The NEC Payment Timeline

The NEC4 payment timeline runs on a 21-day cycle from each assessment date. With the standard periods and Option Y(UK)2, the certificate and due date fall by day 7, the last day for a pay less notice is day 14, and the final date for payment is day 21.

Your Contract Data can change the payment period, and a Z clause can change the rest. So use the table below as a starting point, and put your own dates in it at the start of the job. It's part of the wider NEC payment and Defined Cost guide.

The sequence for a main contract

Day	Event	Who	Source
Before 0	Application for payment	Contractor	50.2
0	Assessment date	Project Manager assesses	50.1
By 7	Payment certificate, which is also the payment notice under Y(UK)2	Project Manager	51.1, Y2.2
7	Payment becomes due		Y2.2
14	Last day for a pay less notice	The Party paying less	Y2.3
21	Final date for payment	Payer	51.2, Y2.2
Next cycle	Any interest for late payment joins the next assessment	Project Manager	51.2

Without Option Y(UK)2 the same cycle has only the certificate and payment steps in the contract. The Construction Act then generally still applies by its own force on UK construction work, as explained in the Y(UK)2 guide.

Main contract and subcontract together

Step	ECC (NEC3 and NEC4)	ECS (NEC3 and NEC4)
Certificate	Within 1 week	Within 2 weeks
Due date under Y2.2	7 days after the assessment date	14 days after the assessment date
Last pay less notice	7 days before the final date (day 14)	7 days before the final date (day 21)
Final date for payment	Day 21	Day 28

These are the printed periods, and each can be changed by a Contract Data or Subcontract Data entry for the payment period. Payment for NEC subcontractors shows how a main Contractor might line these up.

Worked example with dates

A fictional contract with a four-week assessment interval and an assessment date of 5 March. This calendar is illustrative, and we've assumed no bank holidays fall in the period.

Date	What should have happened
4 March	Latest application date
5 March	Assessment date
12 March	Certificate issued; payment becomes due
19 March	Last day for a pay less notice
26 March	Final date for payment
2 April	Next assessment date, with the application due the day before

Notice that the next application falls only a week after payment. On a four-week cycle, the steps overlap, so a QS will usually be running one cycle's close-out and the next one's preparation at once.

Days, weeks and holidays

Option Y(UK)2 periods expressed in days have special counting. In the NEC4 subcontract, Y2.1 excludes Christmas Day, Good Friday and bank holidays. NEC3 Y2.1 refers to the Act's own method. The core clauses use weeks, which don't have that exclusion. So around Christmas or Easter, a Y2.2 date and the three-week date in 51.2 can split apart. When that happens, plot both, and work to the earlier one for action dates.

Before the first cycle

• Confirm the first assessment date in writing. It's no later than one interval after the starting date.
• Read the Contract Data entries for the payment period, interval and interest rate.
• Check for a Z clause on invoicing, as many Clients add steps, including a requirement for a VAT invoice before payment.
• Agree who at the Client can issue a pay less notice.
• Put a calendar in place for the whole job. It's far easier to do it once, and our list of NEC time periods will help with the others.

Related guides

• NEC Payment and Defined Cost: The Complete Guide
• Assessment Date and Assessment Interval
• Making an NEC Payment Application
• Pay Less Notices Under NEC
• NEC Clause 51: Certifying Payment
• NEC Clause 52: Defined Cost Accounting

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.