An NEC contract has two Parties and several named roles, and the NEC Project Manager does most of the managing. Under the NEC4 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC), the Client and the Contractor are the Parties, the Project Manager runs time, cost and change, and the Supervisor looks after quality.
Each decision belongs to one named role. Getting an instruction, an acceptance or a certificate from the wrong person is one of the most common ways for a contract to go off course, so it pays to know who holds what. This page sets out the roles in NEC4 ECC, notes where NEC3 and other forms differ, and points to a detailed guide on each. For how the contract works as a whole, start with the guide to NEC contracts.
The roles at a glance
| Role | Party to the contract? | Main job | Where the name goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client (Employer in NEC3) | Yes | Provides what it has promised, such as access, takes over the works and pays | Contract Data |
| Contractor | Yes | Provides the works as the Scope requires, and produces programmes, quotations and corrections | Contract Data |
| Project Manager | No | Instructions, acceptances, compensation events, assessment of payment, Completion | Contract Data |
| Supervisor | No | Tests and inspections, searches, Defects, the Defects Certificate | Contract Data |
| Adjudicator | No | Decides disputes referred to it, impartially | Contract Data, or chosen when needed |
| Senior Representatives (NEC4) | No | One from each side, trying to settle a dispute before adjudication | Contract Data |
| Service Manager (NEC4 PSC and TSC) | No | The equivalent of the Project Manager on service contracts | Contract Data |
The two Parties
The Client's role is smaller on paper than many clients expect. It gives access, provides whatever the Scope says it will provide, carries the Client's liabilities, takes over the works and pays what is certified. Day-to-day contract actions are given to the Project Manager, so a Client who talks directly to the site team can create confusion about what has really been instructed. In NEC3 the same Party is called the Employer.
The Contractor's duties go well beyond building the works. It must follow the Scope, give early warnings, keep a programme up to date, notify compensation events within the time allowed, submit quotations, correct Defects and apply for payment. Under clause 27.3 it must also obey instructions that the contract allows.
The roles that manage the contract
Project Manager
The NEC Project Manager is appointed by the Client and acts on its behalf, but must still act as the contract says. Most of what makes NEC different flows through this role: reply periods, the Accepted Programme, and assessing the effect of change. Silence can have consequences, because a late reply from the Project Manager to the Contractor is a compensation event under 60.1(6), and some late replies can lead to a programme or quotation being treated as accepted.
Two further guides turn the role into practical steps. The Project Manager responsibilities checklist sets out each task and its time limit, while how to issue Project Manager instructions covers the form, the clause to cite and the compensation event that may need to go with it.
Supervisor
The NEC Supervisor deals with quality. It does its own tests and inspections, may watch the Contractor's tests, can instruct a search for a Defect, notifies Defects it finds and issues the Defects Certificate. It cannot change the Scope or accept a Defect: both are for the Project Manager. If you work on NEC4, the Supervisor under NEC4 explains the renumbering caused by the new clause 40 on quality management and how that changes references carried over from NEC3.
Delegates and replacements
The Project Manager and the Supervisor can delegate their actions under clause 14.2 once the Contractor has been told. The Client can replace either of them under clause 14.4 by notifying the Contractor of the new name. Keep a current delegation list: a surveyor or engineer acting without a notified delegation is an avoidable argument later.
Roles on service contracts
Other NEC forms change the names. Under the NEC4 Term Service Contract (TSC), the Service Manager does what the Project Manager and Supervisor do in the ECC, because there is no Supervisor, and calls off work through Task Orders. Under the NEC4 Professional Service Contract (PSC), a Service Manager also acts for the Client, and the Consultant takes the place of the Contractor, working to a standard of skill and care. See the comparison of the ECC and the PSC for how the two fit together.
In the Engineering and Construction Subcontract (ECS) there is no separate Project Manager or Supervisor. The Contractor takes those parts, and the part of the Client too, and the Subcontractor takes the Contractor's part. The steps are similar, but many periods differ, so never assume they match the main contract.
Roles for when things go wrong
Senior Representatives are new in NEC4. Each Party names people to try to settle a dispute over a short, fixed period. Under Option W1 this step comes before adjudication; under Option W2, where the UK Construction Act applies, it happens only if the Parties agree. NEC3 has no such step.
The Adjudicator is an independent person who decides a dispute and whose decision binds the Parties unless and until a tribunal changes it. The appointment is made under an NEC service contract, and the Contract Data can name the person in advance or leave one to be chosen. The wider process is in NEC disputes and termination.
Job titles the contract does not mention
Quantity surveyors, commercial managers and contract managers do much of the work on an NEC contract, but the contract doesn't name them. They act for a Party, or as delegates of a named role, and what they can do depends on that link.
- An NEC guide for quantity surveyors covers what changes when you move from valuing variations to forecasting Defined Cost.
- An NEC guide for commercial managers sets out what to control on a contract, and the evidence that shows it is under control.
- What an NEC contract manager does describes the daily, weekly and monthly routine.
- NEC accreditation: how it works is a neutral overview for anyone considering a formal qualification in the Project Manager role.
Who decides what
This table answers the usual site question: whose decision is this? The clauses are from NEC4 ECC.
| Decision or action | Who | NEC4 ECC clause |
|---|---|---|
| Change the Scope or a Key Date | Project Manager | 14.3 |
| Accept or reject a programme | Project Manager | 31.3 |
| Update the Early Warning Register after a meeting | Project Manager | 15.4 |
| Stop work or tell it not to start | Project Manager | 34.1 |
| Decide and certify Completion | Project Manager | 30.2 |
| Assess the amount due and certify payment | Project Manager | 50.1, 51.1 |
| Instruct a search for a Defect | Supervisor | 43.1 |
| Issue the Defects Certificate | Supervisor | 44.3 |
| Notify a Defect | Supervisor or Contractor | 43.2 |
| Accept a Defect instead of having it corrected | Project Manager | 45.2 |
| Give an early warning | Project Manager or Contractor | 15.1 |
| Raise a compensation event that the Project Manager hasn't | Contractor | 61.3 |
| Pay the certified amount | Client | 51.2 |
| Replace the Project Manager or Supervisor | Client | 14.4 |
A worked example: one problem, four roles
A fictional Option C highway contract. The Supervisor suspects a drainage run was laid to the wrong fall and has been backfilled.
- The Supervisor tells the Contractor to look for a Defect, stating why (43.1). It does not tell the Contractor how to redesign anything.
- The Contractor opens the run up. Suppose the search finds no Defect. Unless the search was needed only because too little notice was given of work that would hide a required test, this is a compensation event under 60.1(10).
- The Project Manager notifies the event and instructs quotations. The Supervisor has caused it, but the commercial handling falls to the Project Manager (61.1, 61.2).
- The Client wants the drain moved while it is exposed. Its site representative mentions this to the foreman. That isn't an instruction. If the Client wants it, the Project Manager has to change the Scope under 14.3, and that is a compensation event under 60.1(1).
Nothing here is unusual. What goes wrong in practice is that each step gets done by whoever is nearest, and the records then fail to show the proper authority.
Common mistakes about NEC roles
- Treating the Project Manager as a Party. The Project Manager isn't one. It acts under the contract, and the Parties carry the rights and liabilities.
- Relying on minutes as instructions. A comment in a meeting isn't the same as a clear instruction from the right role. Issue it properly.
- Letting the Supervisor stray into change. A comment on a test report that alters the specification raises the question of whether the Scope has been changed, by whom and at what price.
- Leaving old names in the Contract Data. When a person moves on, send the notification so everyone knows who now holds the role.
- Assuming Senior Representatives can overrule the Project Manager. Their job is to look for a settlement. If they don't agree, the dispute moves to the next stage.
Setting the roles up well
At the start of a contract, confirm who holds each role and write it down. List the Project Manager's and Supervisor's delegates with the actions each may take, and share the list with the Contractor. Agree who covers for leave, because reply periods keep running. Check that your Senior Representatives have real authority to settle and could make time at short notice. A clear plan for the first 30 days helps, as does knowing how NEC communications must be sent.
Finally, read your own Contract Data and Z clauses. Amendments can move decisions from one role to another, or require Client approval before the Project Manager acts. Make sure any internal approval limit fits within the reply periods, because those periods keep running while approval is sought.
All guides in this section
- The NEC Project Manager
- NEC Project Manager Responsibilities Checklist
- The NEC Supervisor
- The Supervisor Under NEC4
- The Contractor's Duties Under NEC
- The Client's Role Under NEC
- The Service Manager
- The Consultant Under the PSC
- The Adjudicator
- Senior Representatives
- An NEC Guide for Quantity Surveyors
- An NEC Guide for Commercial Managers
- What an NEC Contract Manager Does
- Project Manager Instructions
- NEC Accreditation: How It Works
Related guides
- NEC Contracts Explained: The Complete Guide
- NEC4 Contracts: A Complete Guide
- NEC Contract Types: Which Form Do You Need?
- NEC Compensation Events: The Complete Guide
- NEC Early Warnings: The Complete Guide
- The NEC Programme: A Complete Guide
Free NEC tools, quizzes and downloads
- Start here: NEC help by role
- Clause finder and clause index
- Deadline calculator and time periods by contract
- Who does what, by when
- Contract picker and main Option picker
- Glossary and abbreviations
- NEC quizzes and role-play scenarios
- Free NEC templates and clause sheets
- Worked examples and all guides, A to Z
See how this works in practice
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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.