Events
Our upcoming events and conferences for BESA members.
Read MoreBESA specialist groups set the standards that shape building engineering services and to contribute to the strategic development of the Association.
Read MoreFrom commercial insurance to employee benefits, or training requirements to the latest legislative updates, we’ve got you covered – and all at preferential member rates.
Read MoreMembership means more services to add value to your business and to help you make the most of the opportunities in the marketplace.
Read MoreAs a BESA member, you automatically qualify to apply for FREE Trustmark status, helping you to win domestic work.
Read MoreThe BESA Competence Assessment Scheme provides independent accreditation of our members’ technical competence and commercial capability.
Read MoreFrom commercial insurance to employee benefits, or training requirements to the latest legislative updates, we’ve got you covered – and all at preferential member rates.
Read MoreThe BESA provides practical assistance to its members in managing, developing and training their workforce and in establishing terms and conditions of employment.
Read MoreIn its role as an employers’ organisation, the BESA is responsible for ensuring the relevance to members’ needs of collective agreements with the sector’s recognised trade union.
Read MoreThe BESA is committed to ensuring that its members are fully compliant with all relevant health and safety legislation, and that they remain up-to-date with current industry best practice.
Read MoreBESA has been providing best-in-class technical guidance and standards to the building engineering services sector for over 100 years.
Read MoreThe BESA technical team is on-hand to give expert advice, guidance and practical support that address key technical issues as well as deliver access to standards, specifications and guides to good practice.
Read MoreTechnical bulletins provide the most up-to-date and relevant industry information and technical advice, ensuring that our members continue to operate as leaders within the industry.
Read MoreCertification and registration enable the demonstration of best practice to end users, as well as enabling you to remain compliant.
Read MoreAs a BESA member you have access to expert support from our experienced and knowledgeable legal & commercial team.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreContracts can be a minefield. Ensuring your company's contracts are managed efficiently can save your business not just time, but money too.
Read MoreDebts, disputes and payment issues can cause a real impact on your business' cash flow meaning the right advice and guidance can be essential.
Read MoreAs a business owner, protecting and de-risking your business from threats is essential and having plans and processes in place along with a support network is key.
Read MoreBESA has been providing best-in-class technical guidance and standards to the building engineering services sector for over 100 years.
Read MoreLatest news on the initiatives and activities being undertaken by the BESA in support of its members and the building engineering services sector.
Read MoreBESA Training has provided training and apprenticeships for the building engineering services sector and its employers for over 25 years.
Read MoreAs a BESA member you have access to expert support from our experienced and knowledgeable legal & commercial team.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreContracts can be a minefield. Ensuring your company's contracts are managed efficiently can save your business not just time, but money too.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreBESA Connect is a scheme helping those who don't have the digital equipment at home to assist them in completing their training or apprenticeship.
Read MoreUse our interactive Find A BESA Member facility to take advantage of the high competence and health and safety standards to which our members adhere.
Read MoreConstruction is a complex process. It therefore requires significant expertise to deliver the building engineering services that buildings demand.
Read MoreThe BESA Book is an annual industry directory published on behalf of the Building Engineering Services Association by Open Box Publishing.
Read MoreBringing together early career technical personnel working in our sector to learn about the industry and new technology, collaborate
Read MoreBrowse the organisations which are members of the BESA affiliation scheme.
Read MoreLatest news on the initiatives and activities being undertaken by the BESA in support of its members and the building engineering services sector.
Read MoreUp-to-date comment and thought leadership on key industry issues from our expert team.
Read MoreUp-to-date information on a range of events of interest and relevance to building engineering services contractors, attendance at many of which are free of charge.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreIt is crucial that employers understand and manage the wide range of regulatory requirements and obligations they must comply with.
Read MoreJoin us for a full programme of technical content, including an exhibition featuring innovative technical solutions.
Read MoreYour BESA magazine is an exciting new member's magazine offering valuable guidance and updates on technical, training, skills and education along with other association and industry related news.
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Read MoreThe podcast that delves deeper into the unique challenges faced by the construction and building engineering services industry.
Read MoreThe BESA helps shape the building engineering services industry, progressing key issues and keeping on top of consultations
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness on the key issues surrounding the current lack of diversity, promoting the business benefits of a diverse workforce and sharing best practice case studies and actionable resources.
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness on the key issues surrounding the current lack of diversity, promoting the business benefits of a diverse workforce and sharing best practice case studies and actionable resources.
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness of mental health wellbeing in the building engineering services sector, providing practical resources and tools to help companies address this important issue in their workplace
Read MoreA dedicated area to help raise awareness of the importance of indoor air quality, the conditions of air inside buildings and how our sector can work together to make buildings safe havens.
Read MoreA dedicated area to focus on how we in the building engineering services sector can learn from and improve following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Read MoreA dedicated area highlighting BESA's efforts to address the issue of retentions in the built environment.
Read MoreA dedicated area with resources and guidance for members affected by the Carillion collapse, as well as information on late payment reform.
Read MoreCash retentions are money held back by larger contractors and clients from subcontractors in issues of non-performance arise such as defects arise on work undertaken.
Money is deducted by clients from payment to their subcontractors, who then consequently hold back similar figures from their own subcontractors.
In theory, if there are no defects, then the monies are paid in full to the subcontractor in a timely manner. However, the system is known to be widely abused.
Retentions are on average worth 5% of a contract’s total value, but can be up to 20%.
Cash retentions are deducted from payments owed in respect of labour, materials and works already delivered and carried out, and therefore legally belong to the companies that carried out the work.
Thousands of SMEs in the industry wait 2 - 3 years to recover outstanding retentions, which despite the Construction Act routinely get linked to decision, certificates and events, under contract above, but they can be kept for as long as 10 years.
The value of cash retentions is often higher than the profit margin for work undertaken and sits at an amount which is; a) over the small claims threshold and therefore not viable under the courts system, and b) not necessarily viable under an adjudication.
Retentions are held by private and public sector clients against their subcontractors, with over £10.5bn of SME working capital locked in retentions annually. Some £7.8 billion of this has been unpaid in the last three years.
Over £1 billion in cash retentions is owed to 12 of the largest construction companies, according to research from SEC Group.
Construction giant Carillion held around £800m in retentions at the time of its insolvency (although in total Carillion owed subcontractors around £2 billion).
Some 84 per cent of public bodies, including local authorities, apply cash retentions on businesses within their supply chain.
The amount of retentions held by public bodies ranged from 1.5 – 10% of the value of the work.
Of the public bodies holding cash retentions: 20% invested the cash, 51% used the cash as working capital, 27% left the cash untouched, and only 2% did not draw down the funds until needed.
Deprivation of working capital leaves businesses unable to grow (bid for new work), invest (engineering R&D and investment in digital transformation), recruit (new workers and apprentices), pay tax bills, and therefore precludes productivity improvement.
As retention monies are not protected, ring-fenced or held in trust, if a contractor goes bust, the money is lost by subcontractors, and goes to other creditors, often outside the industry.
In the UK, recent government research shows £700m of retentions were lost from upstream insolvency in the last three years. For each working day, the industry loses almost £1m, £4.5m a week or £20m a month.
Research has found that SMEs spend on average 130 hours per year chasing late payment from larger firms. 34% of SMEs borrow to cover cash flow issues caused by cash retentions.
Often this is written off as bad debt, due to the resource implications of chasing monies due.
Cash flow issues leave businesses unable to: bid for new work, take on new workers and apprentices, pay tax bills, and improve productivity.
The knock-on effects of cash retentions can also include stress and mental health issues.
The current system is also a causal factor in bringing about a less efficient public procurement system and results in lower tax receipts for the public purse.
Managing Director, NRT Building Services Group Ltd
“We are an SME electrical contractor, and also a member of ECA. Like many firms, average payment terms for monies owed to us are between 45 and 60 days. In the past 12 months, two of our existing clients have asked us to go to 90 day payment, which we declined and have chosen to no longer work for those two companies, but that’s a tough decision.
“Some of the businesses we work for offer earlier payment on extended payment terms in exchange for a fee of up to 3% to get paid on time. However, our profit margins not much more than 3%, making this completely unviable and unfair in any case.
“We spend a lot of money investing in training and apprentices, but this is unfortunately one of the first areas we need to cut back on when we are paid late.
“In terms of retentions, as a business we currently have £252,000 being held, of which £117,000 is work currently ongoing and £135,000 is jobs that are finished with no outstanding problems.
“Sometimes your money can be held in retentions through no fault of your own. On a construction site there could be 20 different trades that participated, and your money could be held back because somebody else has not resolved a dripping tap, for example. Despite the Construction Act, pay when certified is still rife!
“If the Aldous Bill enters into law, this could make a massive difference by ensuring monies owed to us in cash retentions are not unfairly withheld from our business.”
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