You don't claim prolongation separately. Prolongation under NEC is recovered inside the compensation event that causes the delay, as the forecast or actual Defined Cost of the extra time on Site, plus Fee, alongside the move in the Completion Date.
So it depends on having a compensation event first, notified in time, and on a delay that shows against the Accepted Programme. NEC has no general "extension of time claim" and no separate head called loss and expense. The rules are the same in principle in NEC3 and NEC4 ECC; the numbers below are NEC4, with NEC3 alongside where they differ. See related answers in the NEC questions section.
How to get it paid
- Notify the event in time. If you're the one notifying, you have eight weeks under clause 61.3, and no notice means no time and no money.
- Model the delay. Show how far the event moves planned Completion, compared with the Accepted Programme in force on the dividing date (63.5; 63.3 in NEC3). See assessing delay.
- List the time-related resources affected. Identify what stays on Site longer because of this event.
- Price them as Defined Cost. Use the schedule your Option applies, not your tender preliminaries, unless rates have been agreed under 63.2.
- Add the Fee, and put the whole thing in the quotation. The event's assessment is your only right for it (63.6; 63.4 in NEC3), so this is your one chance.
What goes in and what doesn't
| Item | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Site staff, cabins, welfare, power, security | Include, if they fall within the applicable Schedule of Cost Components |
| Standing Equipment, hire extended | Include for the affected period, net of reasonable reuse elsewhere |
| Standing gangs | Include if they couldn't reasonably be moved. Assessment assumes a competent, prompt response (63.9) |
| Subcontractor time-related cost | Include what's properly due, subject to your Option's rules |
| Head office overheads and profit | Not separately: they're in the Fee (52.1) |
| Finance charges and similar costs | Not separately, unless they fall in the schedule |
| Inflation on later work | Reflected through the forecast, unless other rules apply, such as Option X1 |
| Cost from your own slower progress | Exclude. It isn't this event's effect |
Worked example
A fictional Option A office block. The Client's stone arrives three weeks after the date on the Accepted Programme (60.1(3)). The Contractor's programme shows planned Completion moving by three weeks, and the Completion Date moves with it. Illustrative figures:
| Item | Weekly | Three weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Site management and engineers | £9,000 | £27,000 |
| Cabins, welfare and power | £1,500 | £4,500 |
| Tower crane and operator | £4,000 | £12,000 |
| Subtotal | £43,500 | |
| Fee at an illustrative 10% | £4,350 | |
| Change to the Prices | £47,850 |
The Contractor also needs the Completion Date move in the quotation, and it should reflect the same movement in the Accepted Programme it includes under 62.2.
How the Project Manager will test this
- "Delay doesn't show." If the event doesn't affect the critical path, planned Completion doesn't move. Cost might still arise, but you'll need other evidence for it. See float and terminal float.
- "You were behind anyway." The Accepted Programme in force on the dividing date should already show your position. If it hasn't been updated, you've got a problem, and see assessing without one.
- "That crane could have been used elsewhere." Be ready to show why it couldn't.
- "You've already been paid in the preliminaries." The assessment is the effect on Defined Cost, not what you'd allowed. It cuts both ways: a generous tender allowance won't be the measure either.
Contract and practice
The contract has no end-of-job prolongation account. Each event deals with its own time and cost when it's assessed. So if you carry several overlapping events, look at the combined effect on the programme and allocate carefully, because the same weeks of site staff can only be paid for once. Under cost-based Options, the same Defined Cost is paid anyway, and the event's value lies in moving the target and the date.
Related guides
- NEC Questions Answered: Real Situations on Site
- How Is Disruption Recovered Under NEC?
- Can We Submit One Global Claim for Everything?
- Can We Recover Loss of Profit on Omitted Work?
- The Contractor Has Not Submitted a Quotation: What Can the PM Do?
- The PM Keeps Asking for Revised Quotations
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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.