NEC PSC: Can the Employer ask to see salary information as a back up to Time Charge?

We have an approved rate for ‘Engineer’ in the contract. We used Engineer’s in UK and India. The PM does not feel it is ‘appropriate’ under the definition of Time Charge for the Engineer rate specified in the contract to be applicable to Engineers in both UK and India where a) the working day is longer and b) the salaries are lower.

  1. Does the PM have a case if there are no working areas or geographies applied to the contract?
  2. As part of the Employer rights to see back up information are they allowed to see salary information as part of the make up of the staff rate which may show the Engineer rate in the contract to be more profitable in India.
  3. Does the PM have a case on the definition of ‘daily’ where no definition was given. UK engineers do 8 hrs so we have used say £400 for 8 hours, but £450 for the 9 hours the India Engineers do per day.

Unlike other NEC contracts, the NEC3 PSC does not concern itself with Defined Cost, it merely deals with Time Charge therefore the actual cost of the Consultant Providing the Service is irrelevant. If you were using resource from an economy with a higher cost base would they accept your claim for additional reimbursement? No.

So the PM and Employer have no right to ask for back-up information, other than timesheet records to prove the amount of time spent. One caveat … check your Z clauses as sometimes I’ve seen this right included.

Without sight of the contract it’s difficult to comment on the last point, however usually the Consultant would insert an amount per hour in CDPt2 which means if they work 8 hours you get paid for 8 hours and if you work 9 hours you get paid for 9 hours. Again the actual cost is irrelevant, it’s all about time spent. If the entry in CDPt2 is an amount per day without defining how many hours are in a day, it’s open to interpretation / dispute. If the Employer decides they aren’t going to pay you for 9 hours then I guess your response will be to get the guys in India to spend 1 hour a day on other work!