with their ability to draw together companies from across the supply chain will link well with the systemic and wider sector focus that GIRI brings to help deliver our shared ambition for positive transformation.”

Areas of focus will include supporting the work that GIRI is leading with Cranfield University and the Construction Leadership Council around establishing an Error Frequency Rate that can be used in efforts to eliminate the need for retentions. Critical to success is gathering anonymous data to tackle the root causes of our defects ‘culture’.  This is something FIS will be following up through Working Groups, but members keen to get involved at the early stages should contact cliff.smith@getitright.uk.com.

An early opportunity for FIS members to learn more about the work of GIRI is the GIRI Members’ Meeting due to take place at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London on the morning of 14 February.  FIS has a number of guest tickets to distribute to FIS members for this meeting.  Members interested in attending should email greggreves@thefis.org

For further information or for any questions please contact the FIS at info@thefis.org or call 0121 707 0077.