The Subcontractors Blueprint

In episode 136 of The Subcontractors Blueprint, Jacob Austin of QS.Zone unpacks the UK government’s landmark decision to ban retention payments in construction contracts. He explains the background, the new payment reforms, and what these changes mean for subcontractors’ cash flow and contract negotiations. Jacob highlights potential risks, such as main contractors restructuring payment schedules or increasing quality disputes, and offers practical advice on record-keeping, contract review, and preparing for increased use of retention bonds. The episode equips construction business owners with strategies to adapt and thrive in this evolving regulatory landscape.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"A ban on retentions doesn't mean main contractors lose their leverage. It means they look for new ways to get it."

"The UK government has announced it will ban retention payments in construction contracts, which is absolutely massive."

"The system has been systematically abused for decades because the reality is that money your money arguably doesn't sit in a ring fenced account waiting for you."

"Every commercial contract will be required to include a statutory interest set at 8% above the Bank of England base rate."

"The ban on the withholding of retention payments under the terms of construction contracts is a landmark moment."

"Legislation changes the rules, but it doesn't change the culture."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 135 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin , shares practical negotiation strategies tailored for construction subcontractors. He emphasises the importance of thorough preparation, understanding both your own and the main contractor’s priorities, and negotiating beyond just price—considering terms like retention, program, and contract amendments. Haile highlights the value of face-to-face discussions, building trust, and ensuring you’re dealing with decision-makers. By adopting a collaborative and well-prepared approach, subcontractors can protect their margins, secure cash flow, and avoid costly contractual pitfalls in every negotiation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"Negotiation is not what happens when the main contractor chips your price at the end of the tender period—that’s capitulation with a conversation attached to it."

"Most negotiators say they want collaboration, but they behave defensively."

"Trust isn’t a soft and fluffy concept; high-trust negotiations produce significantly more value for both parties."

Preparation is the absolute biggest issue—five minutes and a quick skim isn’t enough."

"Negotiation isn’t just about price—expand the variables and you expand your options."

"Face to face is the most effective; what email correspondence drags out for weeks, a meeting can resolve in an hour."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In this special episode, number 134 of The Subcontractors Blueprint, recorded as part of Podcasthon — a global initiative uniting over 1,500 podcasters across 40 countries in a simultaneous wave of charity awareness content — Jacob dedicates the mic entirely to Band of Builders. Founded when tradesman Addam Smith put out a simple social media call to help his terminally ill friend Keith, what began as one act of solidarity has grown into a national charity. With project delivery now exceeding two million pounds in value, and upcoming builds for people like Jay — a builder diagnosed with spinal cancer mid-renovation — the charity proves that the construction industry looks after its own.

In this episode, Jacob tells the Band of Builders story, shines a light on their current and upcoming projects, and lays out exactly how tradespeople and supporters can get involved — whether that's picking up tools on a volunteer project, donating, or simply spreading the word. Because sometimes the most important thing we can build isn't a structure — it's a community.

IMPORTANT LINKS:

Band of Builders Website: www.bandofbuilders.org

To get involved in upcoming projects: www.bandofbuilders.org/upcoming-projects 

To volunteer your time: www.bandofbuilders.org/volunteering 

To donate: www.bandofbuilders.org/donate 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"What happened next was extraordinary. Construction workers came from all over the UK. They didn't know Keith. Some of them had never even met Addam. But they showed up with tools, materials, no invoice to follow."

"That response, that instinct to show up for one of your own, became the foundation of Band of Builders."

"It's not just bricks and mortar to the people that live there. It's giving people back their dignity, independence, their quality of life."

"That's the kind of person this industry produces and the kind that deserves your support."

"It's proof that this industry has a soul, that it cares, that beneath the contracts and the cash flow and the program, there are good people who genuinely care about each other."

"The motto of Band of Builders is Stronger Together, and I think that says everything."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 133 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his mini-series on JCT subcontracts. He details the ten most dangerous amendments main contractors often add to JCT subcontracts, explaining their risks and how subcontractors can protect themselves. Jacob stresses the importance of reviewing and negotiating contract terms before starting work to avoid severe financial pitfalls. The episode aims to educate subcontractors on managing contractual risks, ensuring profitability, and safeguarding their businesses by understanding and challenging unfavourable amendments. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"What's left looks like JCT on the cover, and it reads like something completely different in the clauses that matter."

"If you start on site before you've read and understand every amendment to that subcontract, you may be deemed to have accepted those terms by your conduct."

Some lists of amendments are as long as the subcontract started itself and effectively completely rewrite it in a no clause left untouched fashion."

"If your subcontract starts tying your payment in any way to an upstream event, then get it reviewed."

"Every invoice you raise becomes exposed to deductions that have no defined ceiling."

"Your delay, real or alleged, becomes exposure to a liability calculated by reference to a contract that you've probably never seen against a completion date you've got no hand in setting."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 132 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his JCT Subcontract mini-series breaking down 10 Do’s and Don’ts for mastering the final account process under the JCT 2024 standard subcontract. He outlines ten common mistakes and ten best practices for subcontractors to secure full payment, avoid costly deductions, and strengthen their negotiating position. Jacob emphasises proactive management of variations, documentation, and defect resolution, along with building strong relationships with contractors.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"If you don't, somebody else is rolling the dice with your margin."

"The commercial truth behind this is that a small design output can control the performance of an expensive system."

"If you submit information late, you've loaded their gun with ammo."

"Your document is a tangible output and it looks like design. It quacks like design. So it's a design."

"Treat it like dynamite, because if your PI cover is written on a reasonable skill and care basis, then a fitness for purpose promise can put you outside the policy."

"We're no longer in a place where you can make things up on site, bodge the paperwork later, and get away with it."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 131 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his JCT Subcontract mini-series breaking down subcontractor design risks under the JCT 2024 framework. He highlights how small design details can lead to major liabilities, the importance of clear design submissions, and why approvals don’t shift responsibility. Jacob covers managing design scope, understanding collateral warranties and copyright, and the critical role of accurate as-built drawings. He emphasises thorough record-keeping as essential protection against disputes, offering practical strategies for subcontractors to safeguard profitability, improve cash flow, and grow their businesses while avoiding costly design pitfalls.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"If you don't, somebody else is rolling the dice with your margin."

"The commercial truth behind this is that a small design output can control the performance of an expensive system."

"If you submit information late, you've loaded their gun with ammo."

"Your document is a tangible output and it looks like design. It quacks like design. So it's a design."

"Treat it like dynamite, because if your PI cover is written on a reasonable skill and care basis, then a fitness for purpose promise can put you outside the policy."

"We're no longer in a place where you can make things up on site, bodge the paperwork later, and get away with it."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 130 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his JCT Subcontract mini-series focusing on managing change processes and variations. He explains how to handle instructions, value changes correctly, and protect margins through clear documentation and communication. Jacob highlights the importance of written confirmations, proper use of Schedule Two quotations, and including preliminaries in variation pricing. He also shares practical tips, such as maintaining a variation register, to help subcontractors avoid common pitfalls, ensure fair payment, and maintain control over project changes. This episode offers actionable advice for construction business owners.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"On most live jobs, you won't lose margin because of big dramatic disasters. You'll lose it in small changes that happen every week."

"The change process is, of course, admin. But it's not just admin. It's where your leverage lies."

"This is the simplest way to protect yourself from non-payment for things you've been told to do, just not in writing."

"A mistake a lot of subcontractors make is trying to treat all changes as if the schedule two applies, because acting like a price agreement is a prerequisite for action is going to get you in trouble."

"If the change increases the number of visits, the setup, the supervision or time on site, then your valuation of the change needs to reflect that reality."

"The detail you put into this quote protects you, and it helps you to justify the price that you're charging."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 129 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his JCT Subcontract mini-series guiding you through the essentials of loss and expense claims under 2024 JCT subcontracts. He explains when and how subcontractors can recover costs from delays and disruptions, outlines a practical five-step claims process, and highlights common pitfalls to avoid. Jacob emphasises the importance of early notice, thorough documentation, and structured claims to protect margins and cash flow. The episode includes a real-world case study and actionable advice, empowering subcontractors to manage contracts more effectively and safeguard their profitability.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"If you don't claim loss and expense properly, then you're funding the job for free."

"The difference between being right and being paid is almost certainly evidence and structure to what you're doing."

"A proper loss and expense claim needs to be built out like a case showing cause, effect, and the resultant cost."

"Loss and expense needs to be claimed on the basis of actual costs incurred—that means showing the contractor invoices, timesheets, payroll records if necessary."

"Acceleration costs money… If the contractor isn’t willing to do that, then that tells you they want the benefit of the acceleration without putting their hand in their pocket."

"The worst thing you can do with loss and expense is to leave it all to the end and submit it as a parting shot just before you submit your final account."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 128 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his JCT Subcontract mini-series offering practical guidance on managing JCT subcontracts, focusing on programs and extensions of time (EOT). He explains how EOT provisions protect subcontractors from unfair delay risks, highlights the importance of timely notices and thorough documentation, and distinguishes between time extensions and loss and expense claims. Jacob shares actionable tips for handling delays, acceleration, and disruption costs, empowering subcontractors to safeguard their profit margins and ensure fair compensation under JCT terms. The episode aims to help subcontractors protect their commercial interests and avoid common contractual pitfalls.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"Contracts don't run on what people can see. They run on black and white—what's been notified, evidenced and complied with."

"You can be busy on site, work till you're blue in the face and still lose the job commercially."

"The extension of time protects the program and your margin, and prevents main contractors from pushing delay risk down to you quietly when you don't expect it."

"If your paperwork doesn't answer those two questions and do it clearly, then the contractor can keep arguing about entitlement forever and delay the only thing that you really want, which is commercial closure."

"Acceleration costs money… If the contractor isn’t willing to do that, then that tells you they want the benefit of the acceleration without putting their hand in their pocket."

"These kind of documents—they’re not just paperwork. These are records. These are leverage."

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links

In episode 127 of The Subcontractors Blueprint podcast, host Jacob Austin continues his JCT Subcontract mini-series guiding UK construction business owners through the updated JCT 2024 subcontract payment processes. He explains key topics including payment timelines, notices, pay less traps, and compliant application submissions. Kyle shares practical strategies to protect cash flow, avoid common payment pitfalls, and leverage contract law. Emphasising organisation and proactive management, he highlights how following proper procedures ensures timely payments and reduces disputes, empowering subcontractors to strengthen their financial stability and grow their businesses under the new JCT framework.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

"Most failed subcontractors don't go under because they can't do the work. They do it because they fund the job for too long."

"In UK construction, getting paid isn't about who's right, it's about who's followed the process and who's got the leverage."

"If you submit late, the whole process is knocked back by however many days you were late."

"Many SMEs understandably focus on price, scope and program and gloss over the legal terms, but design liability is one area where a few little sentences can completely change the game."

"Make the assessment as easy as possible for them to certify; you don't want to hear, 'We can't assess this,' or, 'We need more information.'"

"Retention is a contractual mechanism to secure performance against defects—it's not a general cash buffer.”

HOST BIO: Meet Jacob Austin, a Chartered Quantity Surveyor with a rich background at construction industry giants Balfour Beatty, Kier, and Vistry Group. With extensive involvement in education, health, and residential projects spanning various scales, from £1000s to over £100M in concurrent developments, Jacob brings a unique perspective. Having collaborated with numerous small businesses, he's now committed to sharing his expertise to drive their success. Join Jacob on his podcast, where he blends his profound insights and personable approach to offer guidance, industry secrets, and inspirational stories.

LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-austin/

Instagram - www.instagram.com/qs.zone/

www.qs.zone/all-links