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Nobody has responded to my early warning

Contractor side: Early warnings

I gave an early warning two weeks ago and heard nothing. What should I do?

Where the contract stands

Call a meeting. Under 15.2 either side can instruct the other to attend, which is a stronger step than a further e-mail (16.2 in NEC3, where it is a risk reduction meeting). Silence on a warning is not a compensation event by itself, and it does not stop the time bar if the matter is one. Your warning does protect you against a later statement under 61.5 on that matter.

Read the guide: PM ignored an early warning

This is our plain-English summary, not legal advice. Your own contract, including any Z clauses, decides.

In Contract Status, step by step

  1. Check it on the record

    The record shows whether a reply has come, when it was due, and that it is waiting for the Project Manager.

    An early warning record showing it is overdue and waiting for the Project Manager to reply

    EW-0004 from the contractor side.

  2. Ask for the meeting

    On the Early Warning Register page, choose Request an early warning meeting: when, where, who and which early warnings. The page also shows the risk score, latest decision and open actions for each warning.

    The Early Warning Register page with a Request an early warning meeting button, risk scores, latest decisions and open actions

    Risk Register on an NEC3 contract, in the same layout.

  3. Record what was decided

    The meeting has its own record: attendees, agenda, notes, decisions and actions, each with an owner and a date.

    Early warning meeting EWM-0002 with attendees, decisions and two actions with owners and due dates

    EWM-0002: asked for by the contractor, register issued by the Client side.

All screens are from the upgraded app, using a fictional water company, Kestrel Valley Water, and its made-up contractors.

What happens next on the other side

The Client side issues the revised register, which waits on its Action List until it is done. Each action shows on its owner's Action List until it is marked done. Under NEC4 the revised register is due within a week of the meeting.

See it on a contract you can click through

The guided tour lets you walk the same fictional account yourself. Or book a demo, and bring the situation you are dealing with.

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