Increased Risks of Labor Exploitation in the UK following Brexit and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of the Agri-food and Construction Sectors

Walsh, David; Pajón, Laura; Lawson, Karen; Hafeez, Khalid; Heath, Mark; Court, Neil

doi:10.1080/23322705.2022.2079063

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…On supplier relations, the CIP (2022) postulates that supply chain delays, longer delivery times and warehousing times are increasing organisations’ costs, which might lead to financial stress. After Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic, there is an increased risk of labour exploitation in the UK (Walsh et al , 2022). The CIP (2022) record surges in the price of timber, bricks and steel, which they believe are attributable to the combined impact of Brexit and the pandemic, causing supplies to be held up on their way to the UK.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Their findings indicate that most companies will relocate production facilities from the UK because of market-seeking and efficiency-seeking advantages. The construction industry is dependent on low-skilled migrant labour, Walsh et al (2022) suggest there is a risk of labour exploitation due to the combined effects of Covid 19 and Brexit. They concluded that there would be an increase in labour exploitation and neglect of due diligence, especially further down the supply chain.…”

Section: Introduction 11 Background To the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The disruptive factors and longevity effects of Covid-19 and Brexit on the SMEs construction supply chain in the UK

Oyegoke

Fisher

Ajayi

et al. 2023

JFMPC

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Purpose Supply chain disruptions have a significant impact on overall project delivery. This study aims to identify the supply chain disruptive factors and develop a framework to mitigate the disruptive effects on the supply chain. Covid-19 and Brexit disruption and their longevity effects in the short, medium and long term on the supply chain are relied upon to develop the framework. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a mixed-method approach with a sequential explanatory design. The main disruptive factors were identified through a literature review, and key factors were selected through a focus group exercise. A questionnaire survey was carried out to sample opinions from the practitioners; 41 questionnaires were received and analysed using the relative importance index (RII) method for ranking the factors and percentage frequency distribution to determine the longevity effects. Five follow-up semi-structured interviews were conducted over the telephone and later transcribed. Findings The results of Covid-19 disruption indicate that material cost increase ranked first (RII: 0.863), logistics cost increase and supply chain interaction ranked second and third, respectively. They have long-term, medium-term and short-term longevity effects, respectively. The lowest-rated factors were communication (RII: 0.561), staff shortages (RII: 0.629) and impact on relationships (RII: 0.639). The three most ranked Brexit disruptive factors are supply chain interaction (RII: 0.775), material cost increase (RII: 0.766) and logistic and haulage delay (RII: 0.717). The first two factors have long-term effects, and the logistics and haulage delays have a medium-term impact. The mitigating solutions suggested in the framework are collaborative working, stronger resilience to external forces and better transparency and communication that will lead to good relationships among the supply chain members. Research limitations/implications The scope of the study was limited to the UK construction industry; however, the pandemic effect on supply chain can serve as critical learning curve in other developed and developing countries. Practical implications The study will help the government and construction firms to understand the focal areas of importance in solving the supply chain disruption problems based on the effects of Brexit and Covid-19. The research would be useful in ensuring the proactive involvement of the government and contracting firms in their preparedness for similar events in the future. The results could be interpreted for critical learning in other developed/developing countries. Originality/value Identifying and ranking the supply chain disruptive factors affecting the small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK construction industry has been the focal point of this study. The study also proposes a simple but effective framework comprising the highly ranked factors, their longevity effects and mitigating measures. This will help the SMEs manage future/similar external events affecting the supply chain.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction 11 Background To the Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

The disruptive factors and longevity effects of Covid-19 and Brexit on the SMEs construction supply chain in the UK

Oyegoke

Fisher

Ajayi

et al. 2023

JFMPC

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“…After the pandemic, Yang et al [21] argued that the construction industry faced new challenges, and the purpose of these research studies is to better understand how these new factors are infuencing the long-term viability of project management [21]. Tis study's results and their ramifcations will be applicable only to the UK, but further study will add to our theoretical understanding and inform the practical design of treatments that may be used in infrastructure construction projects in the United Kingdom [12,29].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After COVID-19, there has not been any other research looking at the connection between sustainable project management and competitive advantage using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confrmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modelling (SEM). By taking into account the direct and indirect impacts of the identifed variables on the latent variable, this method enables a more thorough and accurate examination of the factors determining competitive advantage [12,13]. Trough SEM, we want to shed light on the interaction between these aspects and their infuence on competitive advantage, which may lead to more informed strategy formulation for businesses looking to construct long-term project management solutions beyond COVID-19.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Competitive Advantage of Organizations in Establishing Sustainable Project Management Post Covid-19

Bageis,

Waqar,

Hamah Sor

et al. 2023

Journal of Engineering

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Competitive advantage significantly matters for modern construction organizations as it promotes the sustainable development and safety management of projects. UK construction organizations have greatly suffered from a lack of safety and sustainability of project management in infrastructure development projects because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Post-COVID-19 UK infrastructure development projects are uncertain in the context of organizational competitive advantage as they cannot maintain sustainable project management. This study was conducted to identify, rank, and present a framework of factors influencing the competitive advantage of UK organizations. The study design involved identifying factors from the current literature, after which the most relevant factors were filtered with the help of semi-structured interviews with 15 experts. A pilot survey was conducted then, involving 192 respondents, after which a reliability test and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) were conducted on the results. A primary questionnaire survey involving 250 respondents was conducted, after which RII and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted on the final data. A total of five subgroups were found to be significant in the CFA, such as Resources and Policies, Quality and Delays, Motivation and Expectation, Management and Environment, and Government and Business. It is recommended based on findings that the construction organizations of the UK have to consider working on identified factors to maintain a competitive advantage in establishing sustainable project management solutions for post-COVID-19 UK infrastructure development projects.

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“…Despite this, an ever-growing number of UK-based business owners declare bankruptcy annually (BBC News, 2019). In addition, given today's unstable economy, which can be linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, amongst other global issues (Amankwah-Amoah et al, 2020;Dun & Bradstreet, 2019), there is a high chance of a number of UK firms failing (Bruce, Hughes, & Smith, 2022;Kehinde & Kaytaz, 2022;Walsh et al, 2022). In sum, given the rising bankruptcy and failure rates in the UK, alongside the increasing numbers of firm owners, especially within the Greater London region, the setting is very apt.…”

Section: Study Context and Sampling Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phoenix Rising: Rebounding to Venture Again Post Firm-Failure

Rawal¹,

Sarpong

2022

SSRN Journal

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Increased Risks of Labor Exploitation in the UK following Brexit and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Perspectives of the Agri-food and Construction Sectors

Cited by 6 publications

References 28 publications

The disruptive factors and longevity effects of Covid-19 and Brexit on the SMEs construction supply chain in the UK

The disruptive factors and longevity effects of Covid-19 and Brexit on the SMEs construction supply chain in the UK

Evaluation of Factors Affecting the Competitive Advantage of Organizations in Establishing Sustainable Project Management Post Covid-19

Phoenix Rising: Rebounding to Venture Again Post Firm-Failure

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