PINSENT MASONS LLP

In the absence of any dispute notified to the supplier and unless otherwise specified in the contract, the Customer shall pay each invoice within ten Business Days of the second month following the month of receipt by the Customer.

For the purposes of this report, we have assumed 45-day payment terms (which are generally shorter than those agreed) as the basis for reporting the percentage of invoices not paid within the agreed period. This assumption is based on improved supplier terms and payment data which has enabled us to report more accurately.

If a supplier has any disputes or concerns regarding any aspect of our payment process, their first contact would be the contract owner in the business (whose details would be included in any engagement documentation or contract). In the absence of that, suppliers may contact our Accounts Payable department directly through the main switchboard. The aim of any conversation is always to resolve any issue in a timely and collaborative manner, in order to maintain a good working relationship. If those involved are unable to find a solution, then the issue would be escalated within the business operations group to managerial level and above.

Our more substantial contracts often contain a dispute resolution process agreed with the supplier that describes various levels of escalation through to senior management, typically as follows:
• issue referred to the parties’ respective contract managers for resolution within 5 business days;
• if not resolved within 5 business days, issue escalated to Pinsent Masons’ business operations director and supplier’s account manager, and thereafter to one further level of senior management for resolution within a further 10 business days in total.