Manage your small business with support from the FMB

Having a written contract in place before you start any job is a must - they’re your legal backup if any disputes arise. Equally, a professional building contract offers your client peace of mind that you will deliver on your promise. FMB members can download free contract templates for most types of building work for all nations of the UK. They’ve been tried and tested by hundreds of builders and can save you money as there’s no need to pay a lawyer to draw them up for you or to pay for contract templates from suppliers like RIBA, JCT and NEC.

From contracts of employment to grievance procedure templates, we’ve got our members covered with a suite of 800+ free downloadable business documents and letters. You’ll also find a range of templates for working on site, including first aid and RIDDOR documents, manual handling and lifting policies, as well as working at height policies. All documents are fully editable – so you can make any amendments you need and add your company branding.

Our insurance arm, FMB Insurance, offer an impressive range of insurance and warranty policies at competitive prices. As a wholly owned subsidiary of the FMB, their understanding of the construction industry runs deep. They can ensure you have the cover you need if things go wrong, and offer expert customer service. Their insurance products cover all forms of business, property and commercial vehicle with examples including:

• Public and Employers’ Liability Insurance
• Contractors’ All Risk Insurance
• New Homes Structural Defects Warranty
• Single Van and Fleet Insurance
• Professional Indemnity
• Tools Cover

Find out more about FMB Insurance and get a free, no obligation quote.

Being able to produce professional health and safety documentation demonstrates your professionalism and commitment to health and safety (H&S).

As an easy and cost-effective way to help keep your business compliant and up to date with health and safety regulation, we partner with the Building Safety Group to bring FMB members based in England and Wales their Safety Plus package at a reduced cost.

Safety Plus gives our members access to industry-recognised  H&S software, which is simple and intuitive to use and can save you money when compared to other software packages in the market.

You’ll have over 115 H&S documents at your fingertips, written and reviewed by construction safety experts specifically for builders. Access templates for risk assessments, COSHH and method statements all from one screen and via the handy mobile app. If you sign up to the Safety Plus package, you’ll also benefit from a dedicated helpline.

As an FMB member, you can access free business advisory helplines to help you manage your business without having to outsource or pay for individual consultants. Our helplines include:

• Financial support – Offering advice on matters from cash flow to liquidation.
• Health and safety – Giving you access to free health and safety checks and downloadable documents, as well as 1-2-1 advice from health and safety specialists on site safety and accident management.
• Human resources – Save money on external HR support with our free advice line offering you guidance on a wide range of HR matters such as contracts of employment, changes to working practices, disciplinary issues, redundancy, and more.  
• Legal and debt recovery – Get advice on matters including contract and Director’s disputes, commercial problems, employment law, and support with recovering money owed.
• Tax and VAT – To help you work out your tax requirements including corporation tax, capital gains tax liabilities, VAT registration and reverse charge VAT, amongst other issues.
• Insurance – For a direct discussion with FMB insurance about your insurance needs.

We partner with over 30 organisations to get our members a great deal on a range of products and services, including:

• Building materials, including 10% off almost everything at TradePoint
• Training and upskilling
• Equipment hire
• Marketing and digital services
• Legal services
• Finance and tax services
• Discounted fuel with bp with the SME bp Fuel & Charge card with no fee

As an FMB member, you have access to our free online training platform, meaning you can upskill your workforce at no additional cost to your membership fee. It’s also a great opportunity to hone your business management skills with online learning modules in a range of topics from managing people to data protection.

Our e-learning platform is easy to use and allows you to set up profiles for yourself as well as each of your employees – so you can track progress and work towards completion certificates for each training module.

Examples of popular courses include:

• Asbestos awareness
• Health and safety awareness
• Working at height
• Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)
• Waste management

It’s a practical and cost-effective way to brush up on essential skills and help you win business – for example, if you need to bring your team up to speed on health and safety to meet the needs of a tender application.

As the only government-endorsed standards scheme for trades that operate in the home, membership of TrustMark can offer your business another endorsement to showcase to your customers and build your brand as trusted construction professionals. Businesses can’t apply directly to TrustMark for membership – the only way to join is through a scheme provider and the FMB is the largest one for trades. For a low monthly fee, you can add TrustMark registration to your FMB membership and benefit from:

• The TrustMark logo – use it as a message of trust for your clients.
• Lead generation – build your profile and receive enquiries through the TrustMark Business Portal.
• Become Trading Standards approved - an additional option to your TrustMark registration, to give your clients even greater confidence.

We run a rolling programme of webinars that are free for members to attend and which offer advice from industry experts on a range of topics including health and safety, marketing your business and regulatory change. You can raise questions within the webinar to get personalised advice, and if you miss it, there’s always a recording so you can catch up at a time that suits you.

We run in-person events for our members, both at a regional and national level. The majority of these are free to attend and getting involved is easy – you can view upcoming events and book your place on our events web page. Our events focus on the campaigns that matter to the construction industry – like SME home building, retrofit, skills and cutting the VAT. They’re a great way to make new contacts, learn something new and search out new opportunities.

Our social media channels also give our members a great platform to raise their profile. Members can join the private FMB Members Networking group on Facebook to connect with other FMB members online, showcase your latest work, post a job and find work. Or just to be part of the extended FMB family.