NEC4 ECC Option C
A Contractor has submitted invoices for the following items:
a) damage repairs to Equipment not owned by the Contractor
b) concrete delivery waiting time
c) lodging costs incurred over the X-mas and New Year period (the Contractor did not use the lodging over this period for the purpose of carrying out the Works but wanted to ensure that it was available when Works re-commenced in the New Year)
Do these items constitute Defined Costs?
a) this is an insurable risk, see third bullet point under clause 81.1 and the second insurance in the insurance table at clause 83.3, it is not part of Defined Cost.
b) this is covered by item 31 of the SoCC and is part of Defined Cost provided that the payment of waiting time is part of the supply agreement with the concrete supplier.
c) this is covered by item 13(b) of the SoCC provided the amount was paid in relation to the Contractor’s people who are covered by the people component e.g. not Subcontractor people. You may want to consider if it falls under the penultimate bullet point at clause 11.2(26) and is Disallowed Cost however you would first have to establish that the Contractor’s actions were not reasonable in the circumstance.
Thank you for these very helpful clarifications.