The NEC4 Professional Service Subcontract (PSS) is used when a firm holding an NEC4 appointment passes part of a professional service to another firm. The firm letting the work is called the Contractor, even if it is a consultant under its own main contract, and the firm doing the work is the Subcontractor.
The clause numbers follow the Professional Service Contract, but the names, Options and periods are its own. It sits alongside the other subcontracts in the list of NEC contract types.
Typical uses
- A lead consultant appointing a specialist, such as an ecologist or a geotechnical engineer
- A multi-disciplinary firm bringing in a smaller practice for one discipline
- A contractor with design responsibility under an ECC appointing its designer
That last example is why the "Contractor" name makes sense. The form doesn't need the upper-tier contract to be a PSC, as long as it is an NEC4 main contract.
Roles and terms
| In the PSC | In the PSS |
|---|---|
| Client and Service Manager | Contractor |
| Consultant | Subcontractor |
| Scope | Subcontract Scope |
| Contract Data | Subcontract Data |
| the service | the subcontract service |
| Completion Date | Subcontract Completion Date |
NEC4 no longer uses the word "Subconsultant", which NEC3 used for this kind of firm. If your templates still have it, update them. There's no separate contract administrator under the PSS: the Contractor does both jobs.
Main Options
The June 2017 text offers three: A is priced, using an activity schedule; C is a target arrangement; and E is cost reimbursable. Option G, the term contract in the NEC3 PSC, isn't among them, and the NEC4 PSC doesn't have it either.
Periods to diarise
Unless the Subcontract Data or your amendments change them, the June 2017 PSS gives these periods. They are not the same as the ECC's.
| Step | Period | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Notification of a compensation event by the Subcontractor | Seven weeks from first knowing of it | 61.3 |
| Quotation due from the Subcontractor | Two weeks from the instruction | 62.3 |
| Contractor's answer to a quotation | Four weeks from submission | 62.3 |
| Revised quotation | Two weeks from the instruction | 62.4 |
| Contractor certifies a payment | Two weeks from each assessment date | 51.1 |
| First early warning meeting | Two weeks from the subcontract starting date | 15.2 |
Links to the main contract
- Early warning matters. Clause 15.1 includes the effect on work done by the Contractor or its other subcontractors. Under 15.2, the Contractor can also bring the Subcontractor into main contract meetings.
- Compensation events. There are 16, with the PSC's subjects. In (5), the failure can be the Client's, the Contractor's or Others'. In (9), the liabilities are those of the Client or the Contractor. In (14), the information is what the Contractor provided.
- Termination. 91.9 lets the Contractor terminate if its own main contract has ended (reason R23). This is a difference from the PSC, and matters to any Subcontractor pricing a long appointment.
- Disputes. A matter disputed at both levels can be joined in one adjudication. Note that the adjudication sub-numbers under W2 differ slightly from the PSC's.
Standard of care
Under 20.2, the duty is the skill and care usual among professionals offering similar services, and a Defect only counts as the Subcontractor's liability if it comes from falling below that standard (20.3). Compare the standard at each level. A firm that accepts a stricter duty above can't assume its subcontract passes that duty down. See the guide to professional services under NEC.
What people get wrong
- Using a purchase order or a letter. A specialist's report may look small, but a short letter of appointment won't reflect the upper-tier terms.
- Assuming upper-tier periods apply. A Subcontractor who waits eight weeks has already missed the seven-week period.
- Not flowing down information duties. If the Contractor passes on Client information that later proves wrong, event (14) may give the Subcontractor a claim while the Contractor's own position depends on the main contract.
Related guides
- NEC Contract Types: Which Form Do You Need?
- NEC4 Professional Service Short Contract (PSSC)
- NEC4 Term Service Contract (TSC)
- NEC4 Term Service Subcontract (TSS)
- NEC4 Engineering and Construction Short Subcontract (ECSS)
- NEC4 Professional Service Contract (PSC)
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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.