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With the transition period expiring on 31 December, the prospect of leaving the European Union without a deal is becoming a very real possibility. Add a global pandemic to the challenges of Brexit and the result, as viewed by Irwin Mitchell LLP and the National Federation of Builders, is that…

No one can be sure what the post-COVID world will look like, or fully comprehend how it might change the way we work, live and play. What we can say with a degree of certainty is that the construction industry will play a major part in the UK’s economic recovery…

There is growing consensus that, however unpalatable it may be to admit, a global pandemic has proved a catalyst of forcing through new ways of working that will benefit our lives in a post-COVID era. The growth and swift universal adoption of online collaboration technology is just one example of…

In economic forecasting, as in life, there are some things we know that we do not know. Former US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld coined these the ‘known unknowns’. More than six months into the pandemic, there are still some big ‘known unknowns’ as dark clouds loom over the near-term…

In his Modernise or Die sector review, Mark Farmer set a challenge to the construction industry to change the way it worked or face paying a heavy price. That was four years ago and, unfortunately, it has taken a pandemic to make our sector move forward at any sort of…

There are less than 100 days to go until the end of the Brexit transition period. As of 1 January 2021, the UK will begin a new economic relationship with the EU, impacting on how businesses operate and trade in the UK and EU. For some businesses, this will mean…

I would say a lot can change in 10 years but, right now, it feels as if the whole world has changed in less than 10 months. Ventilation in domestic dwellings has become not just an industry subject, but a national news story. Issues surrounding indoor air pollution from particulate…

The quality of our built environment relies on more than just how high and how quickly we can build, or even the products used. It is also defined by how it supports the health and wellbeing of the people that live and work in it on a daily basis. When…

Last week saw the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the body that advises the government on migration issues, recommend that employers should still be allowed to recruit bricklayers from abroad after 1 January, when the new points-based visa system comes into force. If adopted, this would be a welcome step forward.…

Times of crisis present windows of opportunity. The green shoots of post-lockdown economic recovery reflect fertile soil for the construction industry to embrace the benefits of digital transformation – and a recession is by no means a time to play things safe. So, as the economy begins to rebuild, the…