ABSTRACT

The New Engineering Contract (NEC) contract is different in many material respects from the JCT Suite of Contracts. The contract is administered by a project manager, whose function is to give instructions to the contractor, to assess interim payments and to assess extensions of time and any additional payments that may be due. In all NEC contracts, the contractor is required to provide a detailed programme. The programme must show the planned sequence of work, dates when information is required, the employer’s float, the contractor’s float and ‘time risk allowances’. Time risk allowances and other float shown on the programme before the planned completion date will benefit both employer and contractor. The accepted programme thus forms a crucial part in any assessment of extensions of time. An event which gives rise to an entitlement to time and money for the contractor, that is an event which is at the employer’s risk under the contract, is called a compensation event.