This early warning notice template gives you a layout you can copy straight into an email or letter for an NEC contract. The wording is our own sample, not NEC text, and it is written for the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), with notes on where NEC3 and other forms differ.
NEC does not prescribe a form, so check first whether your Scope requires a particular system or format. If it does, that takes priority. For the reasoning behind each field, see how to write an early warning notice.
The template
Text in square brackets is for you to complete. Send it as a separate communication, not as part of another message.
| Early warning notice | Clause 15.1 of the conditions of contract |
|---|---|
| Contract | [Contract name and number] |
| Notice reference | EW-[number] |
| Date | [Date issued] |
| From | [Name and role: Project Manager or Contractor] |
| To | [Name and role: Contractor or Project Manager] |
| The matter | We give early warning of the following matter: [what you have learned and what could happen as a result]. |
| Date we became aware | [Date] |
| What it could affect | [Keep those that apply]
Total of the Prices: [how, and a rough range or "not yet known"] Completion: [how, and a rough period or "not yet known"] Key Date: [which one, and how] Performance of the works in use: [how] Contractor's own total cost (optional warning): [how] |
| What we suggest | To avoid or reduce the effect, we suggest: [one or two options]. |
| What we need, and by when | [The decision or information needed, from whom, and the latest useful date.] |
| Meeting | [Choose one] Please add this to the next early warning meeting on [date]. / This cannot wait for the next meeting. We instruct you to attend an early warning meeting on [date, time, place]. |
| Note | This notice is an early warning only. It is not a notification of a compensation event and does not state a view on responsibility. |
A completed example
This example is entirely fictional, and the figures are illustrative.
| Contract | Marsh Lane Pumping Station Refurbishment, MLP/042 |
|---|---|
| Notice reference | EW-017 |
| From / To | Contractor's Site Manager to Project Manager |
| The matter | Our survey of the existing wet well today found the benching in poorer condition than we had assumed. If it needs replacing rather than patching, the planned outage could run longer. A longer outage could also conflict with the operator's agreed return-to-service date. |
| Date we became aware | Today |
| What it could affect | Total of the Prices: possibly, range not yet known.
Key Date 2 (return to service): could be missed by several days. Performance in use: none expected once repaired. |
| What we suggest | A structural inspection this week. We could also pre-order a precast benching option to protect the outage window. |
| What we need, and by when | Confirmation of whether the operator can extend the outage, by Thursday. |
| Meeting | We instruct you to attend an early warning meeting on site on Friday at 09:00, with the operator's representative if you agree. |
Notice what the example doesn't do. It doesn't say the survey findings are a compensation event, nor does it rule that out. If the Contractor later concludes that this is a physical condition under 60.1(12), it issues a separate notice within the 61.3 period. See the guide to physical conditions.
Adapting the template
| Contract | Change |
|---|---|
| NEC3 ECC | Cite clause 16.1, and refer to a risk reduction meeting and the Risk Register |
| NEC4 subcontract (ECS) | The parties become Contractor and Subcontractor, and either may give the optional warning about the Subcontractor's own cost |
| Short contracts | Remove the meeting line, since these forms have no formal meetings; ask to co-operate on a response instead |
| Professional service forms | Replace the list of effects with the list in your own contract, and use its role names |
Tips for using it
- Don't delay it to fill it in. "Not yet known" is a perfectly good entry. Update it at the meeting.
- Agree numbering at the start. One reference series for both sides keeps the notices and the register template aligned.
- Only instruct attendance if you mean it. Either side can do this under 15.2, but the line should be deleted if the next scheduled meeting is soon enough.
- Keep a copy with its delivery record. That makes it simple to show later that the warning was given and when.
Other letter formats are collected in the NEC letter templates guide. How this fits in the wider process is explained in the early warnings section.
Related guides
- NEC Early Warnings: The Complete Guide
- The Early Warning Register
- Early Warning Register Template
- Running an Early Warning Meeting
- NEC Clause 15 Explained
- How to Write an Early Warning Notice
How this looks in Contract Status
The Early Warning Register page, with risk scores, decisions and open actions. See the worked example.
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.
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Try the Project Manager role-play, 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.