TICA ACAD June Membership Survey
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Roadmap to Recovery details how the construction sector, working with Government, can ‘restart, reset, and reinvent’ the industry.
TICA and ACAD are consulting around how we can best support our members during these phases, to begin with we requested members provide some key Covid-19 lockdown information to help us shape our response. We also asked members what they think will be the biggest challenges they face over the coming months…
Job Retention Scheme (Furlough)
The UK Governments Job Retention Scheme (JRS) was announced on 20th March with backdating for claims available from the 1st March 2020. By the 31st May, 1.1 million employers had accessed the scheme with 8.7million employees placed on furlough leave.
The thermal insulation and asbestos industries were amongst those who accessed the scheme to prevent redundancies caused by lockdown and the effects on the UK economy. With lockdown now lifted, we asked members what percentage of their employees are currently furloughed.
Over 40% of TICA members are already back operating with between three quarters and a full complement of their pre-covid workforce which is really positive to hear. One third of respondents are operating between 50 and 75% and the final quarter are operating between 25 and 50%.
ACAD members reported a more mixed profile, with 15% of employers using the scheme for between half and all of their employees, rising to 20% for between one quarter and one half then jumping to around two thirds using the scheme for less than one quarter of their employees. This suggests the Asbestos Industry has sprung back into life relatively quickly, perhaps this is to be expected given the requirement to remove asbestos to facilitate other trades as well as the pre-existing familiarity with distancing measures and decontamination skills on site.
Business Interruption Loan Schemes
Alongside the JRS, Government has made many different types of loans and guarantees available to support employers, many of which are signposted from our Covid-19 webpage. We have received some anecdotal feedback that some are difficult to obtain so we asked members if they had experienced difficulty in obtaining a coronavirus business loan such as CBILS?
When asked about the biggest challenges facing members over the coming months, they reported that cashflow and late payments are their third most common issue. These loans are designed to help smooth these out so it’s important to understand these are accessible to all who need them.
Around one in eight employers reported they had experienced difficulty with these which was concerning to hear although it was positive that one third had accessed these in a straightforward manner and the remaining majority of respondents had not needed to call on this type of assistance at all.
Productivity Level
A return to pre-covid levels of productivity is on everybody’s mind and those members who responded are very positive but many expressed concerns over the impact of social distancing measures, problems travelling to site and accommodation. In fact, productivity issues were the second most commonly reported of their anticipated biggest challenges. That said 45% of members are either already at, or expect to be back to, pre-covid productivity by the end of June with a further 45% expecting to reach that mark by the Autumn.
Worryingly the ONS/Construction Products Association (CPA) has predicted lost output will require perhaps two years to fully recover, with most of the recovery next year. They also predict costs are likely to increase with the implementation of social distancing measures, thereby eroding profit margins and making it harder to invest for the future.
Availability and the cost of consumables and supplies is also an area of concern with limitations in place for some key asbestos consumables likely to remain for some time.
It’s abundantly clear every industry will need to increase efficiency and utilise the new technologies that have been thrust into our everyday usage as we all adapt to the new normal way of working.
Skills Retention
TICA ACAD employers have reported a firm commitment to avoid redundancies with an inspiring 82% not considering redundancies at this time and not expecting to need to either. This demonstrates the importance members place in their highly skilled workforces.
Crucial to the retention of staff is the state of the wider economy and the continuation of projects through the work pipeline, which was the principal concern fed back by members through this survey.
Graham Warren ACAD Manager commented “We are at the start of what is likely to be a difficult road but the numbers suggest members are gearing up quickly as we all work together to get the UK economy back on track. Our thanks go to our members who have taken the time to answer our survey once again, we have been inundated with responses which provides the association with clear information and areas of concern that we can take forward”.
TICA ACAD will continue to provide leadership to support our membership and wider industries throughout these difficult times.
