A fair payment charter

Ten commitments that describe how a large company should treat the businesses it buys from. Each one can be checked against the reports companies already file, so a supplier can see who keeps them.

This charter is Fair Payment's own. It is not the charter once published by the NSCC Fair Payment Campaign at this address, and it is not the government-backed Fair Payment Code run by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner, which companies can sign up to separately.

The ten commitments

1. Pay within 30 days. Thirty days from a valid invoice should be the standard, not the best case. The typical large company now averages 31 days and pays 64% of invoices within 30.
2. Pay on the terms you agreed. An invoice paid after its agreed date is late, whatever the average. The typical company still paid 15% of invoices outside agreed terms.
3. Never more than 60 days. No supplier should wait two months. 481 companies average longer than that.
4. Tell suppliers before terms change. Longer terms imposed without notice push the cost onto the smallest firms. Reports say whether terms changed and whether suppliers were told.
5. Do not charge suppliers to stay on your list. Reports say whether a company charged suppliers to remain on its supplier list.
6. Keep disputes separate. Pay the undisputed part of an invoice on time while a query is settled.
7. Release retentions on time, or do not hold them. Retentions should be released when the work and defects period are complete, or replaced with a retention bond.
8. Pass payment down the chain. A main contractor that is paid should pay its own suppliers within the same terms. Pay when paid is not allowed under the Construction Act except on insolvency.
9. Make invoicing easy. Electronic invoicing and clear purchase order rules stop invoices being rejected on technicalities. Reports say whether e-invoicing is offered.
10. Publish honestly and on time. File every report, with figures that add up, by the deadline.

The legal minimum

Whatever the contract says, the law gives every business some protection.

• Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, a business paid late by another business can claim statutory interest of 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, and a fixed sum for the cost of recovering the debt: £40 for debts under £1,000, £70 for debts of £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 for debts of £10,000 or more.
• In construction, Part II of the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 gives a right to interim payments, payment notices, suspension for non-payment and adjudication.
• Large companies must report their payment practices twice a year under the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations 2017. Those reports are the data behind this site.

See how any company measures up: search by name, or start with the slowest payers.

This page is general information, not legal advice.