Closures, clarity and confusion
March 2020

As ever-tighter restrictions on work and social life came into force, many in the industry were still unsure about their choices and obligations in the face of the near-total lockdown.

At least two organisations, the FMB and British Safety Council (BSC) were calling for greater clarity of advice from the government on construction workers, while the BSC went further in pressing for a shut-down of ‘non-essential’ construction sites.

One factor causing the greatest concern was the apparent lack of support for self-employed workers, especially in an industry where man-in-van is still so commonplace. Many had expressed fears that the government’s package for laid-off workers held out nothing for them but we hear that MP’s are pressing for more to be included in the overall legislation under debate at the moment.

According to some online straw polls, more than half of domestic installation business were closing down immediately while others aimed to plough through it and only today Safestyle, one of the industry’s biggest players with over 12% of the domestic market, is closing all operations.