FAQs for I don't know what my subcontract commits me to

I don't know what my subcontract commits me to? Every question we answer on it, grouped by subject.

Frequently asked questions

Check the clauses that decide when you are paid, what can be taken from you and how fast you must act.

Usually not: for most construction work, the law makes a pay-when-paid clause ineffective unless someone further up the chain is insolvent.

It means your subcontract passes the main contract's terms down, so you owe your main contractor what it owes its client for your work.

Yes: the terms can be changed by agreement before you sign, and most main contractors have already changed them in their own favour.

A main contractor's discount is a percentage taken off every payment to you, so agree to it only if it is already in your price.

A collateral warranty is a direct promise about your work to someone outside your subcontract, so check what it costs you before signing.

A performance bond is a bank's or insurer's promise to pay your main contractor a set sum if you fail to perform your subcontract.

Only once you have priced the risk, because signing as a deed gives your main contractor 12 years to claim against you, not 6.

A time bar is a clause that says you lose your claim to more time or money unless you give notice within a set period.

Yes, if the timing works: the review takes 5 working days, and where the diary allows, we quote a faster turnaround in writing.

No: the terms cannot be renegotiated now, but what they cost you on this job is still open, and Post-Signing Contract Review deals with that.

No: we mark any clause whose legal effect is in doubt for your solicitor, and set out what it could mean for you on this job.