Prompt Payment Code

The Prompt Payment Code is a UK voluntary code of conduct under which signatory companies commit to fair and timely payment of suppliers. It is significant to this vault as a case study in the weakness of voluntary, non-statutory measures: Carillion was a fully signed-up signatory of the Code yet routinely made subcontractors wait 120 days or more for payment before its 2018 collapse. The episode is a central argument for binding statutory rules over voluntary codes, and informed the shift toward the UK Late Payment Reform 2026.

Connections

• Carillion — signatory that breached the Code’s spirit, source: 2018
• UK Late Payment Reform 2026 — statutory successor to voluntary measures, source: 2026
• Global Subcontractor Payment Delays — problem the Code failed to fix, source: 2018