A joiner has won a claim for holiday pay and deducted wages after an employment tribunal ruled he worked at a small contractor ─ even though he was not an employee. Rivergate Developments Ltd, a family-run specialist contractor, was ordered to pay £665 in unlawfully deducted payments and £399 in…
Workers at a Tarmac facility in Derbyshire have suspended strike action following an improved pay offer. More than 30 members of trade union Unite at the Alfreton Blocks Plant, in Somercotes, were due to walk out on 15, 16, 22 and 23 September over a pay dispute. However, on Thursday…
Liverpool-based mechanical and electrical (M&E) specialist HE Simm has called in administrators, citing “enormous pressure on the business” that it could not withstand. The family-owned firm, represented by law firm Hill Dickinson, submitted a notice of intention on 5 September and appointed administrators Patrick Lannagan, Adam Harris and Richard Hough…
Fit-out specialist Portview has seen its pre-tax profit grow by 257 per cent but predicts revenue will drop by a fifth this year. Its latest accounts for the year ended 30 November 2024 revealed that the Belfast-based firm saw turnover rise by 48 per cent from £73.9m to £109.6m. This…
Business activity in the UK construction sector fell for the eighth month in a row, according to the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) figures from S&P Global. Despite the decline registering a slower pace than in July, business activity projections for the year ahead were the least optimistic since late…
UK cement production has fallen to its lowest level since 1950, raising fears over the country’s ability to meet housebuilding and infrastructure targets. Data from the Mineral Products Association (MPA) showed that domestic cement output dropped to 7.3 million tonnes in 2024 – half the volume produced in 1990. The…
A new independent body has been created to oversee training quality and governance in the scaffolding and access sector. The Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) has confirmed the launch of CISRS Quality Assurance Committee (CISRSQAC) Ltd, which will act as the sector’s new independent Sector Representative Organisation (SRO). Its…
The winners of this year’s CN Specialists Awards were revealed tonight (2 September) in a gala ceremony in London. Specialists were recognised in 23 categories at the event, which was hosted by comedian Ian Moore in front of an audience of almost 700 people at the Royal Lancaster Hotel. An…
A client chasing a defunct fit-out company for £36m will be able to pursue a legal claim for alleged defects on a luxury Mayfair development. Fit-out specialist Beck Interiors worked for Eros under a £40.2m contract for The Residence, Mandarin Oriental in London’s Mayfair. The £140m-turnover contractor, which became an…
Cost increases and rising wages have led half of SME firms to report lower-than-expected profits or losses, a new report has revealed. In their latest half-year SME State of Trade Survey, the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) have found a quarter of firms…
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