NEC3 ECC: Schedule of cost components - people outside the Working Areas

Under an ECC Option C are the costs of people who occasionally work from a head office recoverable as Defined Cost for the period they are not within the Working Areas? Even if they are providing the works during this period?

The Schedule of cost components splits people down into three categories;

directly employed and whose normal place of working is within the Working Areas,

directly employed and whose normal place of working is not within the Working Areas but who are working in the Working Areas,

and people who are not directly employed but are paid for according to the time worked while they are within the Working Areas

Items 11, 12 & 13 then set out the components that are recoverable under People. Item 11 states:

11 Wages, salaries and amounts paid by the Subcontractor for people paid according to the time worked while they are within the Working Areas.

Does this mean that someone whose normal place of work is within the Working Area, and who is Providing the Works but for 1 day each month this is done from a head office, would not be recoverable for this day as for this day they are not paid according to the time worked while they are within the Working Areas?

If the answer is no, what is the purpose of the distinction between people who are directly employed and whose normal place of working is within the Working Areas, and people who are directly employed and whose normal place of working is not within the Working Areas but who are working in the Working Areas?

No, people who’s normal place of working is outside the Working Areas are only paid for when they are within the Working Areas. The distinction is provided so people who are visiting Working Areas are only paid for when they are in the Working Areas.

If the Contractor wants paying for these people whilst they are working at head office then he should submit a proposal for adding the head office (or a defined area within the head office) to the Working Areas under clause 15.1.

The PM needs to consider this proposal in detail before accepting it though as this opens the door to any item in the SCC being paid as Defined Cost where it is referred to in the SCC along with the term “within the Working Areas”. There will be other impacts too, suggest you look at page 89 of the ECC as the index cites 16 clauses in the ECC that refer to the term Working Areas.