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Revised BIFA advice on taking a lien published The BIFA Standard Trading Conditions (STC) contain a useful tool in clause 8, known as the lien clause. Liens are common in many aspects of business when goods are not released until payment has been made, and the term “possession is nine tenths of the law” is often used when the topic is discussed. However, there can be complications regarding ownership and following the correct procedures is essential if you find the matter before a court. If you are thinking of using the lien clause in the BIFA STC, basic advice might be to consult a solicitor. BIFA Members quite often have the ability to use a lien to focus their customers’ attention on paying their invoice(s) and quite often the threat is enough to secure payment. There are, however, often situations where the advice of a solicitor is essential such as, if the goods are branded, or if the customer has failed and an administrator has been appointed. We have reviewed our published information and consolidated it into a single document, ‘Exercising a lien using the BIFA Standard Trading Conditions’. This guide can be found on the
National Apprenticeship Week 2022: Support our jobs fair
BIFA launched the School Engagement Programme in September, promoting the freight forwarding and logistics industry within schools and colleges in England. With the skills shortage mentioned regularly by our Members, our aim is to educate young people and inspire them to start their career as an apprentice within the sector. We are partnering with one school in each of our main regions – Heathrow, Essex & London East, Anglia, Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool and Solent. We will then add other regions. BIFA and some of our Members have already attended a handful of career-based events at our partner schools and students are showing a keen interest. National Apprenticeship Week is taking place from 7-11 February 2022 and we are excited to join forces with the Logic Studio School, near Heathrow, where we will hold a Logistics Careers Fair for Years 10-13 on Wednesday 9 February. It is our intention to do something similar in other regions.
How Can You Help? We need you to attend this event, and other career- based events, held in our partner schools. We have been invited to attend careers fairs, speed networking, lunch and learn, and mock interviews. These are a great way to make students aware of our industry and recruit strong candidates as an apprentice for your company. If you can support our Student Engagement Programme, please contact Nezda Leigh on n.leigh@bifa.org to hear about events in your region.
What are your out-of-hours availability?
HMRC is urging forwarders to plan out-of-hours coverage. As traders prepare for the introduction of full Customs controls on 1 January 2022, it is important that you take time to think about the out-of-hours services that you provide to customers. Trade in goods is a 24/7 operation and traders may require your support when they move goods through the UK Border outside your standard business operating hours. This could be for a number of reasons, for example if their goods require additional checks or some required information is missing. If this is the case, HMRC or UK border officials may need to contact you to supply additional information on behalf of your customers; if we are unable to do so, this can cause significant delays to the goods’ onward journey and generate extra costs. Now is the time to consider the
BIFA website under the tab Information > Good Practice Toolbox – BIFA.
Of necessity, the document has been written in formal legal terms and should be read carefully. There are many issues to consider so we have presented the information in a Do and Don’t format. We have incorporated into the document guidance on how to draft a lien letter. A key recommendation is to use a solicitor who is well versed in the intricacies of freight forwarding.
procedures that you have in place, to support your customers when they need to move goods through the UK border outside your usual business hours. To help traders find the appropriate intermediary for their needs, you should make it clear what your operating hours are to both your current and potential customers. When you provide guidance about the out-of-hours service that
you can provide to customers, you will ensure that unnecessary delays are avoided when your customers move their goods. There is also lots of useful information on www.gov.uk that will
help your customers as they prepare for the changes from 1 January 2022. Find out more at www.gov.uk/guidance/brexit- guidance-for-business
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December 2021
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