Ffigyrau Tyfiant y Sector Adeiladu. BBC Radio Cymru

Ifan Glyn, FMB Cymru, yn trafod ffigyrau tyfiant economaidd yn y sector adeiladu, a'r angen i helpu adeiladwyr bach.

Ifan Glyn, FMB Cymru, discussing the latest economic growth figures in the construction industry.  Modest and unequal growth in the sector leads to calls from FMB Cymru to support the small builders in Wales to increase growth, and not for them to become an army of sub-contractors for the large house builders. 

Building recovery under threat, warns FMB Cymru

The economic recovery in the Welsh SME construction sector is under threat from rising building costs and material shortages warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru.

Commenting on the results of the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for the first three months of 2014, Richard Jenkins, Director of FMB Cymru, said:

“Rising building costs and material shortages are causing serious concern in the building industry with 80% of SME firms expecting the situation to worsen over the next six months. Although our latest snapshot is the fourth successive quarter showing positive results for workloads, employment and enquiries, this could be undermined by a spike in prices and costs.

“Materials prices are generally around 10% higher across the board with small construction firms highlighting timber products such as sheet materials and timber fencing as being particularly expensive. The increase in the price of timber fencing is largely due to the severe storms that battered the UK during the winter.

“Added to this are concerns over the ready supply of particular materials such as bricks, which could scupper the ability of SME house builders to plug the shortfall in housing supply – this at a time when we need to rapidly increase the number of new homes. Small house builders report that brick manufacturers are asking them to wait until the beginning of 2015 for new orders of bricks and our members perceive this prolonged delay to be a decision to prioritise brick orders from large house builders. If this problem continues, SME house builders may be forced to build with alternative materials such as render or risk stalling sites for the rest of this year.”

Jenkins concluded: 

“Wales was the only part of the UK to build less new homes in 2013 than in 2012; this at a time when housing supply has been failing to meet demand. The Help to Buy-Wales scheme, launched in November 2013, has increased housing demand further still. We fear that small, local house builders are being frozen out of the market because land is too often released in big chunks, meaning that only large volume house builders can develop this land. We are calling on the Welsh Government to make it a condition that when land is released for development, a portion of that land is released in smaller tranches, making it feasible for local smaller builders to develop. We believe that in empowering our small builders, the demand for housing can be met, not to mention the wider community benefits using local SMEs will bring.”

FMB State of Trade Survey

Housing Supply in Wales: Ifan Glyn on BBC Wales Today.

BBC Wales Today: 23/04/14 Following an increase in demand for houses in Wales, Ifan Glyn from FMB Cymru argues that land should be sold in smaller lots to allow building firms across Wales to build.

Getting it Right this Easter! Holiday Pay for Employees.

As we move through Spring and Summer approaches the planning of holidays takes on a renewed importance. Since the advent of the Working Time Directive, all employees have been entitled to paid holidays. The question, however, arises “how much holiday pay should they get?” The answer is a day's pay. But what does that actually mean?

In the case of employees who work fixed hours for a fixed wage, that is easy to calculate. The problem becomes more difficult when the employees in question work longer or shorter hours or overtime at different times of the year. The UK Employment Tribunals have considered this point and found that a day's pay means what the employee would have earned had the worked on the days which they were off, so this would include potential overtime, commission or other similar payments. In practice this is calculated as their average daily pay over the 12 weeks preceding the holiday. Clearly this will change over time, so to ensure compliance an employer should perform that calculation for each employee each time they take a holiday. This may seem a great deal of work, and indeed it is. The consequences of getting it wrong are, however, potentially serious.

You as the employer could face a claim for the underpayment of wages in the Employment Tribunal or even worse, the claim could be brought in the County Court where the employee could seek to go back and claim over a period of six years for underpaid holiday pay. It is, therefore, important to get it right.

This blog was written by Dr Michael Green. For more information on matters discussed in this article, call Phillipps Green and Murphy Solicitors on 01792 468 684.