NEC3 ECC: An email was sent to the Employer stating that the ventilation equipment on his project will need to be compliant with Statutory Instrument 2015/469

Can the client try and recover additional costs from the contractor if it is found that his equipment is exempt. I thought a SI was an automatic Change to the Works Information consequently the equipment should be compliant. some equipment is exempt from the SI but his equipment is outside these exemptions

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Think I understand the question but will answer it with what could/should have happened:

  1. Contractor raises early warning to state that they believe some of the Employers equipment may not be compliant to wider standards.
  2. Risk reduction meeting discusses the issue and the PM would decide what action he wants to take. If that is an instruction to change the existing equipment, assuming this is not part of the Contractors Works Information they should also state this will be a compensation event and request a quotation. The Contractor will then get paid the agreed amount to change that equipment.
  3. if it turns out that the equipment did not need to be changed - the way described in this scenario I would question why the PM instructed the equipment to be changed if he wasn’t sure. There would be no come back on the Contractor in this instance.