‘Pingdemic’ cancellations have already cost kitchen, bedroom and bathroom installers millions of pounds and sown the seeds for months of disruption for consumers and industry, according to the British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI).
A survey of over 5,000 kitchen, bedroom and bathroom (KBB) installers found that 47% have had to cancel jobs due to customers or installers being ‘pinged’ by NHS Covid app.
Based on the average cost of jobs this means that millions of pounds had already been lost to the incomes of installers, mostly self-employed sole traders and SME workers.
BiKBBI said government must exempt skilled tradespeople operating safe working procedures in people’s homes from having to isolate automatically if they or their customers are ‘pinged’ by the Covid 19 app, according to the British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI). The call was in response to the results of a survey of the Institute’s members, which found that almost half of all kitchen, bedroom and bathroom (KBB) installers have had to cancel jobs because of ‘pinging’.
Damian Walters, BIKBBI CEO, said: “Installers are taking a hit on their incomes that’s as unnecessary as it is unfair. They’ve spent the last year working to incredibly safe procedures, meaning that they could continue serving customers throughout the pandemic. For at least half of them to now have to stop working – and earning – as the rest of the country recovers just seems utterly ridiculous.”
Meanwhile, The Builders Merchants Federation has also flagged up Covid-19 app impacts on building materials’ supply chain.
Self-isolation alerts were having a significant impact on the supply of building materials, the federation said.
John Newcomb, CEO of the BMF, said: “We are currently facing the biggest demand for building products we have seen in more than 30 years. We are already struggling with the labour we have to meet that requirement.
“Now, with many staff going into isolation after being pinged by the NHS Covid app, builders’ merchants, and building materials suppliers and manufacturers, are facing a huge challenge. The past two to four weeks have been described as the most challenging of the entire pandemic by some members.
“Our concern is that lead times will be pushed even further back and we could see disruption, now and later down the line. The supply chain is extremely stretched on all fronts.
“We are feeding all our data back to the government as they establish a complete picture of the situation. Hopefully a solution can be achieved.”
Frank Elkins, group chief operating officer for Travis Perkins, added: “We are disappointed that our colleagues have not been included on the list of workers that can be made exempt from full self-isolation if they are alerted by NHS test and trace.
“Having worked hard to put in place measures that safeguard our staff while they have played such a vital role in helping to maintain essential services that are so crucial to keeping us all dry, warm, safe and secure, we urge the government to look again at the broader construction supply chain and its importance to the country at large.”