The days are getting shorter and the chill is starting to set in – sure signs that we are entering the heating season. It’s always a challenge for engineers – predominantly due to the sheer volume of work – but in recent years many of you will feel as though you owe a greater duty of care to your customers, thanks in part due to increasing energy bills.

The pull of this duty towards your customers will very likely tug even harder this heating season, given the environment the UK currently faces.

Firstly, on 1 October, the energy price cap rises again, from £1,568 to £1,717, putting greater strain on your customers’ wallets, many of whom are still in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis.

In addition, the government has announced that the Winter Fuel Payment for pensioners is no longer universal. Instead, it will go only to pensioners who get pension credit or other means-tested benefits. According to the BBC, about 10 million of the current 11.5 million people receiving the Winter Fuel Payment are expected to stop receiving them when the means test is introduced.

The move means that there will likely be many more vulnerable individuals out there this year that will need to place their faith (and potentially even their lives) in their heating engineer’s hands.

Engineers are uniquely placed as they are a conduit between industry and the general public. Your expertise and advice is the biggest influencing factor in your customer’s purchasing decisions, so it’s important to remember the vital role you play in making sure the right solution is in place for every person that hires you.

Many of you will be no strangers to your customers putting their lives in your hands from a safety perspective, but it is unfair that an even greater burden of responsibility for your customers’ well-being is now being placed on you all. It’s even more of a bitter pill to swallow, I imagine, as this situation we find ourselves is, at least in part, due to the failures of successive governments, rather than the industry as a whole.

Heating engineers have families of their own to provide for, so there shouldn’t be an expectation to give charity, but do remember to show understanding and kindness where you can during what will be a tough winter ahead for many.