New research has revealed that tradespeople are owed a total of £3.5bn in overdue payments, which equates to an average of £3,942 each, the equivalent of over a month’s salary for a typical UK tradesperson.
Ford Pro’s commercial division conducted the research with both tradespeople and homeowners after the issue of delayed or missing payments was reported as the major issue facing sole traders heading into 2025.
The study found that almost two-thirds of tradespeople experience late payments regularly, with an average delay of 35 days, while 71% of UK tradespeople have experienced outright payment refusal.
A total of 18% admitted to spending money earmarked for tradespeople’s payments on personal luxuries, such as dining out, instead. Meanwhile, 14% of UK homeowners have admitted to forgetting to pay altogether.
The financial strain of late payments means 23% of tradespeople are struggling to cover essential bills each month, it found, and 17% are resorting to payday loans to make ends meet.
With the holiday season approaching, 20% tradespeople expressed concern about their ability to support their families this Christmas, and the same percentage admitted to cancelling holidays in the past due to late or withheld payments.
Ford stated that it conducted a social experiment with UK homeowners “to tackle the late payment crisis”. The results found that getting customers to pay quicker could be as simple as raising awareness among homeowners. It revealed that 67% of homeowners say they would pay invoices faster if they understood the impact of delayed payments on tradespeople and their families. The experiment found that invoices are paid an average of one day sooner when homeowners are reminded of the financial strain late payments create for tradespeople.
Mandy Dean, director of Commercial Vehicles at Ford UK and Ireland, said: “As Britain’s leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles we’ve been keeping tradespeople moving for 58 years – they’re the real backbone of Britain, keeping our lights on and our daily lives moving. We believe it’s our responsibility to support them to help their businesses thrive. We know that homeowners and tradespeople are all feeling the pressure so we want bring both parties closer together – from helping tradespeople create more effective invoices, to helping homeowners understand the potential impact of an unpaid invoice, it’s not just a number, it’s a meal on a table or a present under the Christmas tree.”
Emma Grant, head of trade experience at Checkatrade, added: “At Checkatrade, and with our network of 50,000 vetted trade businesses, we know all too well the strain that late payments can put on tradespeople. These small businesses are the backbone of our economy, yet without consistent cash flow they cannot function nor cover essential running costs like materials and wages, and the subsequent need to chase overdue payments strains their customer relationships, damaging their reputation and future job opportunities. While delays may be justifiable in certain cases, they all too often create unnecessary pressure and we’d urge homeowners to prioritise payments to these integral small businesses over the festive season.”
Arlo Masters, lighting technician from North London, said: “I’m currently waiting on payments of around £3,500 from various customers – some of it dating back six months. It leaves me in a difficult position – not just for my own business and my own finances but I also have to pay other tradespeople I have brought into a job. I am forced to take on more work just to cover my back, and then struggle to find time to chase up payments. It’s an issue that is unfortunately becoming more and more common across the UK, especially when working with wealthier customers where a few hundred quid doesn’t seem like much to them, but to us sole traders it can make a huge difference.”