Clause 14: Project Manager and Supervisor

NEC clause 14 deals with the actions of the Project Manager and the Supervisor. It says what their acceptance doesn't do, how they can delegate, that the Project Manager can change the Scope or a Key Date, and how they can be replaced. These four short rules resolve many day-to-day questions of authority.

Numbers run the same in the NEC3 and NEC4 ECC, from 14.1 to 14.4. The NEC4 subcontract has no equivalent, as its Contractor fills that role itself. For the roles themselves, see the Project Manager and Supervisor guides. This page is part of the NEC definitions glossary.

The clause in plain English

Rule	What it means	What it stops
14.1 Acceptance	Accepting a communication or the Contractor's work doesn't lessen what the Contractor is responsible for: providing the works, and any design it's liable for	"You accepted it, so it's your problem"
14.2 Delegation	Either role can delegate its actions, and cancel the delegation, after notifying the Contractor	Instructions from unknown people that can't be traced to an authority
14.3 Changes	The Project Manager can instruct a change to the Scope or to a Key Date	Arguments over whether the Project Manager can change anything at all
14.4 Replacement	The Client (the Employer in NEC3) can replace either role after notifying the Contractor of the name	Uncertainty about who now holds the role

What acceptance doesn't do

This rule catches out Contractors and also Project Managers who hesitate to accept anything in case it makes them responsible.

Take a fictional retaining wall. The Contractor's design is accepted by the Project Manager, and the Supervisor watches the pour without objection. A year later the wall leans because of a design error. The Contractor can't use the earlier acceptance as a shield. It's still responsible for its design, because 14.1 says acceptance doesn't change that. The wall is also a Defect if it doesn't meet the Scope, the law or the design.

The Project Manager, for their part, can accept in the knowledge that doing so doesn't take on the Contractor's job. But acceptance still has effects: a programme becomes the Accepted Programme, for instance.

Doing delegation properly

Large projects can't work without delegation. A clean delegation is a short notice stating who, what and from when. The NEC4 subcontract's wording expects the notification to give the delegate's name and details of the actions delegated, or of the cancellation. Use the same discipline on an ECC job.

• Be specific. "Assessing compensation events up to an illustrative £25,000" is clearer than "assist on commercial matters".
• Tell the Contractor first. Delegation takes effect after notification. An instruction from an un-notified assistant is open to challenge.
• Keep your own power. Under the NEC4 subcontract wording, the delegator can still take the delegated action. Avoid doing so without telling the delegate, to prevent mixed messages.
• Keep the list current. When someone moves on, cancel the delegation and update the list.
• Mind internal limits. A financial limit in the Client's own rules doesn't necessarily bind the Contractor unless it's been told.

Changing the Scope

Using 14.3 has a price: the instruction is generally a compensation event under 60.1(1). Changing a Key Date is a compensation event too, under 60.1(4). The power is wide, but it isn't a licence to change anything in the contract: conditions of contract, the Contract Data and the Prices aren't changed in this way. See Project Manager instructions for wording that works.

What people get wrong

• Treating a site engineer's sketch as an instruction. Without a notified delegation, the Contractor who acts on it risks not being able to prove a change.
• Thinking the Supervisor can change the Scope. The Supervisor has its own powers, mainly around testing and Defects. An instruction to do more than the Scope requires is the Project Manager's to give.
• Assuming a named person is tied to the role. The role is what matters. The Client can change the person, and the new one is bound by earlier decisions unless a clause allows a change. A changed decision can be a compensation event under 60.1(8).
• Using 14.1 to dodge a late reply. A reply still has to be given in time, and a late one can be a compensation event, whatever the effect of acceptance.
• Assuming 14.1 protects against Client liabilities. It concerns the Contractor's responsibilities, and it doesn't move the Client's own risks to the Contractor.

Related guides

• NEC Definitions: A Glossary of Key Terms
• Clause 11: Identified and Defined Terms
• Ambiguities and Illegal Requirements
• Period for Reply
• Clause 10: Mutual Trust and Co-operation
• Clause 13: Communications

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.