interior contracting

Government announces increased financial support for businesses

The UK Government has announced today (Thursday 22 October 2020) that it will increase the financial support and schemes available over the winter months to help protect businesses and support jobs whilst the Covid-19 pandemic continues. The key takeaways from the announcement by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, were: open businesses which are experiencing …

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Free SSIP assessment for NAS members as part of new PQS partnership

From today (5 October 2020) the National Association of Shopfitters (NAS) is offering its members FREE SSIP (Safety Schemes in Procurement)* assessment through its scheme partner, PQS (Pre-Qualification-Scheme). The scheme is free for all shopfitting, fit out and interior contracting NAS members to access and is part of the NAS’ mission to promote, support, and …

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Covid-19 updates: Job Support Scheme, Fines for companies preventing workers from self-isolation

Working from Home In light of Boris Johnson’s announcement on 22 September, UK office workers have been encouraged to return to working from home, much of the hospitality industry has been given a 22:00 closing time (along with other restrictions), the use of face coverings has been expanded, and last week saw the rule-of-6 being …

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Five Minutes With Gail Hounslea, Chairman of the Ladder Association and Managing Director of Ladderstore

    As part of the NAS’ Working at Height Week, we are grateful to have had the opportunity to spend (a virtual!) Five Minutes With Gail Hounslea, Chairman of the Ladder Association and Managing Director of Ladderstore. 1. How did you first come into this industry? I started a company, Ladderstore, in 2004 to …

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Supporting the move towards zero cash retentions in construction

Cash retentions – the withholding of a percentage of payment on construction work until it is completed free of defects – is intended to provide security to clients that any defects will be rectified appropriately. However they can be problematic for all parties in the supply chain, and retention bonds on larger projects are becoming …

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Safeguarding apprentices – apprenticeship funding, guidance and webinars

Amid the current skills shortage, it is essential that the construction industry safeguards apprentices with formal apprenticeships. In the Retaining Talent in Construction Survey carried out by Build UK on behalf of the Construction Leadership Council, results in June showed that 43% of apprentices were currently furloughed, with 6.7% likely to lose their jobs by …

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