ABSTRACT
One of the biggest financial risks to a Specialist Subcontractor is the possibility of damages from the Client and/or Contractor if a person overruns his/her original completion date. In most cases, the end Client will be automatically entitled to a fixed weekly rate of liquidated damages from the Contractor, who will then seek to pass these down to all the other Specialist Subcontractors, along with the Contractor's own prolongation costs. In Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) contracts, what one must do is to give the Contractor written notice of individual delays immediately they become apparent, detailing the cause and the effect upon his/her programme. The matters giving rise to entitlement to extension of time are usually listed in the subcontract documents, and in JCT contracts are termed 'relevant events'. In certain cases, prolongation caused by such an event is reimbursable as a 'relevant matter'. In other cases, the event is 'neutral' and therefore there may be time but not money.
