NEC3 ECS: Costs for Unproductive Working

Our Subcontractor has effectively been stopped from working due to a Technical issue that our designers are struggling to find an answer for. They havent been served a stop notice. They are effectively sat around doing nothing whilst our guys answer their queries. They have not been able to fully mitigate the costs as they have little work for their team to move on to, (I have witnessed their empty factory). Compensation event has been submitted for the additional time which is fine, but their costs are for the full time they have worked on our Subcontract and the unproductive time. Is this correct or do we only pay for costs directly related to our Subcontract? How do i know they arent billing all of their employers for this unproductive time? Thanks

It would have been a little more helpful here if you had indeed given them an instruction as to what to do given you are aware of the situation and their predicament. You could have sat down with them to discuss the options available - could they have deployed the guys elsewhere or even released them somehow but then there is no guarantee that you will get the same certified/qualified guys back.

It depends on which option you are working on as to how much actual cost evidence you get but not unreasonable to ask for evidence here that the guys are all being kept on ready for your works to restart. Had they done anything different that may have cost even more if it delayed things further whilst they re-mobilised.

I think the Contractor should have taken the lead here as to what should happen/have happened, and then the Subcontractor needs to provide evidence of the labor cost they are/will incur.

Glenn, unfortunately I picked up this Subcontract mid delay and it was too late to issue a stop notice as the designers didnt envisage taking so long to reply to TQ’s. They have moved guys (who are all staff not Contractors) on to other works but that only covered a few hours a week. Timesheets have been submitted but they can show what they want them to show, which is 20 hours a week unproductive working. We are using Option A.