The Building Regulations in England and Wales have been revised to include a Competency General Requirement that relates to all involved in the design and construction of buildings.  Whilst this General Requirement is not explicit in Regulation in Scotland and Northern Ireland, a general expectation has been established.   The Competency General Requirement states:

Any person carrying out any building work as a contractor or any design work as a designer must have:
(a) where the person is an individual, the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary,
(b) where the person is not an individual, the organisational capability,
to fulfil the duties of a contractor or designer, as the case may be, under these Regulations in relation to the work.

FIS has developed a new toolkit to provide essential guidance and tools to support FIS Members in meeting new regulatory competence requirements. It draws heavily on FIS work with the Regulator through the Industry Competence Committee (ICC).

Access the FIS Competency Toolkit here

• The new CIJC Pay rates and allowances for 2025-26 are available here
• The 2025 CIJC Annual Holidays are available here
• it is advised that they are read in conjunction with the CIJC Working Rule Agreement

The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) is a UK tax scheme run by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that describes how payments to subcontractors for construction work should be managed. It’s designed to reduce tax evasion in the construction sector.  Under the scheme contractors deduct money from a subcontractor’s payments and pass it to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The deductions count as advance payments towards the subcontractor’s tax and National Insurance.

Contractors must register for the scheme. Subcontractors do not have to register, but deductions are taken from their payments at a higher rate if they’re not registered.

Full details of how to manage CIS are available here

The Government implemented changes to the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) in April 2021.

These include giving HMRC the power to amend CIS deductions in the event of errors or omissions and requiring businesses to apply the CIS when construction expenditure exceeds £3 million over the preceding 12 months. Exemptions to CIS deductions will also be limited going forward and there will be penalties for providing false information.

CIS set-off amendment power

Some sub-contractor companies are entitled to set CIS deductions suffered in-year against their employer (PAYE) liabilities. The new rules will mean that if challenged by HMRC and the sub-contractor employer cannot provide satisfactory evidence to support the CIS deductions claimed, and when asked the employer does not amend the CIS entry on their Employment Payment Summary (EPS) within a certain timeframe, HMRC will instead amend the CIS deduction figure claimed on an EPS. The HMRC amendment will match the CIS deductions sum supported by any evidence held by or provided to HMRC.

HMRC will remove the claim altogether where there is no evidence of any CIS deductions in respect of that company or where the employer is not entitled to set-off in this way. The employer liabilities will be recalculated following the amendment. Where HMRC has to amend the CIS credit claimed on an EPS, the employer may also be prevented from making further CIS set-offs in the same tax year.

Cost of materials

Under the new rules clarify that materials cost will only be deductible if it represents the direct cost of materials purchased by a sub-contractor in respect of that particular contract. The change to these provisions is intended to ensure that only the sub-contractor directly purchasing materials to fulfil their own contract with their contractor is entitled to a reduction to account for materials costs from the gross contract payment before the CIS deduction is calculated.

Concerns have been raised that these changes limit firms’ ability  to take account of the cost of materials when paying down the chain would not only reduce cash flow for contractors who do not hold gross payment status but also result in there being insufficient cash to pay sub-contractors the amounts that they are owed for materials.

An example that demonstrates how concerns may impact companies (provided by ICAEW) is provided below:

In a chain of contractors A to E. Contractor E buys the materials. Under the new rules, only E would be able to take account of the cost of these materials.

However, in real life, E buys the materials and D reimburses E, C reimburses D and so on up the chain until the ultimate client A bears the cost by reimbursing B.

If the cost of materials could not be taken into account, E would not get paid in full for the materials it has bought.

Deemed contractors

This change focusses on when a non-construction business has to operate the CIS. Moving forwards, rather than a review at year-end, deemed contractors will be able to stop operating the CIS when expenditure on construction operations falls below £3m within the previous 12 month period, or when no further payments on construction operations (including retention or management/administration payments) are expected to be made under that or any other construction contract.

CIS registration penalty

HMRC can currently penalise a person for providing false information when registering for payment under deduction under the CIS . This penalty applies only to the individual or business to whom the registration applies. The scope of this penalty will be expanded to apply to a wider group of individuals or companies who are able to exercise influence or control over a person who is registering for the CIS, this will include agents, directors, company secretaries, or anyone HMRC believes is in a position to exercise influence and control over the business and/or the person making the CIS registration.

Such persons will be liable to a penalty in two circumstances:

• where they themselves make a false statement or furnish a false document for the purpose of enabling another individual or business to be registered or
• where they encourage an individual or business to make a false statement or furnish a false document for the purpose of enabling themselves to be registered for the CIS

For more information, click here

Modern Slavery can take many forms including the trafficking of people, forced labour, servitude and slavery. Construction remains high risk particularly in terms of forced labour. Employers and most notably companies engaging workers through gangs and labour agencies must be vigilant. It is estimated that there are approaching 140,000 people currently impacted by Modern Slavery in the UK.

Visit the FIS Modern Slavery Toolkit here

Essential part of a manager’s role is identifying roles and responsibilities and delegating.  Applying the RACI model can help in terms of breaking things down, deciding how each task contributes to your overall goal and how this can be measured.

The RACI model is a straightforward tool used for identifying roles and responsibilities, ensuring all tasks are allocated effectively that there is no confusion over those roles and responsibilities during a project. The acronym RACI stands for:

Responsible: The person who does the work to achieve the task. They have responsibility for getting the work done or decision made. As a rule this is one person; examples might be a business analyst, application developer or technical architect.

Accountable: The person who is accountable for the correct and thorough completion of the task. This must be one person and is often the project executive or project sponsor. This is the role that responsible is accountable to and approves their work.

Consulted: The people who provide information for the project and with whom there is two-way communication. This is usually several people, often subject matter experts.

Informed: The people who are kept informed about progress and with whom there is one-way communication. These are people that are affected by the outcome of the tasks so need to be kept up-to-date.

A RACI matrix supports the model and is used to discuss, agree and communicate roles and responsibilities.

FIS has developed a template RACI matrix to support members, it is available to download here –Template FIS RACI Tool

Competency Management is covered in more detail in the FIS Guide to Competence Management.

Movement of People – what should you be doing now?

Now that the UK has left the European Union, freedom of movement of people no longer applies and a new points based system has been implemented to manage immigration.  There are a number of actions that employers are recommended to undertake. 

Within this there are two groups to consider, those who will have a right to work through the settlement scheme (those resident before the 31 December 2020) and those relying on a visa (i.e. individuals newly arriving after the 1 January 2021).  Note Irish citizens, based on historic agreement that pre-dates UK – EU arrangements, retain a right to work in the UK and are not subjected to the new rules detailed below.  

FIS Members can access our Webinar on Right to Work and Modern Slavery, held on the 20 May 2021 here

Individuals resident in the UK before the 31 December 2020

Individuals resident in the UK before 1 January 2021 were able to apply for settled or pre-settled status the individual (regardless of how they are employed).

THE SETTLEMENT SCHEME FORMALLY CLOSED ON 1st JULY 2021.

Managing Individuals arriving in the UK from the 1 January 2020

Individuals arriving after the 1 January 2021 need to secure a visa in order to demonstrate their right to work.  Visa’s are awarded via the Points Based Immigration system where an individualy is required to apply for a visa.  Applicants will need to secure 70 points and the visa will be linked to employment through a sponsorship process.   Businesses intent on employing  newly arriving workers from outside of the UK will need to consider becoming a sponsoring organisation.  

How the Points Based System Works

There are two lists essential to support a visa application. 

1.   Skilled Occupations List (determines whether the occupation is eligible for the Mandatory 20 Skill Level Points).

A full list of skilled occupations is available via the link below. 

2.  Immigration Salart List (determines the salary requirements to recieve Additional Points).

Build UK have produced a helpful flow chart here to show how it now works in terms of gaining sufficient points

FIS remains concerned and continues to press the Home Office for greater flexibility in this process for employers to support the sector in the short to medium term.  More detail of FIS lobbying work is available here. 

Right to works checks

Guide published by the Association of Labour Providers

As an employer it will be your responsibility to check that the individual has a right to work.  You could face a civil penalty if you employ an illegal worker and have not carried out a correct right to work check.

Additional sanctions that can be impose:

• in serious cases, a criminal conviction carrying a prison sentence of up to 5 years and an unlimited fine;
• closure of the business and a compliance order issued by the court;
• disqualification as a director;
• not being able to sponsor migrants;
• seizure of earnings made as a result of illegal working

The term employer refers to those who employ staff under a contract of employment, service or apprenticeship, whether expressed or implied and whether oral or in writing.   In the transitionary period 1 January 2021 to 1 July 2021, employers do not need to check settled or pre-settled status, just basic right to work chekcs (e.g. passport from EU will suffice), as long as you do this you get a statutory exemption from any right to work issues associated with that individual after the 1st July.  This is seperate to Right to Remain and it is imperative that people who can apply through the settlement scheme do so before the deadline of 30 June or they will lose other basic rights such as healthcare.

As long as an individual has settled or pre-settled status there is no cost implication to the employer.  If they are qualifying through the points based system a visa is required and there are cost implications, since the visa must be linked to employment you will need to register as a sponsor organisation to be able to employ new workers (i.e. those who do not have settler or pre-settled status) from the EU.

A great starting poing for any business is the Government’s Right to Work Checklist

Under the new right to work checks, if we employ a gang under a limited & pay that limited company for all the labour they’ve supplied, do you know if we need to check the eligibility of each member, or is it the responsibility of the ‘gang leader’?

Specific responsibility will be determined by nature of the contract that you have with the supplier of labour.  Although there is no legal requirement to check the RTW of those who work for a different entity, best practice will be to confirm within the contract where responsibility rests and ensure that this covers any GDPR related issues that would prohibit sharing of essential information to support compliance checking.

Once responsibility is clear, it would be sensible to exercise reasonable endeavours to audit your supply chain on a regular basis to ensure appropriate checks are taking place and also to ensure that robust procedures are in place to ensure that there is no risk to you or your workforce under the Modern Slavery Act.

For the avoidance of doubt – labour only subcontractors who work under a contract for services and who are subject to the direction and control of the end user, will be workers and therefore subject to RTW checks by their employer.

Managing Right to Work through a VISA process

To become a sponsor you will need to apply for a sponsor licence.  We have been advised that the application process can take up to eight weeks.

Remember you do not need to be a sponsor to recruit Irish citizens or anyone from the resident labour market with an existing right to work in the UK.  This includes EU citizens with settled or pre-settled status, and non-EU citizens with indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

Guidance around Self-employment remains unclear, but there are processes that support the sponsorship of sub-contracted workers (arriving after the 31 December 2020), however, these must be sponsored and guidance currently states. “Where a worker is not your direct employee, we will look closely at the arrangement to make sure you can fulfil your sponsor duties and we will take action against you if we find you are not.”

If you have workers who travel to the EU for work purposes, they may need to apply for a visa or work permit.

In light of the spread of COVID-19 more people are being asked to work from home.  Some are used to this and others not, below is an example of information circulated by FIS Member Mansell Finishings to their team to advise on some bits of good practice for you to observe.

1. Get Dressed – maybe not in full smart business attire but sitting there in your PJs will start you off on the wrong footing and you will sub consciously not feel like you are ‘at work’
2. Plan your work area – set up a comfortable and as private as possible space and make sure those in the house with you understand that you have to work.
3. Plan your tasks each day – sounds obvious but this is more important than ever when working from home. Your line manager should be doing this with you anyway and checking in with you but it pays to be self sufficient and pro-active in this area.
4. See it as a productivity challenge – If managed correctly you can get more work done from home. Deal with the small tasks and the big project type stuff too. Eg. Use the first hour to get rid of the niggly little tasks best you can and then start to work on those ‘big’ tasks. You know the ones you have been putting off for a while but in your hearts of hearts you know need doing. This is the type of stuff that always goes on the back burner when in the office because of distractions, well now you can concentrate in peace and get it done
5. Stick to your normal working hours – don’t be tempted to lie in till 10am and then work late for example. If you normally work 8.30am till 5pm with ½ hr lunch then stick to these hours. And don’t stay up till 3am watching Netflix because you know you are working from home the next day!! Go to bed when you normally do on a school night
6. Stay Active and take breaks – get up and move around. If your able to go out for a little walk on your lunch break then do so.
7. Don’t get distracted – Don’t have the TV on in the background and switch off social media apps (if you don’t use them for work) or certainly the notifications for them. You can always check them at lunchtime or on breaks etc.
8. Phone people – find a reason to ring your colleagues rather than just e-mailing, it is important to still have some form of human interaction. Better still use some form of video call to communicate with your colleagues.

Thanks to Paul Rigby, Mansell Finishes Limited, Head of People for sharing this. 

Additional support: 

ACAS advice on homeworking is available here

FIS Associate Citation have produced for us a detailed guide to temporary homeworking due to coronavirus, support for employers and employees – you can access the toolkit here

What is Redundancy?

Redundancy is a form of dismissal when employers need to reduce their workforce. Workers being made redundant may be eligible for certain things, including:

• redundancy pay
• a notice period
• a consultation with your employer
• the option to move into a different job
• time off to find a new job

If an employer is proposing to make redundant 20 or more employees at one establishment within 90 days, legal requirements regarding collective consultation apply.

Read the ACAS Factsheet on Collective Redundancies here

Redundancy pay

How much redundancy pay a worker is entitled to depends on:

• your age
• how long you’ve worked for your employer

You may be required to offer more than the minimum amount the law says you should get (‘statutory’), if it’s in your contracts.

You can us the Government Redundancy Pay Calculator here

ACAS have developed a full redundancy toolkit including template resources here

FIS Members can access the Employment law helpline via 0121 707 0077

The COVID-19 virus has put strain on businesses across the construction sector. Previous downturns have taught us that companies who take decisive action to manage short-term issues are more likely to survive the longer term. Loyalty to your employees requires leadership and a times you may be required to make some difficult decisions to protect future jobs. Below we look at some of your options.

What is a lay-off?

When employees are not provided with work by their employer, and the situation is expected to be temporary, they are regarded as laid off.

In what circumstances can an employee be laid off?

This can be done where there is an express contractual right agreed between employer and employee.

The right of an employer to lay off may also be implied if it can be shown (by clear evidence) that it has been established over a long period by custom and practice.

Both parties may agree to alter the contract terms so that the lay-off is not a unilateral act by the employer but by mutual agreement (for example, where the only alternative is redundancy).

Do employees have any right to payment during a period of lay-off?

Not if there is a specific term in their contract allowing you to lay them off without pay. When they are laid off, they might be entitled to a statutory guarantee payment from you, limited to a maximum of five days in any period of three months. The daily amount is subject to an upper limit which is reviewed annually. On days when a guarantee payment isn’t payable, employees might be able to claim

On days on which a guarantee payment is not payable, employees may be able to claim Universal Credit (in light of the Coronavirus situation, the ability and process for claiming has been simplified). More information is available here.

How long can a lay-off last?

This will depend on the terms specified in the contract. However, the employee may in certain circumstances give his or her employer written notice of an intention to claim a redundancy payment. If there is no contractual right or agreement the employee may try to claim breach of contract or unfair dismissal.

What is short-time working?

Short-time working occurs when employees are laid off for a number of contractual days each week, or for a number of hours during a working day.

As in the case of a lay-off, the employer must have an express or implied power in order lawfully to reduce the amount of pay. Normal practice would be for the workforce or their union to agree to short-time working as an alternative to redundancies.

Where there are no express or implied rights to short-time working, employees may claim that the employer’s action amounted to a dismissal (constructive or otherwise) and complain to an Employment Tribunal of unfair dismissal.

They may also sue for loss of wages in a civil court or, in certain circumstances, in an Employment Tribunal or claim that the employer has made an unlawful deduction of wages under Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (to an Employment Tribunal only).

Again it may be possible for employees to access support through Universal Credit and more information available here.

Can a claim be made for a redundancy payment because of lay-off or short-time working?

If an employee is either laid off (that is, receives no wages) or put on short time working (that is, receives less than half a week’s pay) for four consecutive weeks – or for six weeks in a period of 13 weeks – because of a shortage of work, the employee can give the employer written notice that he or she intends to claim a redundancy payment.

You can access the full ACAS guide to Short Term Working and Lay-off here

FIS Members can access the Employment law helpline via 0121 707 0077

Useful resources

COVID -19 Letter putting employee onto furloughed scheme UPDATED 24.3.20

COVID-19 Short-Time Working letter

COVID -19 Lay-Off Notification

All companies should have a formal Electronic
Communication Policy. A template policy below is provided for members to adapt as necessary to suit their company needs.

• Employment – Electronic Communications Policy

After several years of travel restrictions, the UK is heading for a huge holiday season this year, and many employers will have been receiving an influx of holiday leave requests in recent weeks. As an employer, it is important to know your responsibilities when it comes to calculating annual leave. FIS HR & Employment partner Citation, have put together this handy guide.

• Benefits of Management and Leadership Development
• Benefits of Supervisory Management Development
• Briefing the team
• Corporate Social Responsibility Policies
• Culture and People

Deducting levy from wages (both PAYE and Net CIS) Although the 1996 Employment Rights Act permits deductions from earnings in certain circumstances, under the 1982 Industrial Training Act, CITB is the only organisation authorised to impose and collect CITB levy from employers in the industry. Contractors are not authorised to deduct money from workers’ wages (both PAYE and Net CIS) on CITB’s behalf.

FIS Factsheet on Deducting levy from wages (both PAYE and NET CIS)

The off-payroll working rules

The off-payroll working rules can apply if a worker (commonly referred to as a contractor) who provides their services through their own limited company or another type of intermediary to the client.

An intermediary will usually be the worker’s own personal service company, but could also be any of the following:

• a partnership
• a personal service company
• an individual

The rules make sure that workers, who would have been an employee if they were providing their services directly to the client, pay broadly the same tax and National Insurance contributions as employees. These rules are known as the ‘IR35’ rules

The client is the organisation who is or will be receiving the services of a contractor. They may also be known as the engager, hirer or end client. The client will be responsible for determining if the off-payroll working rules apply.

From 6 April 2021, all public sector clients and medium or large-sized private sector clients will be responsible for deciding worker’s employment status.

Small companies are exempt, with the definition of “small” determined based on meeting two of the three following requirements:

• turnover of less than £10.2m a year;
• balance sheet assets of less than £5.1m
• fewer than 50 employees.

Empoloyers are legally required to offer pensions to their workforce.  To support you in fulfilling your responsibilities, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has created a free, bespoke toolkit of support materials including posters, flyers and letters for our sector to help members answer employees’ questions about workplace pensions.  

You can access the DWP Pensions Toolkit here

Guidance on Automatic Enrolment for Workplace Pensions is available here

Midlife pension review for the self-employed
If you are self-employed and not sure how to deal with your pension, or feel a bit lost when it comes to retirement planning, then Money Helper has a dedicated appointment service, called Midlife Pension Review, which can help you with what this means for you and your pension.