Clause 60.1(3) makes it a compensation event when the Client doesn't provide something it is due to provide by the date on the Accepted Programme. The "something" can be free-issue plant, materials, information, a design or a service, as long as the contract makes it the Client's to provide.
Unlike late access under 60.1(2), there's only one date to test against. That makes the Accepted Programme the deciding document, more so than for most compensation events. NEC3 is the same in substance, with the Employer in place of the Client.
What triggers it
- The Client is to provide it. The source is usually the Scope. A hope that the Client's team would help out isn't an obligation.
- The Accepted Programme gives a date. Clause 31.2 requires a programme to show the dates by which, in order to work to it, the Contractor needs the things the Client is to provide.
- The date is missed. Provision after that date is the event, and it has to affect Defined Cost, Completion or a Key Date to change anything.
Which entry applies?
| What is late | Entry to test |
|---|---|
| Access to or use of part of the Site | 60.1(2) |
| A Client-supplied item, design or service | 60.1(3) |
| Materials, facilities or samples for a test | 60.1(16), which depends on the Scope rather than a programme date |
| Work by the Client's other contractors | 60.1(5) |
| A reply to the Contractor's query or submission | 60.1(6) |
How it is usually evidenced
- The Scope entry that says the Client provides it.
- The Accepted Programme current at the time, with the date on it. A note in a schedule attached to the programme is weaker than a dated activity or milestone.
- Delivery notes, transmittals or goods-received records showing when it really arrived, and in what state.
- Early warnings and meeting notes showing what was known and what options were considered.
Worked example
A fictional university laboratory on Option A, with illustrative figures. The Scope says the Client will supply 12 fume cupboards. The Accepted Programme shows them on site in week 18, followed by installation and then commissioning. They arrive in week 22.
The Contractor warned in week 15, when the Client's supplier told the site team about a factory delay. At the early warning meeting, the parties agreed to bring forward second-fix elsewhere and hold the installers until week 22. Two weeks of float on this chain of activities absorbs part of the four-week delay, so planned Completion moves by two weeks.
| Item | Defined Cost |
|---|---|
| Time-related site costs, two weeks | £15,600 |
| Installer rebooking and resequencing | £4,200 |
| Subtotal | £19,800 |
| Fee at an illustrative 10% | £1,980 |
| Change to the Prices | £21,780 |
The Completion Date moves by two weeks. Without the week 15 warning, the Project Manager could have argued that a warning would have reduced the effect, leading to an assessment on that basis under clause 61.5.
How it is assessed
This is normally a Contractor-notified event, so the dividing date is the day of notification, and the 61.3 time bar applies. Delay is measured from the Accepted Programme in force on that day. If a revised programme already shows some of the delay, 63.5 takes that into account so it doesn't get counted twice.
Where the arrival date is still unknown when quotations are due, the Project Manager can state an assumption under 61.6. If it's later corrected, that becomes a new event under 60.1(17).
What people get wrong
- No date on the programme. If the Client's item isn't shown with a date, the event has nothing to test against. This is the most common weakness, and it's worth checking when you review a programme.
- Quietly moving the date. A revised programme that shows a later date for the item, once accepted, changes the test. Contractors should show the real need date, and Project Managers should notice when it moves.
- Treating a wrong item as an on-time item. If what arrives doesn't match what the Scope says, or is damaged, record it on the day. Whether it has been "provided" is exactly what you'll argue about later.
- Claiming the full period. The event is late by four weeks here, but the time is two. Link the late item to planned Completion through the actual logic.
- Forgetting who holds the risk of damage. Damage to Client-supplied items before the Contractor has received and accepted them is among the Client's liabilities, which is a separate route.
Related guides
- NEC Compensation Events: The Complete Guide
- Compensation Event: Instruction to Stop or Not Start Work
- Compensation Event: Client or Others Not Working as Stated
- Compensation Event: Late Reply to a Communication
- Compensation Event: Change to the Scope
- Compensation Event: Access Not Provided
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