NEC ECC: Covid-19 and NEC3 Working Area

One of the working areas listed in our NEC3 option C contract is our head office. Some of our QS team and Engineers are based there and they rarely go to site. The office is now closed due to the Covid - 19 restrictions. We have contacted the Project Manager to clarify that we will be paid for those people who normally work in the working area but who are now working from home. He is being very non committal and we are starting to get worried.

Can I still apply for the hours these people who are working from home in my monthly Application for Payment and does the Project Manager have a case for rejecting those costs?

Yes you can as long as employees are working on the Project and have not been furloughed.

Yes, you can. You would have to submit a proposal to the PM to add to the WAs and providing that the homes satisfy the criteria in clause 15.1 (NEC3) / 16.1 (NEC4), the PM has no reason to not accept.

My mistake, it should have been 16.3 of NEC4.