Blog

The Importance of Following an NEC Contract from the Start

John Elven, Senior Consultant at Arbicon, discusses the importance of acting in accordance with the requirements of NEC Contracts as a means of promoting dispute avoidance. NEC contract disputes often arise where there has been a failure to follow the requirements of the contract. In view of this, it is essential to read and understand your NEC contract, and then do exactly what it says. By doing this, those involved with NEC projects are in a far better position to get things right from the start and to prevent disputes from arising in the first place.

How to Submit a Successful Loss and Expense Claim

The term ‘loss and expense’ in construction is often used to describe any additional costs that a Contractor incurs following breaches of contract by the Employer such as delay and disruption. Read our tips on how to submit a successful loss and expense claim.

Construction Delay Analysis - What You Need to Know

The three fundamental essential elements of any construction contract are PRICE, TIME and SCOPE. Price and Scope are often only perceived as required by contracting parties, without any serious consideration for TIME. Time is money, so on any construction project it is little wonder that often when a project is delayed or delivered late, a construction dispute will arise.

Construction Costs Increase – Can a Fixed Price Contract be Renegotiated?

Construction cost inflation in 2021/2022 is unprecedented, after decades of price stability in the supply of materials, labour and plant, construction costs have skyrocketed together with shortages of all resources.

How do I challenge a Pay Less Notice?

The purpose of a Pay Less Notice is to give the paying party the legal right to pay less than/withhold all or part of an already notified sum, altering the payment due to the payee near to the end of the payment cycle. The Pay Less Notice must specify the ‘notified sum’ for payment, and the basis on which the sum has been calculated, even if that is zero or negative. We have put together steps on how to challenge a Pay Less Notice if you disagree with it.

Payment Protection - Top Tips for Construction Subcontractors

What steps can a subcontractor take to protect themselves against non-payment?

Getting to Know Arbicon’s New Senior Contracts Consultant…

John Elven recently joined Arbicon as Senior Contracts Consultant, bringing with him a wealth of experience in NEC, civil engineering, and construction contracts. Get to know John a little more by reading our Q&As...

When is a Breach of Contract a Repudiatory Breach? Rights and Remedies Explained…

It is well known that construction contracts can bring problems with them if not drafted to contain the correct terms or are ambiguous. Even when a contract is written correctly, things can go wrong, and sometimes get out of control. Determining when a breach of contract has occurred and whether it is a repudiatory breach is fundamental to understanding your rights and resolving a construction claim.

Reflecting at the end of Another Successful Year in the World of Dispute Resolution…

As Arbicon notch up another almost weekly victory using adjudication, the latest being circa £800K plus Adjudicator’s costs, interest and VAT payable by the other party, which is not an unusual sum that we deal with, I wanted to reflect on the achievements of our firm in the past year and indeed the past 23 years since adjudication was born. I should not admit it, but I was there at the birth!