In construction industry news, UCATT is being backed by the general council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in the ongoing campaign advocating for the rights of construction workers.
We recently published a blog on the debate between UCATT and FCSA over umbrella companies, reporting that the trade body has criticised UCATT for campaigning against umbrella companies. The union stands by its efforts, however, arguing the unfairness that thousands of construction contractors are being forced by their contract providers to work via umbrella companies.
At the Trades Union Congress September 2016 annual conference, the general council committed to “lobby all political parties to win a commitment for specific legislation that ensures that workers are not exploited by being coerced into undertaking employment where the distinction between the employer and the employee is not accurate or transparent.”
UCATT argues that umbrella companies don’t offer any financial benefit to contractors working through them and using them as their payroll service. However many contractors, especially in the construction industry, are not able to secure contract work via an agency or directly through the client unless they go through an umbrella company.
While some contractors may see some benefit in working through an umbrella company, it goes against freedom of choice to allow umbrella companies as their only option of payroll service.
In other construction industry news, the decline of output for the industry has slowed significantly since the result of the EU referendum. Tim Moore, senior economist at Markit, has attributed this partly to a slower decline in commercial building and increased client confidence in the past couple of months following the Brexit vote.
The construction industry is not yet in the clear, however, as research shows that Brexit has negatively affected demand and progress of development projects. Many construction businesses also appear to be waiting for the Autumn Statement on the 23rd of November to see how much budget will be allocated to infrastructure in the UK.
Want more construction industry news? Keep checking back on our blog to follow the latest events, and don’t forget to read our previous posts to find out more about the alternatives to umbrella companies, for example, setting up your own limited company. Contact us for more information.
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