NEC3 ECC: As a client do I have to pay a finders fee passed on by my Contractor for an employee they employed?

ECC Option C contract: If a Contractor says he has engaged an employee specifically for the delivery of my scheme, do I as client have to pay for finders fees incurred by the Contractor or are they disallowed costs?

Can’t find any specific reference in the CCS to say what is covered and what isn’t in this respect.

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The amount due under an Option C contract is Defined Cost plus the Fee (Refer clause 50.2, 11.2(29) and 11.2(23)). The Defined Cost for People is determined with reference to the Schedule of Cost Components(SCC) clauses 1, 11,12,13 and 14.
Main Option clause 52.1 states “All the Contractor’s costs which are not included in the Defined Cost are treated as included in the Fee.”

For directly employed People- finders fees are not listed in SCC clause 11,12,13 so finders fees are NOT Defined Cost and they are treated as included in the Fee. Therefore they should not be included as an individual specific item in the assessment of the amount due.

When looking at People 1 in the Schedule of Cost Components, there is no wording which correlates to a “finder’s fee”. It is therefore not a ‘Defined Cost’ int he first place (so it cannot be subsequently be disallowed as it should never have been allowed.)