Small firms step up campaign to make big firms pay on time
SMALL FIRMS are stepping up their campaign to make larger companies pay their bills on time.
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for reforms to tackle poor payment practices.
Most small firms are paid late, including those in the public sector, research suggested.
The FSB’s chairman Mike Cherry said: “For far too long some big businesses have been allowed to get away with poor behaviour that has seen them use their dominant position to bully and squeeze our small firms.
“This behaviour has forced many small businesses to take drastic steps like turning to personal credit cards and overdrafts, just to survive the wait for a payment. Sadly, some don’t survive this wait.”
Mr Cherry added: “Poor payment practices are not limited to the private sector and they stunt job growth and damage economic growth. At the heart of this scandal, however, lies a more important question about fairness and what is morally right.”
The FSB has called on the Government to strengthen payment enforcement and for companies to assign a director to have responsibility to prevent late payment.
In March 2018, the FSB secured a commitment from the Chancellor that Government would tackle the “scourge” of late payments to small businesses in the UK. This has led to a call for evidence which was published in October last year. The FSB has published a report into poor payment practice and its impact on small suppliers.