NEC Facilities Management Contracts Support Social Value, Living Wage, International Use And More
Social Value
Produced with assistance from the Social Value Portal (SVP), this practice note highlights the importance of social value. In this context, social value refers to the wider financial and non-financial value created by an organisation through its day-to-day activities in terms of the wellbeing of individuals and communities, social capital created, and the environment. The practice note sets out the principles and purpose of social value, and then explains how the requirements would be incorporated into the Scope and Performance Table in the FMC.
Living Wage
Organisations in the FM sector are increasingly focused on the differences they can make in areas such as wellbeing, comfort, flexibility and accessibility, for the people who work, live and stay in buildings of all types. Improving pay not only supports individuals and their families, but can also benefit an organisation’s bottom line and local communities.
This practice note is written to highlight the importance of paying the Living Wage throughout the supply chain in facilities management contracts. It is particularly appropriate for contracts which include the provision of ‘soft services’ such as cleaning and security. Written with support from the Living Wage Foundation, the guidance then explains how this would be implemented in the FMC.
International Use
The FM sector is large and varied, and the contracts adopted therefore range from small, workstream specific contracts for single site, individual clients (such as a cleaning contract) to total FM, international ones. The FMC, like all NEC contracts, is written to be independent of any specific legal system, and therefore can be considered for use not only in the UK but in any country, and across national boundaries.
Published in July, this latest guidance gives an outline of how the FMC can be used internationally, demonstrating that the benefits of a standard contract form can be seen in even the most complex of cross border scenarios. It highlights the issues that need to be addressed for international contracts, and how the FMC and its Scope would be constructed to accommodate these issues.
Future Guidance
NEC and IWFM are committed to supporting the use of the FMC, not just through promoting the benefits of using a standard form of contract designed for the FM sector, but by producing practical tools and guides for implementing the contract. In addition to those already published, further practice notes are to be released on getting the most out of the asset register, how to accurately measure performance, and utilising Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment).
All this guidance, and more, can be found at https://www.neccontract.com/resources/
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