A year of change
With the country under a cloud of uncertainty at the hands of the government, Jan-Hein Hemke, MD of Facilicom UK, discusses the challenges the contract cleaning sector faces and the impact these could have in the second half of the year.
2019 was set to be one of the most politically historic years for decades, perhaps even of the century. By this point, we were expecting at least some clarity on what Brexit might look like and what impact it would have on employment and the economy.
For years now, we’ve been discussing our Brexit-related concerns, from issues around the movement of goods to workforce shortages. But as the summer months pass us by, in the absence of clarity from the government, we’re none the wiser.
Impact on employment
The cleaning industry employs more than 500,000 people in the UK alone and many of these are EU nationals. In fact, a recent ONS study showed that around 25% of cleaning employees in the UK don’t have British nationality. Their hard work and commitment is extremely important for the resilience of the industry.
However, there are major concerns that Brexit could have an impact on the labour market, particularly if restrictions are imposed on migrant workers entering the UK. Companies that rely on non-British nationals could find themselves with a smaller workforce, and may also struggle to secure new employees.
The UK cleaning industry also has strong links to partners in Europe. Facilicom Group is based in the Netherlands, and employs about 31,000 people of over 90 nationalities, across the UK, Netherlands and Belgium. Therefore, we know the importance of collaboration and cooperation with our European colleagues first-hand.
Only time will tell whether the government will continue with EU free movement as part of a new trade deal. If it manages to retain the current agreement, the damage may not be as significant as we fear.
Movement of goods
Another impact of Brexit could be restrictions on the movement of goods. Theresa May stated that she was keen to maintain trade between the UK and EU, but with a new Prime Minister on the cards, we can’t rule out a no deal Brexit. If we leave without a deal, the supply chain could be disrupted, and costs on imported raw materials and goods could soar.
Pay a fair wage
If the price of goods and labour continue to increase, this puts pressure on profit margins. We support fair pay and there is evidence that increased wages help businesses grow. However, with staff costs accounting for a significant proportion of a cleaning company’s operational outgoings, rises in the National Minimum Wage – although a step in
36 | CONTRACT CLEANING
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the right direction – might hit the bottom line hard when combined with increased operational costs.
Turning challenges into opportunity
Amidst all the uncertainty and concerns, there are opportunities. We may not be able to predict exactly what a post-Brexit society might look like, but we can take comfort from our industry bodies, including the British Cleaning Council, which is confident that it will maintain strong relationships with Europe and retain its membership with the European Federation of Cleaning Industries.
Organisations can also join the Living Wage movement and commit to paying a fair wage to employees. As one of the first national contract cleaning providers to sign up to the Living Wage Service Provider Recognition Scheme, we have seen first-hand the impact that this can have on an employee’s wellbeing and commitment. In turn, this increases their loyalty to your business, supporting the retention of staff and improving service levels, helping business growth.
Finally, we can ensure that we equip our employees with the skills to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing market. If we can make our cleaning teams indispensable, by training them to deliver added-value services, we can continue to exceed client expectations and safeguard contracts in what may be a turbulent few years.
www.facilicom.co.uk
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