The Fair Payment Code – six months on and 250 Awardees

The Fair Payment Code launched on 3rd December at 10 Downing Street. Expressions of interest flooded in from day one. The Code team has been working hard to turn those into Awards. The pace has been frenetic and fantastic and six months on 250 businesses of all sizes from micros upwards, in all sectors from consultancy to construction, and every corner of the UK have succeeded in achieving Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards.

Congratulations to everyone who has an Award. To those who are working towards achieving their Awards we are looking forward to celebrating your achievement. To those who still have work to do to get your processes up to the required standard, thank you for being tenacious, persistent and determined to do the right thing.

To get an Award businesses must prove they are paying according to the requirements for Gold, Silver or Bronze. We no longer simply accept firms signing up to the Code but require evidence, do spot checks and ask that firms reapply every two years. We also expect Awardees to be clear, fair and collaborative with their suppliers and to avoid disputes over payments if possible.

Getting an award in any of the three categories isn’t easy for most applicants. The first Gold winner (Sue Marchant of Cool Ventures) had been paying all their suppliers in around 7 days for several years. When we contacted their suppliers they were only too pleased to confirm what a good payer the small company is. For some though getting an award has meant a complete reappraisal of their procurement, invoice approval and payment processes as well as their contractual payment terms. Others have had to find ways to assess which suppliers in their supply chains are small businesses.

That firms are willing to go all out to improve processes and payment practices is testament to how important firms of all sizes now consider fair and quick payments to be. We will help you get Bronze, Silver or Gold and go on to move up the scale too. Join us and help us get to a place where we can all celebrate the UK as the best place to get paid and thrive in business.