Almost 90 per cent of specialist sub-contractors have been subjected to unfair treatment or sharp practice over the last year, according to a survey by specialists' champion Streetwise Subbie.
The majority of those surveyed said they were being underpaid, their work was undervalued and they were almost never paid on time.

The StreetwiseSubbie State of the Industry Survey also revealed that most specialist sub-contractors are having to accept far less money than they are entitled to and have no alternative but to accept making a loss just to get paid at all.

Some have been out of pocket by anything up to £100,000 over the last 12 months and the expectation is that this will remain the situation or it may get even worse over the comingyear.

The UK Government tried to tackle the endemic payment problems in December 2010 by introducing new rules requiring the main contractors working on public sector contracts to pay their sub-contractors within 30 days. But only 10 per cent of subbies working on these contracts say they are actually seeing this put into action, and most are still waiting well in excess of 60 days for payment.

Barry Ashmore, founder of StreetwiseSubbie.com, said: 'It's time for you to stand up and fight for what you are entitled to, and show the main contractors that you will not put up with this ridiculous treatment any longer...

'I have seen ups and downs within the industry but this is the worst state it has ever been in. Specialist contractors need to stand up and be counted. They are the backbone of the industry and they are the only ones who can sort it out.'