The Supreme Court rules in favour of late paying client, FMB urges builders to mentor the next generation and Pothole Partnership wants five year warranties on repairs
The Supreme Court has sided with a late paying client, against a contractor in a long running legal battle.
Providence Building Services opted to walk off a £7.2 million job in South London after the client, Hexagon Housing Association, made two late payments.
Providence was accused of being ‘trigger happy’, but the contractor said it had been left with no option but to “go nuclear”.
However, the Supreme Court ruled that it was wrong to distort the correct interpretation of the disputed termination clause in the JCT contract as a way of protecting contractors from cash flow difficulties caused by late payments.
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The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) is imploring the UK’s small and medium sized builders to continue investing in apprentices.
SME construction firms currently train approximately 75% of all construction apprentices, but with 61% of builders reporting that work has been affected by skills shortages, expanding mentoring programmes is essential.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB said: “mentoring has always been at the heart of how our industry passes on skills and values.”
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An industry alliance is calling for five-year warranties on pothole repairs.
According to the Pothole Partnership, the UK’s ‘patch and run’ approach to the pothole pandemic is failing road users, costing drivers millions in vehicle damage and putting motorists at risk of injury.
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