Signatories to the code must agree to pay 95% of all invoices within 60 days and work towards adopting 30 days as standard, to avoid smaller businesses in the supply chain suffering financially.

Highway maintenance contractor FM Conway was suspended from the code in February for failing to pay suppliers on time. The company has now reported 93% of its invoices were paid within 60 days from March 2020 – May 2020 and 95% for the month of June 2020. It has also implemented a new internal process with the engagement of its suppliers to reduce the number of queries.

Changes have been made to reduce credit terms for a number of suppliers as appropriate, and internal KPI’s have been established to specifically target the reduction of ‘holds’ on invoices to ensure they are approved for payment in a timely manner.

Kier Integrated Services Ltd, which was one of five Kier companies suspended in November, reported 90% of its invoices were paid within 60 days over two consecutive months following improvements to procurement processes. The company has worked proactively with its supply chain, prioritising payment profiles while maximising internal end-to-end process improvements to speed up payments over the year.

Mark Goldsworthy, chief executive at FM Conway Ltd, said: “FM Conway Ltd is committed to the fair treatment of its suppliers and continues to strive for improved payment performance across its supplier base. By working collaboratively with its supply chain, FM Conway Ltd is pleased with the progress achieved despite processing challenges caused by COVID-19 restrictions.”

Andrew Davies, chief executive at Kier Integrated Services Ltd, said: “Over the last year, we have taken decisive action to improve our payment practices by working with BEIS and the Office of the Small Business Commissioner and we are pleased that these steps have resulted in Kier Integrated Services Ltd being reinstated to the Prompt Payment Code.

“We remain committed to working collaboratively and proactively with our supply chain partners, and during these challenging times we have ensured our payment practices have remained consistent and unaffected.”