NEC compensation event delay is the length of time the event pushes planned Completion later than it was on the Accepted Programme. The Completion Date moves by that amount. The test is about planned Completion, not the Completion Date itself, and this one distinction is what protects the Contractor's terminal float.
Under NEC4 ECC, the rule is at clause 63.5 and it uses the Accepted Programme in force at the dividing date. NEC3 ECC has the same rule at 63.3, referring simply to the Accepted Programme. This page sits under the compensation events guide.
A worked example
Here is a fictional retail unit, with dates given in weeks. The Accepted Programme shows planned Completion in week 48. The Completion Date in the contract is week 52. So the Contractor holds four weeks of terminal float.
| Scenario | Effect on planned Completion | New planned Completion | New Completion Date | Terminal float afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A late Client drawing delays critical steelwork by 3 weeks | 3 weeks later | Week 51 | Week 55 | 4 weeks |
| Same drawing, but it affects an activity with 5 weeks' float | None | Week 48 | Week 52 | 4 weeks |
| Same drawing, on an activity with 1 week's float | 2 weeks later | Week 50 | Week 54 | 4 weeks |
The first row shows the key point. The event didn't threaten the Completion Date, as week 51 is before week 52. The Date still moves, because the Contractor's float belongs to the Contractor, not to the event.
The second and third rows show the other side. Float inside the programme, before planned Completion, is available to absorb an event. Only delay that reaches planned Completion moves the date. The money may still change in the second row, if the event has a cost, even though time doesn't. See float under NEC and time risk allowances.
Which programme to use
| Situation | Baseline |
|---|---|
| NEC4 ECC | The Accepted Programme in force at the dividing date |
| NEC3 ECC | The Accepted Programme (the wording doesn't state a date) |
| No Accepted Programme, or a required one not submitted | The Project Manager's own view of the remaining work (64.2) |
The NEC4 subcontract also says the assessment takes account of delay from the event that's already in the Accepted Programme, and of things that have happened between that programme's date and the dividing date. The practical result is that the assessment should start from a realistic view. If the Accepted Programme is three months old and the job is six weeks behind for reasons of its own, a simple overlay won't produce a sound answer.
Checking the claim
- Confirm the dividing date, and which programme was the Accepted Programme at that date.
- Bring the programme up to that date, using recorded progress.
- Add the event as a new or changed activity, using the logic the Contractor will really follow.
- Read off planned Completion, and compare it with the Accepted Programme.
- Do the same for each affected Key Date, using the planned date for meeting its Condition.
- Check for overlap with other events and the Contractor's own delays, and record how you've dealt with them.
What people get wrong
- Measuring against the Completion Date. A Project Manager who says "you've still got float" has misread the test.
- Measuring against the wrong programme. A later programme that already shows the delay can understate the effect, and an old one can overstate it.
- Using the first critical path that comes to hand. The logic should be the Contractor's real plan, and the planner should be able to explain it.
- Consuming time risk allowances. These are allowances the Contractor made for its own risks. Removing them from the programme to absorb an event isn't how the assessment should be made. See what a programme has to show.
- Treating acceleration as automatic. A compensation event gives more time, not a duty to catch up. Acceleration has its own route under clause 36.
Key Dates and sections
A delay to a Key Date is measured the same way, by the planned date for meeting the stated Condition. If the contract uses Option X5, each section has its own Completion Date, and the assessment looks at the sections the event affects. The Project Manager and Contractor should state each date moved, not just the overall one, so nothing is left to interpretation when the event is implemented.
Related guides
- NEC Compensation Events: The Complete Guide
- Implementing a Compensation Event
- Compensation Events Under Option A
- Compensation Events Under Option C
- When the Project Manager Assesses a Compensation Event
- Assessing a Compensation Event: Clause 63
See how this works in practice
Click through Contract Status with sample contracts: raise the notice, reply to it, and watch both sides of one record.
Take the guided tour Book a demo
Take the NEC4 ECC quiz, use the free NEC tools or download free NEC templates.
This guide is general information in our own words, not legal advice. Your contract and its Contract Data always govern. NEC, NEC3 and NEC4 are trade marks of Thomas Telford Ltd; Contract Status is not affiliated with or endorsed by NEC.