The UK’s largest contractors claimed just over £10m in furlough cash in the three months to the end of February, new figures from HMRC have revealed.
Analysis of HMRC’s furlough data found that the combined claims by CN100 contractors totalled up to £3.9m in February, up from a maximum of £3.7m in the previous month. In the three months to the end of February, companies in the CN100 had claimed up to £10m, up from £6.1m in the two months to the end of January.
HMRC publishes monthly lists of all UK companies that have placed staff on furlough via their payroll schemes; the figures for February were published on 6 May.
Revealed: furlough claims by the largest firms in January constructionnews.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from constructionnews.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In our second major analysis of industry payment-practice reports,
Megan Kelly delves into the government data to identify the best and worst payers in the sector. We also look beyond the headline figures to uncover the often complex reasons why some companies appear able to settle their debts more swiftly than others
Slow payment has long plagued construction. It comes as no surprise to learn that, in 2020, amid a global pandemic, a national shutdown, and with many companies struggling for cash, poor payment practices have again come to the fore.
According to
Construction News’s latest analysis of government payment data, most of which was collected after the first lockdown was enforced in March 2020, many must still wait well beyond 30 days to receive payment. Adding to cashflow challenges, nearly a third of all payments breached agreed terms, typically meaning a commitment to pay by some other deadline beyond 30 days was also missed.