The NEC4 short form contract for works is the Engineering and Construction Short Contract (ECSC). It is for straightforward construction work with low risk to both sides and no need for sophisticated management, and it runs directly between the Client and the Contractor.
It keeps the NEC approach and a similar clause pattern, but strips out most of the administration. Before picking it, read the side-by-side comparison of the ECC and the ECSC and the overview of NEC contract types.
When short is right
The ECSC tends to work where you can answer yes to all of these:
- The scope can be described completely before you start
- Ground, access and interface risks are low
- There is little need for phasing, Key Dates or sectional handover
- Payment by a simple Price List suits the job
- The Client is happy to give instructions and assessments itself
- Neither side needs bonds or other secondary Options. Retention is no reason to avoid it: the NEC4 form has its own retention rule at 50.7
Typical examples include resurfacing, minor refurbishment, fencing and simple drainage. Value is a rough guide only, since no clause sets a limit.
What is missing compared with the ECC
| ECC feature | In the NEC4 ECSC |
|---|---|
| Project Manager and Supervisor | Neither. The Client acts itself |
| Main Options A to F | None. A Price List only |
| Secondary X Options | None. Construction Act terms are built into the conditions, not provided by Y(UK)2 |
| Early Warning Register and meetings | None. Either side warns under 15.1 and both then co-operate on a response under 15.2 |
| Accepted Programme | None. Programmes are sent as the Scope requires (31.1), with no acceptance step |
| 21 compensation events | 12, with their own numbers |
| Revised quotations and proposed instructions | Simpler: the Client accepts or gives its own assessment |
| Formal final assessment | None. The last assessment acts as the final one |
The compensation events
The 60.1 list is shorter and is numbered differently, so ECC references don't transfer.
- A change to the Scope by instruction, except one made to accept a Defect
- Access to and use of the site not given when needed
- Something the Client should provide arriving late
- An instruction to stop or not start work
- The Client working outside the conditions in the Scope
- No reply to a communication in the time allowed
- The Client changing a decision it has given
- Physical conditions an experienced contractor couldn't reasonably have allowed for (only the excess counts)
- Weather preventing all work on the site beyond the allowance in the contract
- Either side correcting an assumption about an event
- An unforeseeable event beyond either Party's control
- An instruction correcting a mistake in the Price List
How the procedure runs
Either side can notify a suspected compensation event (61.1). When the Contractor notifies one, its quotation goes with the notification, and when the Client does, the Contractor then quotes within the time allowed (61.2). The Client accepts, or disagrees and gives its own assessment (62.2). Silence from the Client can leave a quotation counting as accepted (62.3). If the Contractor doesn't quote, the Client assesses the event itself (62.4). A late Contractor notification leaves the Prices and Completion Date unchanged (61.3). The unamended periods differ from the ECC: four weeks to notify (61.3), one week to quote when the Client notifies (61.2), two weeks for the Client to reply (62.2) and one week for its own assessment if no quotation comes (62.4).
For payment, the Contractor applies before each assessment day and the Client then assesses the amount due (50.1). Interest applies to late and corrected payments (51.2).
What people get wrong
- Assuming "short" means less binding. It's a full contract, and the time limits apply just as strictly.
- Bolting on the ECC's features by Z clause. If you need a Project Manager, Key Dates and X7, you probably want the ECC. Adding them piecemeal gives you the worst of both.
- Leaving the programme undefined. Since it all depends on what the Scope requires, a Scope that's silent gives you no programme to work with.
- Forgetting the Client's own workload. With no Project Manager, someone on the Client's side still has to reply on time. A silent Client can create a compensation event under 60.1(6).
- Using the wrong subcontract. Below an ECSC, the short subcontract is the natural partner. Don't assume it has the same periods.
Related guides
- NEC Contract Types: Which Form Do You Need?
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Short Subcontract (ECSS)
- NEC4 Professional Service Contract (PSC)
- NEC4 Professional Service Subcontract (PSS)
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC)
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Subcontract (ECS)
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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.