NEC 3 Option A Clause 63.3 after Completion certificate

NEC3 and NEC4 Contracts Compensation Events
1

The Contract is unamended NEC3 Option A. We have received the Completion certificate on the project. A Compensation Event which was previously rejected has since been accepted after the Completion certificate has been issued. The impact of this Compensation Event on the last Accepted Programme, details planned Completion at a date later than when Completion was achieved and detailed on the Completion certificate. Is the Contractor entitled to compensation to the date as detailed on the Completion certificate OR entitled to compensation to the revised date of planned Completion as a result of the Compensation Event.

2

Strictly speaking, the Compensation Event should be assessed using the Accepted Programme at the time the Notification of Compensation Event was raised. So, the second part of your question would be correct in my view which was

I’d add that it would be the Accepted Programme at the time the NCE was raised which would revise any dates…

With this said, what makes this differ from the normal CE process is that a CE has been ‘re-opened’ presumably after collaborative discussion between the parties. It shouldn’t change the process, but expectations from the parties may differ given that the project is complete.

To complete this, the completion certificate date should not change the assessment of this event but, i would understand why this date would want to be used given that is known information.

3

I agree with all the above - the Contract does not distinguish between CE’s before and after Completion, so if the CE had an impact on time the Completion Date should be adjusted; overheads paid and so on, like any other CE.

The question for you is what you want to achieve. Clearly any money you spend to work on the CE is effectively ‘dead money’ and has to be offset against whatever income you can get from it. There is no benefit in terms of the overall project in a protracted debate. So, keep it sensible, keep it proportionate, and if there is an easier way of getting to a mutually acceptable position, take it.

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4

Thanks for the response and time taken to do so.