The NEC4 PSC (Professional Service Contract) is the form for appointing a Consultant to provide a professional service, such as design, project management, cost management or specialist advice. A Client appoints the Consultant, and a Service Manager acts for the Client in running the contract.
It is built on the same approach as the works contract, but it reflects the fact that a Consultant sells skill and time rather than a physical result. The full range of forms is in NEC contract types, and ECC vs PSC compares this form directly with the works contract.
Main Options
| Option | How the Consultant is paid | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| A: Priced contract with activity schedule | Lump sums per activity | A well-defined service with clear deliverables |
| C: Target contract | Cost, with a share of any saving or overspend against a target | Defined outcome with some uncertainty in effort |
| E: Cost reimbursable contract | Defined Cost plus the Fee | Early or uncertain work |
More detail is in the guide to the PSC main Options and, for NEC3 term appointments only, the page on Option G. Note that NEC3 called its Option E "time based". The fee basis is covered in professional services under NEC.
How it differs from the ECC
| Topic | NEC4 PSC | NEC4 ECC |
|---|---|---|
| Contract administrator | Service Manager, no Supervisor | Project Manager and Supervisor |
| Provider | Consultant providing "the service" | Contractor providing the works |
| Illegal or impossible requirement | 16.2 | 17.2 |
| Acceleration | 35.1 | 36.1 |
| Removing a person | 21.2 | 24.2 |
| Notifying and correcting Defects | 41.1, 41.2 | 43.2 and related clauses |
| Tests, inspections and searches | None in the form | Clause 41 and elsewhere |
| Compensation events | 16 | 21 |
Much is deliberately the same. Early warnings (15.1 to 15.4), the programme (31.1 to 32.2), payment (50, 51), the final assessment (53) and the compensation event procedure (61 to 66) use matching numbers. An ECC user will recognise them straight away.
The 16 compensation events
The list at 60.1 is shorter and arranged differently, so don't reuse ECC references. Items (1) to (6) broadly match the ECC. After that the numbers differ:
- (7) a changed decision and (8) an acceptance withheld for a reason the contract doesn't give
- (9) an event listed among the Client's liabilities
- (10) a corrected assumption and (11) another breach by the Client
- (12) prevention: an event no one could stop and no experienced consultant could have allowed for
- (13) correcting a Defect the Consultant isn't liable for
- (14) an instruction correcting information the Client provided
- (15) a quotation for a proposed instruction not accepted
- (16) extra events listed in the Contract Data
There are no events for physical conditions, weather or take over. Event (14) is a useful one to know, because it links with the last part of 14.3: when Client information proves wrong, an instruction corrects it and the Consultant's extra work is dealt with as a compensation event.
Standard of care
The Consultant's duty is one of professional skill and care, not an absolute promise of a result. A Defect in the service, in the PSC sense, depends on that standard. This is one of the most important differences from a Contractor who has to provide works in line with the Scope. If a Z clause or the Scope tries to raise the standard, ask whether the Consultant's professional indemnity insurance still responds.
What people get wrong
- A vague Scope. A Scope that says "provide design services" gives no reference for change. If you can't say what's in, you can't say what's a compensation event.
- Working first and raising the event later. The late-notification rule at 61.3 applies to Consultants too. The unamended NEC4 PSC allows eight weeks.
- Ignoring the programme. Consultants sometimes treat clause 31 as a construction matter. The PSC has the same retention rule at 50.5 if no programme is submitted when the Contract Data doesn't name one.
- Passing work down informally. If another firm does part of the service, consider the PSS.
Related guides
- NEC Contract Types: Which Form Do You Need?
- NEC4 Professional Service Subcontract (PSS)
- NEC4 Professional Service Short Contract (PSSC)
- NEC4 Term Service Contract (TSC)
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Short Contract (ECSC)
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Short Subcontract (ECSS)
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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.