In NEC4 ECC at clause 61.4, the PM notifies the Contractor that the Prices, Completion Date and the Key Dates are not to be changed where one of the stated bullet points applies to a Contractor’s CE notification. In NEC3 the PM previously ‘decided’ the matter but the test under NEC4 is now objective.
If a Contractor notifies a CE and the PM response is that one of the bullet points under 61.4 applies, does the Contractor have to re-notify the matter if it is ‘agreed’ to be a CE as the ‘changed decision’ CE at 60.1 (8) can no longer be used? Also, at what point would the ‘time bar’ time commence under 61.3?
It’s an interesting point and something that arises quite often at project level. In my experience where the Parties do eventually agree, this results in a new notification having to be raised against the same clause quoted initially, if only to satisfy the management software system, but it’s recognised that a time bar doesn’t apply because the matter was notified timeously in the first instance. Even though that’s not strictly correct.
Sorry for resurrecting such an old thread but his is the only mention I can find relating to the revised wording of 61.4 in NEC4, where it does not now specifically state that the project manager “decides”, compared to NEC3.
Is it now generally accepted that the Project Manager changing a reason given under 61.4 would not result in an additional Compensation Event under 60.1(8)?
As I said I’ve struggled to find any other guidance on this, the guidance does state that the PM applies the 5 tests to “decide” whether or not to instruct the Contractor to submit quotations & also if the Project Manager “decides” that the event fails any one of the tests.
I feel that if the PM acts as stated in clause 61.4 that they are not making a decision.