Holmes Mackillop encourages business owners to seek legal advice on unpaid bills and disputed invoices to secure prompt payment
Holmes Mackillop Solicitors has welcomed the UK Government’s latest late payment legislation while encouraging business owners to seek legal advice on any unpaid bills and disputed invoices to resolve such matters quickly and secure prompt payment.
For small businesses, late payments can have a devastating impact. The UK Government estimates that 38 small businesses close each day due to late payments and the overall cost to the UK economy is £11 billion every year.
The Government has therefore proposed new legislation which is intended to assist sole traders and family firms across the country. ‘The Small Business Protections Bill’, which was formally known as the Commercial Payments Bill, seeks to end delays and unfair practices, and the Government has called this the toughest payment reforms in a generation.
Some of the proposed changes include: a deadline for disputing invoices of 30 days and failure to dispute an invoice within that period may result in a compensation payment to the supplier; a 60-day cap on payment terms on large firms paying smaller suppliers, with only limited exceptions; and increased powers for the Small Business Commissioner (SBC), which includes financial penalties on companies that regularly pay their suppliers late.
The SBC will also be able to investigate companies which do not comply with new legislation.
John Di Paola, senior associate at Holmes Mackillop, said: “The Government’s figures are clear about the impact that late payments can have on small businesses. Any proposed legislation that will result in small firms being paid and accelerate the resolution of disputes is welcome.
“However, the Bill is only at an early stage, and we will be monitoring it closely as it makes its way through Parliament.
“In the meantime, we’d encourage business owners to seek legal advice on any unpaid bills and disputed invoices in order to try and bring a quick resolution to the matter and, ideally, result in prompt payment.”
ENDS
For further information please contact John Di Paola tel 0141 226 4942