Subcontractors stung by constant late payments
19th September 2026
UK: Nearly 80% of subcontractors in the UK construction industry are paid late, and almost 75% are regularly in disputes with contractors.
These are some the findings in a new report published by payment specialist Payapps.
The Construction applications for payment: Pain point or competitive advantage? report surveyed 127 industry professionals across UK subcontractor firms to identify industry trends and attitudes towards submitting applications for payment and contractors’ payment processes. Worryingly, it revealed that 79% are almost always paid late. In addition, 73% are said to be regularly in disputes with contractors.
Payapps says that the research has uncovered a growing, negative trend that recurring disputes erode subcontractors’ trust in being paid on time, with 29% admitting to having avoided doing business with a contractor whose application for payment process proved “too difficult” in the past.
In the case of 84% of subcontractors, a contractor’s reputation influences their decision to bid/price future work for them and 68% have increased their rates or added risk margin due to slow or unreliable payments.
Payapps also found that, within the calendar month, inconsistent instructions and confusion around payment application formats contribute to a significant loss of time for subcontractors’ already-stretched finance teams.
More than half (55%) report spending over 20 hours a month on general admin. In particular, applications for payment are said to be a thorn in the side of many subcontractors, with 24% of those polled (24%) claiming to submit between 11 and 30 applications a month.
“These results are troubling, especially during such a tough time for the sector; whilst margins are tighter than ever, there should be no reason to normalise delayed payments,” commented on the report, Anthony Puma, product specialist sales executive at Payapps.
“The data proves that both parties are losing time and money to outdated, inconsistent processes and much of that is down to subcontractors having to relearn a different process for every contractor they work with.
“It’s an unfair situation and needs to be tackled sooner than later, especially when the sector eventually picks up pace and project delivery spikes,” he added.
